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Posted Monday, April 06, 2009 1:04 PM

Stop Busting the "Up" Bubble, World.

Sarah Ball


The business section of the New York Times and some other boring people who look at stocks all day are collectively wringing their hands over "Up," which they say looks to be the least market-ready and useless-Happy-Meal-toy-generating Pixar film of all time. There's the issue, they say, of the septuagenarian protagonist, whose wrinkles and old-timey-ness make him completely unrelatable to the young demo.

This is what we call Pixar's success coming back to bite them.  So humanized and emotionally capable are their wildly unorthodox non-human characters -- of course a Parisian gutter rat can make vichyssoise and/or cry-- that now people think a regular grumpy old man is beyond a child's realm of comprehension.  Or, worse, interest.

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When was the last time you met a kid who hated balloons?  Or grandparents?  Or movies?  About flying?

Lighten "Up," guys.

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Member Comments

Posted By: Sarah Ball (April 8, 2009 at 9:37 AM)

Thanks Karin!  I totally agree.


Posted By: Karin Belle (April 7, 2009 at 11:23 AM)

Thank you!  I don't know why people feel the need to expect disaster from Pixar.  I heard these same negative predictions before "Ratatouille" and "WALL-E," and both films more than lived up to Pixar's reputation for excellence.  

The marketing people need to relax.  People - not just kids, but people in general - will go see "Up" because Pixar knows how to tell a great story.  In the end, that's what moviegoers - or at least, this moviegoer- are looking for.