A technical step forward, a narrative step back

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2007)

Up until the ending, I found it rather clichÃ©d. It followed the typical animated film plot, and even the end, which kinda circumvented that, wasn't totally immune. I know it's a kid's film, and a dark, twisted finish wasn't in the cards, but I felt that both of Bird's previous films had a much more interesting story. For all this talk of Pixar 'growing up', I felt this was more of a step back from The Incredibles, which I still view as their most adult film. Still, though, it was a lot of fun, with fantastic animation, great voice work, and a lot of little comic moments that added up. It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it was rather enjoyable. Not the greatest animated film ever, but certainly a welcome respite from the crap that is populating this genre today.