Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
And with that I am not talking about general audiences, but about awards bodies. It baffles me to see how this Pixar entry was shut out pretty much everywhere. Admittedly, it does not have the deepest story, but it succeeds in every other area in my opinion. And greatly so. Our hero, the title character, meets a red umbrella and it's love at first sight. However, in his attempts of winning her heart, he loses almost everything. It was raining already pretty strongly, but now also a heavy wind blows. And it blows the umbrella away from its owner, far far away. Still he is lucky and his owner finds him again quickly and there are more positive surprises coming. I quite liked the use of colors in this one and it was also sweet how they used his owner and the woman as human equivalents of the umbrellas. Finally another thumbs-up for the supporting characters and with that I mean the inanimate objects who keep smiling during the end. They are perfect for this one, do not take away too much attention, but add something unique to this very short movie. Really, I can only repeat myself again. I feel sorry for German director and writer Saschka Unseld here that this did not only not get in at the Oscars, but got shut out pretty much completely. He worked on several high-profile Pixar films already and I hope he gets to make his own at some point. I am positive he has the talent. In my opinion, this is one of the best short films from 2013 and people should definitely watch it. Oh yeah, finally one thing I forgot: Sarah Jaffe's singing was very nice too and perfectly fit the tone of the movie. Highly recommended.
TxMike
This is a Pixar animated film short, not quite 7 minutes long. It is contained as an "extra" on the DVD of the Pixar movie, "Monsters University." The animated setting is any large city, in the early evening, probably in winter as it is already dark and the crowds are off work and headed to their homes or other evening destinations. There are yellow taxicabs, street construction, and underground trains. It starts to rain.In a sea of black umbrellas we see a bright blue one, masculine with eyes and a smile. Soon it notices a bright red umbrella, feminine and also with eyes and a bit more glamour. They make eye contact, they are attracted to each other.As the sea of umbrellas movie, and the man carrying the blue umbrella enters an underground station, a gust of updraft strips the umbrella away, and it is carried aloft, some distance. With the help of gutters gushing water at the right time, or a street construction sign directing traffic away, the blue umbrella survives the traffic, barely. Then he is picked up, perhaps by his original owner, perhaps by someone else, it doesn't really matter. But as he is carried to a nearby café, he finds that the man is meeting a lady, the one with the red umbrella. The umbrellas are reunited.The only possible hint of location is the name of the café, "Parapluie", which sounds French. So maybe it was Paris. But maybe not, because "Parapluie" is simply the French word for "Umbrella."A clever and entertaining short film.
BA_Harrison
Amidst a sea of black umbrellas, a blue umbrella falls for a red umbrella and risks everything to be with her.Holy cow, just looking at the almost unanimously glowing reviews here you would think that The Blue Umbrella was a work of both pure genius and originality, revolutionary in terms of storytelling and in technical execution. It's not. It's an overly twee short blessed with excellent CGI animation that frequently verges on realism but saddled with a predictable narrative and a saccharine sweet ending.I'm also rather surprised that no-one has mentioned just how weird it is to see umbrellas—inanimate objects with zero control over where they go—fall in love; it's a bizarre concept that just doesn't work for me (and one that raises too many questions in my mind about how they might take their relationship to the next level).5/10, largely for the technical skill that went into creating such photo-realistic animation.
Jessica White
Pixar continues its tradition of airing entertaining shorts prior to its main feature with "The Blue Umbrella" prior to "Monsters University." From the short film's beginning, I immediately noticed that the scene didn't feel cartoony or animated at all. From the rain to the automobiles to the sidewalk and hoards of crowded pedestrians, the art style was one of almost unnerving realism. In short, the realism was unbelievably believable! And then you notice the slow introduction of music in the very sounds of the city coming alive during a sudden rainstorm. The grates gurgle, the pipes puff, the pedestrian meters flash. Simply beautiful is its mood and execution.The plot quickly becomes unveiled as an unknown man's blue umbrella catches sight (and is smitten with) an unknown woman's red umbrella amidst the multitude of black umbrellas. As the whole city's mechanical, architectural and functional denizens observe and participate in the love affair, the blue umbrella maneuvers his way to the one that could be his perfect mate for rain and life.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film's warming plot, breath-holding twists, realistic graphics, well-matched musical score and heartwarming ending.
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