Pixar are, in a word, perfectionists. The animation studio’s trophy cabinet — housing no less than twenty-six Oscars and seven Golden Globes — should be evidence enough. Yet even virtuosos are subject to the occasional lapse in judgment; days when they produce something that doesn’t quite live up to their own impossibly high standard. Something like 2006’s Cars, for example.

Now call me an optimist, but I like to believe that [...]

After twelve incredible feature films, the movies of Pixar are beloved the world over for their dazzling animation, heart-warming stories and their perseverant heroes; not once, however, has Pixar told a story with a female lead character or called upon the talents of a female director to call the shots…until now. Upon the release of promotional screenshots, all eyes have been captured by Pixar once again, this [...]

Please, spare me your feigned surprise when I declare that Toy Story 3 is beyond brilliant. We’re dealing with Disney Pixar here — that seemingly infallible animation studio behind masterstrokes such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and Wall-E — so I know you already guessed as much. It’s got to the point now that there isn’t a single superlative left in the English langue that hasn’t been copiously used to describe Pixar’s back catalogue. After all, there’s only so many ways to say “it’s bloody good!” before you start sounding like you’re on Disney’s payroll.

The golden rule of film criticism (for me, anyway) is to always consider the target audience. During a family film, for instance, I occasionally glance around the cinema to see how the children are behaving; are they quiet and attentive, or fidgety and disruptive?

In the case of the animated adventure How to Train Your Dragon, the cinema was blissfully silent. There wasn’t a peep beyond gasps of elation and bursts of laughter. And I’m not just talking about the kids.

Pixar movies have become quite serious of late. Ever since Finding Nemo was released in 2003, comedy began to take a backseat to drama and stronger themes. I do not deny the increasing popularity and critical acclaim of recent Pixar films, a company who have replaced Walt Disney Animation Studios as the top dog in children’s storytelling.

The protagonists in Pixar’s Up are not toys, fish, cars, rats or robots. Instead, they’re people, and I daresay one of the hardest things to get right in animation is realistically personifying a person. They pulled it off once before in 2004’s The Incredibles, but what Up achieves is something truly remarkable. In a short montage that chronicles the life and marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredericksen, Pixar capture the essence of humanity so profoundly, it’s one of the most touching piece of cinema I’ve seen all year. Academy, get you’re Oscars at the ready. A-gain….