La luna

I've seen it at the Disney D23 annual Event in Los Angeles today. Enrico Casarosa, writer and director of "La Luna", was present during the screening. He explained that it is a very personal project, and that the characters and their personalities were based on himself and also members of his family. I personally thought that it was a masterful work of imagination, beautifully animated and totally charming. The music was also perfect, thanks again to Michal Giacchioni. Pixar fans, and everybody else as far as i'm concerned, won't be disappointed. A magical and original experience. An academy award nomination awaits for this awesome short!

Just watched this Oscar-nominated Pixar computer animated short before the feature Brave with my movie theatre-working friend. He didn't know about this showing before the feature and was a little confused when it ended. I, however, knew about it but I didn't know what to expect. I mean, there's a young boy, his father, and his grandfather and they're on this boat and the moon is full...I'll stop there and just say that what happens after that is so wonderful and awe-inspiring and just such a sight to see that I don't want to reveal too much. Just that if you have an active imagination, you really shouldn't miss La Luna. I mean, don't expect any loud laughs but expect to maybe chuckle a bit at some of the way the three characters interact with each other. So, yeah, that's a recommendation.

This is one of the most favorite short films in my life. It starts from the scene on the boat - the boat with a boy, father, and grandfather goes on a silent, calm night ocean. The sounds of Spanish guitar is romantic, and I was attracted from the first moment. The little boy is always middle of his father and grandfather, and tries to behave like adults - so I can easily suppose it is a story of boy's growth. But the way to express it is really breathtaking! When the full moon rises, adults slowly prepare to climb to the moon! With the help of the anchor and ladder, the boy arrives at the moon, where lots of little star covers the surface. Again, I have never seen such an expression for the moon, and it tells us the image of warm, bright, and even cozy place for the moon, it is so surprising. While caught in a dilemma between the way of father and grandfather, they find a huge shooting star is coming. In an attempt to put it off, the boy finally finds his way to achieve the task. We do not have the answer to the question "What are they doing?" till the end, but once you look up the sky, the answer will be there.

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

"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.