Subsonic Radio

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/up/trailer

It looks cute. Same director as Monsters, Inc. The only thing that strikes me as a bit odd thus far is that Pixar's people seem to have visually stagnated. I'm wondering if that's because these movies are in production so close together and are using a lot of the same techniques or because they've reached a point they don't want to make their people more 'realistic'.

Anyway, I have high hopes for Up. (That was a totally unintentional pun ... sorry. >_<)

I think alot of the characters look alike due to a combination of reasons. first, you may be right about the movies being produced so close together that they just use the same techniques. another factor may be that the technology and software hasn't been able to keep up with how fast they're going. third, I believe hat with the main players at Pixar (John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, etc) have become more involved with Disney projects after the buyout. while they may be Executive Producers to the movies now, they're no longer part of the story process, nor the animation aspects, so things are pushed the way they were back in the day...

I would argue slightly differently on this ... I recall hearing/reading/something like that that Pixar prefers to focus on different particular visual effects with each film ... for instance, a LOT of time was spent on Sulley's fur in Monsters, Inc., the water was (understandably) given priority in Finding Nemo, and dust, rust, and reflections were hyper-realized in Cars. I would say they're focusing on the air and wind here ... as corny as it sounds, check out how nice the clouds work.
Plus, there's a certain term known as the Uncanny Valley. Perhaps you've heard of it? It's been well-known in the past that as representations of the human face (whether traditionally animated or digitally generated) get closer and closer to the real thing, there is a certain point that they suddenly look EXTREMELY unnatural. It seems to involve them becoming realistic, but since they're not QUITE right, they look deformed or mutated. Thus far, artists have been largely unsuccessful at bridging this valley, so it actually looks better to create a more cartoonish look. As such, while someone in Pixar has no doubt been getting human faces to look more and more realistic, it's reasonable that the representations they're turning out lately actually look better.
In any case, this looks like a winner already.

Yeah a friend of mine and I were discussing it and came to the conclusion that the visual priority for this was probably balloon physics. I don't think that's unreasonable, either. I do have to say, though, that the mesh for the little boy looks an awful lot like the one for the future humans in Wall*E. I don't mind them following their usual practice of focusing on one aspect to improve per film, but I'm leery of seeing them re-use, if that makes sense.

I also agree (as I kind of alluded to in my original post) that there's a danger in making the humans look too realistic, so I can see why they might settle into one stylistic 'ideal', if you will.

Looking forward to seeing more of those wind effects.

It looks really cute, I won't lie. But I do agree on what you're saying about them looking too realistic, DisBeamer. I hope this will be just as good as the Incredibles.

IMFearless wrote: Plus, there's a certain term known as the Uncanny Valley. Perhaps you've heard of it? It's been well-known in the past that as representations of the human face (whether traditionally animated or digitally generated) get closer and closer to the real thing, there is a certain point that they suddenly look EXTREMELY unnatural. It seems to involve them becoming realistic, but since they're not QUITE right, they look deformed or mutated. Thus far, artists have been largely unsuccessful at bridging this valley, so it actually looks better to create a more cartoonish look. As such, while someone in Pixar has no doubt been getting human faces to look more and more realistic, it's reasonable that the representations they're turning out lately actually look better.
In any case, this looks like a winner already.

I would agree with your oberservation, however, given the human characters used in both of the Final Fantasy movies (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children), I would have to disagree on this. also, some of the human-type characters in the beginning/end movies of the Kingdom Hearts series, and those are parts of games. Square, and Square-Enix which they became, have fingured out how to make humans work, as well as create photo-realistic environments a few years ago. granted, many of the characters come from anime, so many features are exagerated slightly, but in certain parts, they look very realistic. why is Pixar not able to match that level?

It does look cute yes, buy like many of you, I agree with the fact that they look too realistic.
I hope it is a good movie though

I love the begining of the trailer! How neat! New movie looks cute!

I'm really looking forward to this movie - I think it's going to be another winner for Disney-Pixar!

It looks great, I can't wait to see it! Thanks for sharing the link>!

This looks great, thanks for the link. Those clouds look incredibly realistic, and I'm not even viewing on an HD monitor!

I think it looks totally cool the way it is! The art and storyline seem to mesh well for me. I cant wait to go check out this movie...looks like it will be another hit for Pixar / Disney!!

Well, Pixar's done toys, monsters, insects, superheroes, cars, and robots. Bring on the grouchy old fart! This movie looks like a lot of fun.

The beginning is so cool, how they put all the Pixar movies together. This movie looks amazing. Pixar is on a roll!

js3901 wrote:I would agree with your oberservation, however, given the human characters used in both of the Final Fantasy movies (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children), I would have to disagree on this. also, some of the human-type characters in the beginning/end movies of the Kingdom Hearts series, and those are parts of games. Square, and Square-Enix which they became, have fingured out how to make humans work, as well as create photo-realistic environments a few years ago. granted, many of the characters come from anime, so many features are exagerated slightly, but in certain parts, they look very realistic. why is Pixar not able to match that level?

Yeah, I think Squeenix when I think realistic characters too (though perhaps not realistic hair...). I would question whether or not it's a matter of Pixar being able to, or Pixar wanting to match them, though. I suspect they could develop that kind of technology if they wanted to - they certainly seem to have the chops for texture and everything that Square does.

I wonder if part of it is the different inherent audiences for animated fare in North America and Japan? I mean, most people still assume animated = kids here, which lends itself to the more stylized 'cartoony' characters; Japan does not suffer from that problem.