Lifted (2006)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Gary Rydstrom

Writer:

Gary Rydstrom (written by)

Release Date:

29 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Failure is an option.

Plot:

A teenage alien tries to abduct a sleeping human, but with so many switches to do so, it's nearly impossible. |

Plot Keywords:

Alien | UFO | Flying Saucer | Incompetence | Farmhouse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Directed by
Gary Rydstrom

Writing credits
Gary Rydstrom		(written by)

Produced by
Katherine Sarafian	....	producer
Osnat Shurer	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Michael Giacchino

Film Editing by
Steve Bloom

Production Design by
Mark Cordell Holmes

Production Management
Paul Cichocki	....	post-production supervisor
Kim Collins	....	production manager

Art Department
Daniel Arriaga	....	production artist
Jason Deamer	....	production artist
Greg Dykstra	....	production artist
Dan Lee	....	production artist
Dominique Louis	....	production artist (as Dominique R. Louis)

Sound Department
Gary Rydstrom	....	sound designer

Visual Effects by
Benjamin Andersen	....	effects artist (as Ben Andersen)
John B. Anderson	....	effects artist (as John Anderson)
Tim Best	....	lighting supervisor
Edwin Chang	....	effects artist
Amelia Chenoweth	....	lighting artist
Claudia Chung	....	simulation artist
Samuel Daffner	....	shading artist
Andrew Dayton	....	modeling artist
Sean Feeley	....	shading artist
Danielle Feinberg	....	lighting artist
Dean Foster	....	effects artist
Patrick Guenette	....	shading artist
Bryn Imagire	....	digital painter
Patrick James	....	camera lead
Steven James	....	lighting artist
Sandra Ford Karpman	....	effects artist (as Sandra Karpman)
Jeffrey Kember	....	simulation artist (as Jeff Kember)
Michael Krummhoefener	....	modeling artist
Holly Lloyd	....	lighting artist
Michael Lorenzen	....	effects supervisor
John Paine	....	modeling artist (as Jonathan Paine)
Lena Petrovic	....	shading artist
Laura Phillips	....	digital painter
Bill Polson	....	supervising technical director
Josh Qualtieri	....	shading artist
Bill Sheffler	....	character supervisor
Sonja Struben	....	lighting artist
Mark Therrell	....	modeling artist
Paul Topolos	....	matte painter

Animation Department
Alan Barillaro	....	animator
Maxwell Brace IV	....	story artist
Doug Frankel	....	animator
Craig Good	....	layout artist
Steven Clay Hunter	....	animator
Patty Kihm	....	animator
Wendell Lee	....	animator
Matt Majers	....	animator
Jeff Pidgeon	....	story artist
Gini Cruz Santos	....	supervising animator (as Gini Santos)
Bob Whitehill	....	layout artist

Editorial Department
Rod G. Bogart	....	colorist (as Rod Bogart)
Tim Fox	....	assistant editor
Anthony Greenberg	....	assistant editor
Joshua Hollander	....	colorist
David Lortsher	....	colorist
Chris Vallance	....	assistant editor
Robin Young	....	colorist
Katelin C. Holloway	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor

Other crew
Jeanne Applegate	....	production assistant
Jaclyn Brodsky	....	production assistant
Alice Clendenen	....	assistant to producers
Susan Frank	....	production assistant
Mark Cordell Holmes	....	title designer
Andrew Jimenez	....	title designer
Alex Mandel	....	production coordinator
Dana Leigh Murray	....	production coordinator (as Dana Murrray)
Becky Neiman	....	production assistant
Brice Parker	....	production coordinator
Kathleen Relyea	....	production coordinator

Thanks
Simon Bax	....	special thanks
Ed Catmull	....	special thanks
Mary Coleman	....	special thanks
Roger Gould	....	special thanks
Steve Jobs	....	special thanks
Sarah McArthur	....	special thanks
Kevin Reher	....	special thanks
Lois Scali	....	special thanks
Marc Sondheimer	....	special thanks
Andrew Stanton	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Pixar Animation Studios

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures

Other Companies

• Skywalker Sound  sound post-production

Runtime:

5 min

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:G | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Pixar Animation Studios

Trivia:

There are exactly 2,000 switches on the abduction console.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)

Darker in tone but still a very good short film for the masters, Pixar

Remember the days when cartoons were king? When each and every movie was preceded by the latest "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Tunes" adventure? No, me neither - I'm only 27, for God's sake - but at least Pixar remember and they are fighting almost single-handedly to resurrect the practise. Following on from "Boundin'" and the brilliant "One Man Band", their latest big screen outing gives them the perfect opportunity to showcase their talents on "Lifted", a much darker effort than their earlier shorts but still having that strong sense of slapstick running throughout.

"Lifted" opens in typically "X-Files" style - an isolated house is suddenly lit up by a flying saucer as the sleeping occupant dreams on, blissfully unaware that he is about to be abducted. Fortunately for him, the alien manning the controls has no idea which one of the thousands of switches in front of him will actually get the man into the craft. As his frustration mounts, a larger and more senior alien looks on and makes occasional notes on his clipboard like a disapproving driving instructor. No need for Mulder and Sculley on this occasion.

Given that the opening moments are genuinely dark and tense, it's something of a surprise that Pixar chose this to show before something as decidedly kiddie-friendly as "Ratatouille". However, it isn't long before the humour takes over and makes for a very amusing five minutes. Naturally, it is over-shadowed by its bigger budgeted stable-mate but "Lifted" is still an accomplished piece of work in its own right. I'm hoping that Pixar don't neglect this dying art-form as things like "Lifted" and "One Man Band" show that there is still some life left in the animated short.