good fun, excellent 3D (IMAX version)

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2009)

Story, well a simple fun story. No deep attempt to moralize or philosophize, but enjoyable. Its a cartoon, OK? And the running time is not too long. Plenty of nice animation, good visual and dialog jokes. Might even be fun to watch a second time, though not if I have to pay for it.
What is outstanding is the IMAX 3D. Head and shoulders better than what Disney did for Up. The IMAX version has a fast frame rate and electronic glasses which shutter each eye in sync with the film. The content is also rendered totally in 3D. So, things never feel layered. Motion scenes - and there are lots of action scenes - are stable and clear, better than ordinary cinema (they really do need to stop showing films at just 24 frames per second). So the 3D is immersive. You can sense things in the far distance as well as quite close. This is definitely how 3D should be done, and I give a 1 point bonus on my rating simply because this is a showcase for 3D done right and both audience and other film makers should raise their sights on 3D to meet or beat this quality level. It is a milestone.
And a fun one.