First Lifted Review

Aint It Cool News (WARNING: Spoilers) a very positive, and detailed review of Gary Rydstrom’s short film for that we have all been eagerly waiting to hear and see more about.

Lifted tells the story of a bumbling young alien student from a distant world that tests the patience of an increasingly weary instructor as he attempts a first-time abduction of a innocently slumbering farmer.

The review starts off as…

I don’t know how many of your readers are interested in Pixar shorts but I was lucky enought to have the director, Gary Rydstrom, of their new short called “Lifted” come to my school for a special advanced screening and panel session. It’s soo fresh that the sound was off sync by about 3 frames and nobody outside of Pixar has really seen it yet. It’s going to be screened at the Chicago International Film Fest on Saturday, but we got it first.

and for a very positive review of the short summed up without spoilers…

Do you like laughing until your stomach feels like it’s been pounded by the biggest bully in school? Then this is the film for yah! This is probably the funniest short out of Pixar I’ve seen. The audience of about 300 students/teachers/and alumni were rolling in the aisles. The director is a fan of silent films and with his background in sound, has a great knack for timing a story (and writing one!). It’s so brilliant that to not spoil it, you really can’t say anything about it.

According to the review, Lifted had 5 animators on the project and took 9 months (add another 3 months for storyboarding and timing) to finish.

And to confirm, Gary Rydstrom also said that it will be attached to Ratatouille next year. I can’t wait!

The reviewer also add’s some of Gary Rydstrom’s comments on Pixar/Disney on doing 2D and 3D animation. So to find out more, visit AICN (WARNING: Spoilers). You can also read more about Lifted .