It Ain't the Technique, It's the Content

I recently watched the DVD versions of Monsters vs Aliens and Up one right after the other. Up I had seen before, Monsters I had not. This comparison vividly illustrates why Pixar is the leader in computer based animation, and it has nothing to do with animation itself. For those who have seen Up, there is a short, I'd say two minutes tops, montage of a couple growing old together. Not even any dialog. Yet that little section has more story (and heart) than is contained in the entire running time of Monsters. I've thought for years that John Lasseter is this generation's Walt Disney in that both understand the the single most important part of a movie is the story. Disney was considered in his time to be one of the, if not the, best story men in Hollywood. Lasseter and the whole Pixar team get this. The story shows real polish, not the "let's throw in this cliched plot point here cuz everyone expects it" method used in far too many instances. Characters in Up act the way they do for a reason; the personalities are developed. In Monsters, characters are just, BOOM!, there they are and that's all there is to that.

I'd especially like to thank whoever was the supervising animator on Dug the dog. You can watch the film with the sound off and still tell what Dug is thinking by his actions. And he acts like a real dog, exaggerated a bit, of course, this is animation and that is necessary, but he isn't a cartoon dog. Watch the eyes most of all. Really great work.