La Luna

"La Luna" is an incredible experience. From the first seconds, the film portrays absolute peace, and the music is the star. I would have been content if there was no plot; just the setting, the music, and the brilliantly animated characters were enough to take me far away from the movie theater and transport me into another world. There's none of the goofiness that's present in many of Pixar's other shorts. Instead, the film is honest; enthralling.

The plot is timed out absolutely perfectly, so the audience is begging to know what will come next without wishing the story would move any faster. More often than not, I find that short films (especially the funny ones) struggle with timing, and stretch out one simple idea a little bit too long. "La Luna" masterfully avoids this problem by presenting a well-developed, mysterious story (in fact, a main idea is hidden from the audience until the last few seconds) that is more fulfilling than any full-length feature I have seen in months.

I don't know short films like these other guys do, but what I know is that after this short ended, I told my brother it was worth the price of admission just to see the cartoon. I say that, and I walked in the theatre after the short was well underway.

The music is great, it's simply great, and it makes the film. I find it fascinating that the music does so much, yet the animation is so entrancing that the music is felt rather than heard. It's rare to see something on par with excellent music.

I write this only because I'm desperately searching for an online copy, I must see it again.

Preceding Brave is the Academy Award nominated short film, La Luna. What we have here is a silent film that tells the tale of the lessons a son learns from their father, and vice versa. This is nicely juxtaposed next to Brave, which is about the lessons mothers and daughters teach each other. La Luna is a gorgeous and moving little film that manages to tell a better story in a few minutes (with no dialogue) than most of its two-hour long counterparts. To go into too much detail would really ruin the fun of discovering just why this boy is at sea with his father and grandfather. Just know that the few minutes this short film lasts are very moving and are something to behold.

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This film tells the story of a young boy, who is taken to work by his father and his grandfather for the first time. His task is to go on the moon and sweep the stars.

Despite the film being just six minutes and thirty seconds long, it already tells a very sweet and adorable story. The story is imaginative, as I have never even imagined that stars have such as effect on the moon. The stars are beautiful, the characters are cute and the story is very sweet. In the space of just a few minutes, it has captured my imagination and my heart. It is a great animation.

I have always liked Pixar, their films and short films. La Luna is perhaps not quite on the level of Pixar's best shorts like Geri's Game, Presto, One Man Band and Knick Knack, but it is still a treat and even better than the wonderful Day and Night. It is gorgeously animated, especially the backgrounds, I love how poetic and charming the story is(also one of the more personal stories of any Pixar short film perhaps) and Michael Giacchino's music is some of the most beautiful he's ever done. La Luna could be said to be a departure for Pixar in terms of short films, whereas before there was the traditional emphasis on comedy with visual gags and slapstick action(in a good way that is) the humour is very gentle which suits the personal and poetic tone of the story I feel. As is the case with almost all of Pixar's projects the characters are very endearing and the heart is still there. Overall, a true treat. 9/10 Bethany Cox