Beautiful, but it peaked too soon...

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2009)

There's no question in my mind that this was a sublimely wonderful film, and I hate to criticise it, but I had just one niggle - it peaked too soon! Whilst I've long respected the Pixar animators for their technical skills, it's their storytelling that I truly admire. Here, they excelled themselves. Within the first fifteen minutes of the film lies a contextualising montage. With almost no dialogue, and very little screen time, it told a story that ripped my heart out. All the adults in the theatre were crying. It was tragic and beautiful, and I'd place it as one of the best pieces of storytelling that I've ever seen on the screen, large or small.
The rest of the film was likable, with charming characters and a lovely whimsical plot, but no matter how hard it tried it couldn't take me to the places, emotionally, that that first quarter hour did. And I can't believe I'm saying this about a kid's animated movie! Wonderful work, bravo Pixar!