Pixar’s Up gets rave reviews at Cannes

source: rottentomatoes.com

Well, you can file this away in the “least surprising news ever” category. Disney-Pixar’s Up is receiving the best reviews of the year ahead of its debut at the opening night ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.

The Pete Doctor directed feature is the first animated film to open the festival. And while we’re discussing records, it is also the first 3-D film to open the festival.

The story of an old-man and his flying house is touching even the most hardened critics:

Emmanuel Levy – “As of May, best picture of the year.”

Roger Ebert – “This is a story as tickling to the imagination as the magical animated films of my childhood, when I naively thought that because their colors were brighter, their character outlines more defined and their plots simpler, they were actually more realistic than regular films.”

Michael Rechtshaffe at The Hollywood Reporter – “Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, the gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it.”

Mike Goodridge at Screen Daily – “A highpoint of ingenuity and storytelling in the Pixar canon and indeed the animated form, this is a fitting opening to this year’s Cannes Film Festival; indeed it will be hard for any other film there to match the storytelling genius and gorgeous 3D imagery which Docter and his team have achieved.”

Richard Corliss at Time – “Up, like WALL-E, will prove to be one of the most satisfying movie experiences of its year.”

Todd McCarthy at Variety – “Depending on what you think of “Cars,” Pixar makes it either 9½ out of 10 or 10 for 10 with “Up,” a captivating odd-couple adventure that becomes funnier and more exciting as it flies along.”

It’s a shame that Up is screening out of competition at Cannes, because reviews this positive aren’t even given to films that win the Palme d’Or.

Up opens September 3rd in Australia.