Review: Pixar short film “Partly Cloudy”
When I attended the advance press screening for Pixar’s new movie “Up” last week, I left a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see one of the studio’s terrific short films before the feature. I had previously heard about a short before the film but hadn’t caught any recent updates, so I wondered if for some reason Pixar had broken from their short-precedes-feature pattern. I even mentioned in my “Up” movie review my discouragement at missing my short film fix.
Throughout last week’s opening weekend for “Up,” I got various messages from friends who had seen the movie informing me that there was indeed a short film on the final prints of the film. I was happy, relieved and eager to see “Partly Cloudy” for myself.
My family and I went to the theater this afternoon to catch “Up” in 3-D, and I was practically bouncing in my seat when I saw the title screen for “Partly Cloudy.”
It has to be one of the most wonderfully bizarre of the Pixar shorts. It doesn’t match the sheer genius of “Presto” or the Oscar-winning “For the Birds,” but “Partly Cloudy” shines with eye-catching visuals, touching but not sickly sweetness and canny humor.
The short follows storks up into the heavens and reveals where they pick up the bundles of joy they deliver. Fluffy, pink-tinted cloud people craft adorable puppies, kittens and human babies out of clouds and bring them to life with a quick shot of lightning.
But one dark-colored cloud is a bit different: He happily makes the less-than-cute animals like crocodiles, porcupines and sharks. The cloud creator loves these animals despite their dangerous characteristics. But his loyal stork pal takes quite a beating while delivering these hazardous critters.
As with some of the best Pixar shorts, “Partly Cloudy” is told with no dialogue, and once again we see how masterfully their animators are able to express various thoughts and emotions without words.
“Partly Cloudy,” with its focus on the skies, also fits well thematically with “Up,” which follows a senior citizen who uses thousands of balloons to turn his house into an airship. It isn’t a necessity, but I always enjoy the shorts more when they match the feature in tone or theme. (Unlike, say, the homespun “Boundin’” preceding the sophisticated action of “The Incredibles.” I love them both, but they seem to fit together as well as chicken-fried steak and creme brulee.)
Along with the “Toy Story 3″ teaser and the heartachingly beautiful first 10 minutes of “Up,” “Partly Cloudy” offers just one more reason to get to the theater early when viewing Pixar’s latest masterpiece.
-BAM
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