When I first saw the teaser trailer for Pixar’s new film Up, I thought it had the makings of one of their masterful shorts. After all, what story could you tell about a crotchety old man who makes his house float away. Then I realized it was their next feature film and the most I saw, the more it looked like a great adventure. .
Well at the New York Comic Con, the film made its debut to tease the lucky attenders. But only the first 45 minutes!
Not to say the film is playing it safe. “Up” begins with a black-and-white newsreel and segues into a 7-minute short film—without dialogue and with very few sound effects—that recounts the story of how the young Carl met his wife, Ellie. We watch Ellie find out she cannot become pregnant, we watch as the daily responsibilities and costs of life interfere with their dreams to travel the world, we watch as Ellie ultimately dies, leaving Carl lost and lonely. None of this is sugar coated, and it remains to be seen if kids will be amenable to such real world, often harsh storytelling.
Yet with the success of “WALL-E,” Pixar has proven young moviegoers are more sophisticated than many of us adults realize. The bottom line is Pixar has delivered another rollicking winner. When the screen cut out after the 45 minutes had passed, the crowd let out an audible, frustrated sigh. “Can we see the rest?” someone begged.
Showing a teaser or even a full theatrical trailer is enough to make someone watch a movie, but to reveal a big part of the film like 45 minutes of it is just cruel! It’s like catching that episode of your favourite show and being totally into it then seeing those doomed words sprawl across the screen on a cliffhanger moment … to be Continued!
But those in attendance seem to be of mutual opinion that Pixar has once again hit it out of the park.
