Le Parapluie Bleu

This simple story is about two umbrellas who meet in the city one rainy night. But, they are soon separated and it sure looks as if the boy umbrella will never again meet the lady umbrella. As far as the story for "The Blue Umbrella" goes, it's good….but that's NOT the reason to watch the film—especially since the story is incredibly simple and lacks complexity. Instead, it's like Pixar's showing off to the world just how good they can do CGI, as the film often looks like it was filmed live---it's THAT good. This is especially true at the very beginning. Then, slowly, it becomes obvious that it's NOT real, as you see an anthropomorphic city—but one that is amazingly well rendered. In fact, it's so well done it makes you wonder just how much longer it will be until they create films where you simply cannot tell it's not filmed live and with real live actors!

UPDATE: Since I reviewed this film many months ago, the list of Oscar nominated animated shorts was released and I went to a special showing of the nominees today. "The Blue Umbrella" was not nominated and I assume this is because another Disney short, "Get a Horse!" was nominated (and I think each studio can submit only one short--though I could be wrong here). "Get a Horse!", in my opinion, is by far the best of the films I saw today--but "The Blue Umbrella" was awfully close. Confused? Well, in the last few years, in addition to showing the five nominees, the show also present a few so-called 'Commended Films'--ones that weren't nominated but which are awfully good--and "The Blue Umbrella" was one of them. Sadly, "The Blue Umbrella" was better than any of the nominees other than "Get a Horse!" and will probably be overshadowed by it. But it's a nice and lovable film on it's own merit.

The animation and sound design in this are surreal. The story is super simple and bland but what can I say, sometimes I'm just tryna feel good.

This short made me feel good.

Maybe not one of Pixar's absolute best short films in the same way Geri's Game, One Man Band, Presto and Knick-Knack are, but that can be ignored because The Blue Umbrella doesn't disappoint at all. It accompanies Monsters University wonderfully, one of those cases where the short film and the feature are about equal in rating and quality and not a case of the short film being better or the feature being so. The visuals are stunning to watch, with everything looking so real and there are a lot of lavish colours. The music matches the quality of the visuals, it is understated and gentle but immensely charming also. The story, effective in its simplicity, keeps ones attention even with the brief(perhaps too brief?) running time and never feels too obvious, it has a lot of whimsy and heart, as well being very touching. And of course it is very charming too, from the very start right through the ending. The ending was especially well done in this being heartfelt and touching respect. That is not to say though that The Blue Umbrella isn't without funny moments, there are some but done subtly and gently without being in-your-face. The characters are simple but really sweet, carrying the story beautifully. Overall, beautiful and heartfelt, not one of the best Pixar short films but it didn't need to be to be good. All it needed really was to be of at least good quality, and it ended up to be great quality. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The Blue Umbrella (2013)

*** (out of 4)

Fun short from Pixar, which was shown before their feature MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. This film here deals with a blue umbrella who sees a red umbrella and quickly falls in love. The rest of the film pretty much as the blue umbrella going through a wide range of events trying to make its way over to the red one. This idea might seem quite simple but director Saschka Unseld does a very good job at making it move at a very good pace and also keeping the viewer interested in what's going on. The most amazing thing about this short is how real all the animation looks. There were times when we see a large number of umbrellas from the top that you'll actually think you're looking at something real and not just a piece of animation. There's also some funny moments where various items "come to life" to try and prevent the blue umbrella from being hurt. I'm not sure how much kids are going to enjoy this one but parents should be fascinated by the animation and the style, which really looks like some avant garde stuff from the 1920s.

Since the characters in this are umbrellas, we have to have rain (which we do). The umbrellas have to have personality (which they do). The interaction between them as they jockey for position on the street is fun to watch. Pixar has a way of moving a step above the competition. Well done.