Pixar's 10th feature hopes to continue the studio's perfect 1.000 batting average of unconventional family fare. Carl Fredericksen, a crotchety geezer in search of adventure, attaches millions of balloons to his house, setting sail on a journey across the country. Russell, a young, persistent Boy Scout, is forced to take part after stowing away on the flying abode.
Looks promising: Pixar has yet to disappoint and always manages to make timeless films that never go for the easy laugh while maintaining a strong emotional core. Not so much: The film looks great, but Disney insiders are worried about the lack of market appeal. Pixar's box office drawing power has declined in recent years, and if this film isn't a success, they might have to reevaluate how they make films. In other words, sacrificing originality for monetary potential.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs July 1 IN BRIEF: Woolly mammoth, Manny, and his friends return to the big screen, seemingly in efforts to further confuse the youth of America by depicting a world where dinosaurs and mammals coexist. Apparently there is a land beneath the mammals' world where dinosaurs reign. Segue to jokes about male motherhood and painful body waxing.
Looks promising: 20th Century Fox stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars. Good for them. Not so much: Jokes about milking a male yak? When will it end? Where the Wild Things Are Oct. 16 IN BRIEF: The adventures of Max, a mischievous and imaginative child, come to the big screen in one of the most intriguing pictures of the year. "Adaptation" director Spike Jonze, well, adapts Maurice Sendak's celebrated picture book with narrative flourishes by illustrious author Dave Eggers.
Looks promising: Words cannot express how pitch-perfect everything is in this trailer. From the stripped-down Arcade Fire song, to Max's faithfully rendered wolf suit, to the tactile realism of the "wild things," everything looks like it will fuse into a delicate balance of playfulness and poignancy.
Not so much: Will the additional plot of Max's fractured home life remove too much of the book's innocence? These concerns are valid, but if there was ever a team that could pull it off, it's Jonze and Eggers.