Balloonerism

Rewatched it about 8 times now and still speechless on how good it is. Slightly glazing, but the animation, transition between songs, and storytelling have such a deep impact if you're a fan of Mac Miller. Some parts of the animation don't transition well with the music, but I can understand the challenges animators would face with certain songs and their cinematic approach. I'm incredibly grateful that Mac Miller's family continues to maintain his legacy with such care, keeping his productions so well done and his reputation at a perfect 10. The attention to detail throughout shows their dedication to honoring his artistic vision <3.

The visuals don't remotely pay any kind of homage to the late singer who's providing the audio. Like the visuals don't even match the music. It just tells the story of some kids who become animals. They start off playing in a playground (which is the only time the music matched the visual), but missed an PRIME opportunity to nod to Mac's "Blue Slide Park". Which tells me there a pretty glaring disconnect between the musical artist and the visual team. And (don't get me wrong) the visual story isn't terrible...but it's not even remotely or metaphorically related to the music. The pacing is even wrong. They have times where they make transitions between songs sync up with the visuals...but for the most part I feel like I'm watching like chronicles of narnia or Stewart Little with the mute on, and a Mac Miller album on in the background. Which would be fine if I were blitzed out of my mind.

And that would ALL be negligible if I knew Mac Miller had some say in the creation of it. But knowing this is all just some art project for a studio...just seems like exploitation of a dead guy. No tip-toeing around it.

I watched it in hopes of something cool to pay homage to one of my favorite rappers, but this isn't it. This is like someone said "hey we still have creative rights to Mac Miller, what can we do with it?" And someone said "oh, well he rapped about being a kid a couple times. We could probably do something with that" and then proceeded to make short fantasy with 2 minutes of vaguely related material.

I didn't care for it.

Sam did such an amazing job working with Miller and his and Malcom's mom to create such an amazing work of art. If anybody missed the little Easter eggs throughout, I suggest watching the speaker session on SXSW's YouTube account titled "Mac Miller's Balloonerism: The Film Based on the Album" to bring the neat little nuggets to your attention. I missed quite a few the first time I watched it.

And yes, there IS an homage to Blue Slide Park.

The animation is wonderful, the storyline is very interesting, and all-around it's such a touching piece from start to finish. I know Mac would've absolutely LOVED this.

This is a true work of art. I wish I could see it in IMAX 3D. It breaks new ground in artistic vision, technical prowess, and mind-bending surrealism. I plan to watch several more times. Love the soundtrack. The visuals play a fascinating counterpoint to the lyrics, staying intentionally off-kilter and delivering repeated surprises at every turn. Play it LOUD!

The plot is almost impossible to describe - and it's completely beside the point. The story takes a backseat to stunning visuals that are a dreamlike combination of exploration, delirium, and hallucination.

I'm trying to imagine how filmmaker's 50 years ago would have viewed this, and tried to figure out how it was created. But ultimately, who cares? Just watch it and enjoy.