Up Gets a Negative Review: Who Dares Bad Mouth Pixar??
Well, Pixar’s Up hits theatres tomorrow (or tonight at midnight in some places), and once again, the Pixar name almost seems to be overshadowing the movie itself. I’ll be honest, I still know next to nothing about the damn flick (which is probably a good thing), but the early reviews have been as ecstatic as ever. Mike Goodridge over at Screen Daily already started the inevitable Oscar buzz with his review, and it’s currently sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. But wait a minute… less than 100%? For a Pixar movie? That can’t be right!
The Pixar police are out scanning reviews looking for any hint of negativity, and they’ve zeroed in on critic Armond White, who gave the movie its first thumbs down. He calls it overly sentimental, predictable, and cloying, among other things. /Film points out that White has given unfavourable reviews to plenty of critical darlings including The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Dark Knight, but does that make his opinion any less valid? Maybe he has unpopular taste in movies, or maybe he’s just going against the crowd to stand out, but either way, I’m glad to see an opposing point of view as long as it’s justified. I’m getting sick of hearing nothing but rave reviews for Pixar movies. While I’m looking forward to Up, sometimes it’s hard not to be cynical when you’re surrounded by so much blind faith. What do you think, does Armond White know what he’s talking about? Is Pixar overrated, or do they deserve every bit of praise they get?
Comments (35)
Overrated.
But if this guy didn’t like The Wrestler, I don’t trust him.
Posted by Henrik on May 28th, 2009what were the reviews like for Cars? i think out of all the pixar movies, this is the one i read/hear the least about. did people not like it? did they find it enjoyable but perhaps found it the weakest pixar offering?
did anybody here see Cars? thumbs up or fart sound?
Posted by Mike D on May 28th, 2009I think generally people think Cars is a decent movie, but not up to Pixars usual standards.
I have seen half of it and it’s definitely a fart sound for me.
Posted by Henrik on May 28th, 2009It’s my least favourite, but I know it has some supporters out there. It didn’t win the Animated Feature Oscar, but then, neither did Monsters, Inc.
Posted by Sean on May 28th, 2009I, too, saw half of Cars. Couldn’t finish it. Just didn’t think it was funny or charming.
I’m more curious about what Armond White did like, rather than what he didn’t.
Posted by mrbenning on May 28th, 2009His top movies for the past 10 years:
1997: Amistad
1998: Saving Private Ryan
1999: A Moment of Innocence
2000: George Washington
2001: A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2002: Femme Fatale
2003: Together
2004: Vera Drake
2005: Munich & War of the Worlds
2006: Broken Sky
2007: The Darjeeling Limited
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
Clearly the guy likes Spielberg.
Posted by Sean on May 28th, 2009Thanks for doing the research! It seems he does like Spielberg a lot, even going so far as to make 2 of his movies the ‘best’ in 2005. (for the record, I did like both of them)
Oh, and to answer the question from the post, they deserve the praise they get.
Posted by mrbenning on May 28th, 2009I’m all for a critic calling a movie to task. Where were the haters when the reviews for the obnoxiously overrated Slumdog Millionaire started rolling in?!! I’ll have to research Mr. White’s record, but I’m fine with his critical take on Up as long is it’s critical and not plain ‘ol Pixar-bashing. I guess the larger question is…are there now enough Pixar entries made that critics can be more critical in their reviews of them?
Posted by Aaron on May 28th, 2009I wouldn’t call positive reviews of a movie they’ve seen blind faith.
Posted by Glendon on May 28th, 2009“”farts in your general direction::
Posted by Shut-Up Ed on May 28th, 2009Armond White’s opinion cannot be trusted. He called “Wall-e” conventional. Even if you did not like “Wall-e” as much as everyone else, the last thing you would call it is conventional. I can understand your dismay at seeing nothing but raves, but I would try to go in with an open mind and not let that affect how you judge the film.
Posted by Jon on May 28th, 2009“2001: A.I. Artificial Intelligence”
And this guy didn’t like The Dark Knight AND THE WRESTLER!?!?!?!?
Wow.
Posted by Ryan M. on May 28th, 2009The Pixar FANBOYS (yes, that’s what they are) are clearly worse than Trekkies. Pixar movies are neat, but come on, the idea that a single negative review is offensive is rediculous. Eventually people are going to turn on Pixar, they’re going to start holding them up to the same standard they hold other prestige films eventually.
Posted by MJS on May 28th, 2009I don’t why people would have a problem with someone not liking the film if they present valid reasons. I think the biggest problem with reviewers sometimes is they like what they think they should like and aren’t objective as they should be.
Posted by Paul on May 28th, 2009I really liked Wall-E right up to the part where the humans were introduced. Then it did become quite conventional. Until that point, I’d thought Pixar had produced something on par with Fantasia.
Is Pixar overrated? Sure. Do I still like a lot of things about their movies? Yep.
Posted by hungSolo on May 29th, 2009Worth the praiseIMO.
Posted by Matt Keith on May 29th, 2009I dunno.. clearly Pixar makes the best animated movies out there. I dont like all their movies but The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Wall-E are up there with some original Disney classics for me. I dont know why they should get bad reviews if they make good movies?
Posted by Niklas on May 29th, 2009If I were a kid, I would much rather see TMNT than Ratatouille. If I were an adult, I would much rather see TMNT than Ratatouille.
That guy clearly does like Steven Spielberg. I will call him retarded.
Posted by Henrik on May 29th, 2009Ratatouille is the only Pixar film that I really disliked story vise. Cars comes a close second. The rest of their stuff is pretty much gold in my book.
Posted by swarez on May 29th, 2009This Armond White guy is clearly going against the grain of what the majority says just so that his review has an impact on the aggregate score of the film. And that’s total bullshit. His reviews are incredibly insicere. His goals seem to be to get a reaction and attention and get people to talk about him. And that’s exactly what he accomplished. And besides, how can you be a Spielberg fan and not have Minority Report as your best movie of 2002?
Posted by Matt on May 29th, 2009IMO, Pixar’s movies aren’t over-rated. Ratatouille is the one I liked the least.
Armond White has been batshit since long before aggregate sites, I’ll stil defend his decision to criticise Pixar
Posted by MJS on May 29th, 2009I wouldn’t in my dreams call Pixar overrated. Name me one other director/studio that have consistently put out high quality movies year after year and still manage to improve pretty much yearly? There aren’t any. Pixar is hands down the best movie house in film today.
I haven’t seen Up yet so I can’t say if Armond White’s criticism is fair or not, but take a look at his history, and I quote: “Forget the Oscar bait, Transporter 3 is the only movie you need to see this season.” Enough said.
Posted by Justice on May 29th, 2009Argh!!!
Posted by Cochise on May 30th, 2009Well I saw UP and was not a fan. I think it is visually awesome and great for adults, but somehow I don’t think I should have to be explaining infertility, death, depression, and detached fathers during a Pixar movie. There were several times during the film that the packed audience was so quiet and stunned and sad that all you could hear was my 3 year old munching on popcorn. It’s a Disney Pixar film, she’s 3. I thought it would go hand in hand, but it didn’t. Throw me in that 3% that think this is one of Pixar’s weakest.
Posted by Gina on May 31st, 2009It doesnt help that Armond White’s Picture is cocky as hell looking lol.
Posted by Trent on May 31st, 2009Armond White’s reviews aren’t justified. He trash talks good films then praises bad films just to get a rise. Quit defending this piece of human excrement. Better yet, quit talking about him altogether, he doesn’t deserve attention.
Posted by Matt on June 1st, 2009I don’t think Pixar (as a studio) is overrated. But Wall-e and Up sure are.
Posted by emily on June 1st, 2009And about Armond White, I think he is obviously very intelligent, and rather than “mean,” is quite sensitive to the films he sees. I think his not liking a lot of the more critically praised films demonstrates that he hasn’t fallen into accepting Hollywood for Hollywood’s sake, and is able to keep a sharp awareness of insincerity in recent filmmaking.
Though I can’t emphasize with many of his good and bad movie reactions, I don’t think there’s anything bad about a reviewer expressing himself with passion backed up by wittiness(whether its to praise or criticize).
Posted by emily on June 1st, 2009White’s just as guilty of an obsession with Hollywood as anyone he accuses in his reviews. Whatever happened to just reviewing a movie on it’s own merits? does it really matter who made it or who’s gonna watch it?
As the monk says to his fellow aesthetic:
Posted by ashlay on June 2nd, 2009“I carried her across the river. But you have been carrying her ever since.”
From what I’ve read of his reviews, he makes fair and often poignant arguments about films. I may not agree with him always, but in an ideal world, I think critics should be allowed to have opinions that vary from other critics’ opinions without being slandered all over on the internet by movie fans. Just saying.
Posted by emily on June 2nd, 2009yes,pixar is way overated-i,too am tired of hearing only of them. dreamworks and bluesky studios are indeed equals! let’s hear for somebody other than disney/pixar!and i do indeed like pixar myself.oh,by the way “up” sucked!!
Posted by art on June 24th, 2009I have yet to see a Pixar movie I enjoyed. The stories are generally not all that interesting, and the animation is too perfect. And, in its perfection, does not reveal much about the human condition.
For interesting, nuanced animation, try anything by the National Film Board of Canada (generally shorts), or something like “The Triplets of Bellville”. Now that’s a fascinating movie.
Posted by James E. on June 28th, 2009I agree with the author of this article. Pixar is WAY too overrated. It’s not that their movies are bad (which they’re not, they’re good in fact). It’s that the majority of the public fail to notice obvious flaws that prevent these movies from being great:
Finding Nemo– paper thin story, but PLENTY of swim-for-your-life-action-scenes which is tiring.
Cars– a billion and a half car-related in-jokes that you wouldn’t understand (or even care about unless you like cars.)
Incredibles– it ends just when it gets exciting. And some scenes are directly taken from previous superhero flicks.
Wall-E– It would have made an EXCELLENT short film.
Ratatouille— Overstuffed with too much “blah” for what you get.
Up– Hard to follow, because an old man ends up being Indiana Jones to resolve his problems. Plus, his character design and personality was ripped-off from Mr. Magoo.
Posted by Ken on September 26th, 2009Up is amazing, you should have no heart and taste if you didn’t liked. Pixar is amazing, non of his movies are perfect but they are original. And Carl’s design is a little based on Walter Mattau and Muntz’s design is based on Kirk Douglas.
Posted by David on October 15th, 2009Anyone who says Pixar is bad or that any of their movies are overrated is a complete and utter retard.
Posted by Jess on November 8th, 2009Leave a Reply