Sunday, February 8, 2009

Pixar-palooza!

Recently, I ripped all our Pixar movies for convenient home-viewing, so they've been on heavy rotation along with Horton Hears A Who and Kung-Fu Panda. (Also "Duckman" which, inexplicably, The Flower loves.)

I told HelenParr (a commentor at Althouse) that I would do a review of all the movies (especially The Incredibles) that might spur Althouse to actually get over her CGI-phobia and see one. What strikes me, almost 15 years out, is that they're all classics. I bet this year will mark the 10th film in what has to be the longest streak in cinematic history.

A Bug's Life is often considered the weakest, but it's not really weak, it's just aimed at a slightly younger audience. And it has three consecutive climactic scenes: the bird scene, the uprising and the rain. It's one of The Barbarienne's favorites, along with Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. Also, Ratatouille. The Flower is growing out of the "watch the same thing over and over again" phase, so just as she's starting to stop driving The Boy nuts by wanting to watch the new Scooby Doo movies over again, The Barbarienne is driving her nuts wanting to watch the same five movies over and over again.

Of course, all Pixar movies are pretty square, very earnest and not edgy, even when dark (like Finding Nemo). So can a hep cat like Althouse really dig them?

5 comments:

  1. Toy Story is still my all-time Pixar favorite. I just look at Pixar and think that's what Disney could've been...

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  2. Oh, The Incredibles is a close second. Ratatouille's pretty great too. My son was watching it the other day and my husband got completely sucked in. Later, he told me he almost teared up at the end! It's completely true about Pixar movies: they are earnest, but never cloying. That's what makes them really stand out.

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  3. Well, now they're on a lot. A whole lot.

    But they'll all suck you in at points, even at the nth viewing.

    And they reward you the more you watch, too. The attention to detail is simply marvelous. A Bug's Life and Nemo are like watching National Geographic. Ratatouille makes a great travelogue for Paris.

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  4. Ratatouille just has a fantastic look. I love, love, love Gusteau's kitchen. Rustic, but just glowing.

    I am going to get A Bug's Life on your recommendation that it's good for younger kids.

    Also: we really are loving "Day of the Triffids" but the dvd went defective in the middle of episode 4, so we are going to have to wait for the replacement disc to see the whole thing. Did you know they are going to make a new one? (The BBC I mean)

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  5. Yeah, it is a big hit with the younger ones, unlike that other bug-based movie that came out that year.

    Glad you're enjoying the Triffids; I did not know BBC was doing a new one, but I'm not too surprised. They just did a whole 'nother set of Austens....

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