July
31
Comic-Con: Docter's Visit Sheds Light on Pixar's Up
[Posted by Peter Debruge]
These days, my favorite thing about Pixar is the way each new idea they announce sounds even farther afield than the last, then the movie comes out, and it charms the pants off everybody: Rats in a restaurant? A robot love story?
Last week at Comic-Con, Pete Docter unveiled footage from Pixar's next curve ball, Up, in which an 78-year-old geezer (voiced by Ed Asner) fulfills a promise to his late wife, setting out on a great adventure to Paradise Falls, Venezuela. In the clip, the old guy pulls a fast one on two retirement home employees sent to collect him, attaching hundreds of helium balloons to his house and drifting away (with a hyper 9-year-old wilderness explorer named Russell unwittingly whisked along for the ride).
It was a gorgeous sequence, full of humor and sheer zen wonder -- the teaser only touches on it, since much relies on subtle character moments as old-timer Carl engineers his take-off (best of all, the presentation assured me Pixar isn't veering into Danny Deckchair territory here). That semi-surreal vision of so many multi-colored balloons against a clear blue sky reminded me of one of my all-time favorite television spots, the brilliant not-a-lick-of-CG ad for Sony's Bravia set:
But Docter lost me a bit when things flash forward to the jungle, to find Carl and Russell dragging the house by garden hose to its final destination: one of the unseen-by-human-eyes mountains that looms above the Venezuelan jungle. Is there really enough material here for more than a short film?
Then again, if we've learned anything from Pixar, it's that plot isn't nearly as important as character, and Docter made clear on the panel that his inspiration for Up was the personal revelation that old folks have led interesting lives. It's an intriguing thought: Could building a movie around a septuagenarian prove to even riskier than rats or robots -- and every bit as rewarding? (Don't forget, Pixar struck gold in this territory once before with the Oscar-winning Geri's Game, left.)
Subscribe to this blog's feed
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfc7553ef00e553e2bd528834
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Comic-Con: Docter's Visit Sheds Light on Pixar's Up :
Comments