Presto (2008)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

fun, useful lesson, an adorable character and pledge for friendship. and, maybe, it is enough. because "Presto" the virtue to be the brilliant example of seduction.remembering the shows of circus, the magic from the top hat, the rabbits and the fables. sure, a great piece of Pixar. and the gift for the inner child.

The newest animated short from Pixar is something of a cross between a Disney cartoon and Wile E. Coyote one. Although Disney has a reputation of softening more mature content (hence the term "Disney-fied"), that doesn't happen here. "Presto" is wickedly clever, and the madcap hijinks are guaranteed to have the viewer convulsed with laughter.This is a five minute short, so the story is simple. A magician forgets to feed his rabbit (that he pulls out of a hat), so when he goes to perform, the rabbit enacts his revenge.The key to the humor is the magician's magic hats: put something under one, and you can pull it out of the other. The short gets a lot of mileage out of this, but the short never repeats any of the gags.It's a given that a Pixar film is going to have great animation, and "Presto" is no different. But director Doug Sweetland is a master of slapstick comedy, and with no dialogue (like all the Pixar shorts), he manages to get everything he can out of each gag.If you want to laugh, see "Presto!" It's hysterical.

Included on the WALL-E (2008) DVD is another Oscar contender, albeit in the Animated Short category. Actually, it proved surprisingly even more satisfying than the occasionally maudlin main feature: 5 near-perfect minutes of non-stop hilarity involving an egocentric magician and his come-uppance during a stage performance by the proverbial rabbit-in-the-hat (when it is denied food). Highly inventive – especially funny is the struggle with the ladder, which recoils into the conjuror's groin – and (necessarily) fast-paced, it does that rare thing nowadays by genuinely evoking memories of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons from Warner Bros. While I have not watched the eventual Oscar winner in its category, I would say that PRESTO was equally deserving of the coveted statuette as WALL-E itself.

Like last year, I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated animated short films. However, unlike last year, in addition to the nominees, several "commended films" were also shown. In this review I'll make my predictions, though if it's anything like last year's choices, I'll probably once again pick the wrong shorts as my favorite for the award.PRESTO is a cute little short about a rabbit who is hungry yet his master, a magician, is unwilling to let him eat. After all, the show must go on and it's time for them to be on stage. But, being so very hungry, the rabbit decides to use a bit of prestidigitation himself and soon a battle ensues between bunny and magician--with hilarious results. In many, many ways, the film looks like a CGI version of an old Tex Avery cartoon--with lots of good old fashioned violence and silly mayhem.Overall, this was probably my second favorite of the nominated films. I loved the artwork (not surprising, considering it's a Pixar film) and the film was cute yet violent (a great combination if you ask me). There certainly wasn't much depth to it but you can't fault the Academy for selecting it as a nominee--it's state of the art and clever.Unlike the four other shorts that were nominated, this one actually received a very widespread release--being shown before the full-length film, WALL-E. Because of this sentiment and because the CGI is unbeatably good, it's probably the odds on favorite to win the Oscar. It's my second favorite of the nominees, as I slightly preferred THIS END UP--though I must admit its animation wasn't quite as good as PRESTO's. The reason I prefer this other film is because it had a very sick sense of humor and seemed much more creative--taking many risks. PRESTO, on the other hand, is a very typical Pixar release--a real crowd pleaser instead of an innovative or risk-taking film.UPDATE: LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES was the winner this year. Not surprisingly, I got this one wrong but at least saw the film as a strong contender.