Direct Hit on the Target Audience

Rating: 9/10 (14 June 2009)

The Incredibles is one of my favorite movies of all time and I really enjoyed most of the other Pixar movies. However, I am one of the roughly 3 people in the world who didn't like Wall-E. And I was not all that impressed with Ratatouille. After being let down by those two recent offerings I went into Up a little skeptical. My faith is renewed. Walking out of Up I felt the same joy that I did walking out of Finding Nemo or Toy Story with one distinct difference: I felt like the target audience was different for Up than for all other Pixar movies. All previous Pixar films left me with the impression that they were created for kids, but not just for kids. They could, and were, appreciated by all generations despite having kids as the target audience because they were so finely crafted. For me, Up has the same characteristic of being enjoyable to all ages, but I really felt like it was targeted to adults. The themes and issues, while appealing to kids, will resonate more strongly with adults. The format and content were definitely kid-friendly, but I hope the animated style doesn't dissuade adults from going to see it regardless of whether or not they have kids with them. It is truly a poignant and fun movie for everyone.