Pixar's 3-D Up Opens Cannes on Cheery Note

Cannes opened in an unusual way tonight—with the animated 3-D film Up from Pixar. It’s the first time either an animated movie or a 3-D flick got the honored spot, and Timothy M. Gray of Variety reports an “enthused” response from both audience and critics. The movie—about a cranky old guy voiced by Ed Asner who floats his house to South America—is a nice fit for this year’s toned down festival, “which despite global worries, boasted a shy aura of hope,” writes Gray.

Attendance and schmoozing is down. “Pessimists see this winnowing of the crowds as a glum omen, but optimists see it as a necessary rebalancing of the film biz,” writes Gray. “The fringe people who were attempting to enter the industry in the past few years have disappeared, but the important global companies, the key indies and studios' specialty divisions are more in evidence than ever because they are still spending money.” (More Cannes Film Festival stories.)