The Stork was awesome, great performance.

I thought it was actually really strong. To me Boundin’ had too much heart and not enough funny. One Man Band’s story felt too much like a student film. I was worried about the Pixar shorts until Presto came along. That one revitalized the Pixar short with great humor and now Partly Cloudy got it just right with the mix of humor and heart Pixar is known for. I hope they keep it up. I would actually like to see more shorts from them instead of just one a year. It would be cool to see them in front of more Disney movies.

Easily their best short to date.

I agree with the idea that PIXAR should do more shorts. Perhaps even introduce re-occurring characters ala the Warner Bros & Disney classic shorts.

The Pixar shorts remind me of the Silly Symphonies…clever and endearing minatures that serve as a workshop for Pixar’s staff to hone their skills. I think this is the first short I’ve seen that reinforces (or foreshadows, if you prefer) one of the themes of the feature it’s attached to…that the sky is the path to adventure.

The short looked gorgeous – especially the clouds – but the story was weak. It’s ironic that someone said “One Man Band” felt like a student film, because that was the feeling I got from “Partly Cloudy”: a nifty idea for a student film, but not in the league of previous shorts like “Presto” or “For The Birds.”

Fantastic ! ! !
Good stuff all around.

I enjoyed “Partly Cloudy” in the theater. It seems wrong to complain since hardly anyone else is even making theatrical shorts (that make it to the theaters), but I’d like to see shorts that had more story to them as the golden age shorts did. I suppose the budget doesn’t allow for longer running time and I imagine the story department is fully occupied keeping all the plates in the air for the features, but it would be fun to see some shorts that develop a premise more.

I like the idea and I like the music.

It’s just a winning idea, and so well executed. The designs of the little animals and babies are cute, although a little “American Greetings”, but the alligator made me laugh out loud even before he moved.

I thought it was fantastic. Gorgeous design and color, sweet sentiment and simple story…(why is that bad?) Plus, I guffawed aloud at the well timed gags. The audience seemed very happy too. I loved it. Bravo, Pixar!

I think the animation is to much gorgeous for a story that just sucks.

I found some very funny parts with the weird animals but this short is way to vapid and soppy for me. To much pink and too many sweetlittlecutepuppies for little girls…
I remember a time when Pixar wasn’t afraid to take risks and when making money wasn’t the main goal. Now it’s a huge studio, the shareholders want money, so they are making Cars 2 to sell more toy cars and i’m pretty sure we will find those cutelittlepuppies in Disney Stores pretty quickly… I’m sad.

I really enjoyed this little film (more than Up). I thought the idea was clever and somewhat original, but also a nice subtle throwback to similar-themed films like Fleischer’s (Famous Studios) The Stork Market, which I absolutely loved as a kid.

Spoilers ahead…

The pantomiming performances from whoever animated the stork and the outcast cloud were excellent, and I loved both their little Popeye-like utterances. The shark moment was a nice climax point for the stork to have to begin solving his problem–even I was scared!

It’s a pretty short film, and it’s conscious of that fact, showing no attempts at telling an epic story. All-in-all I was delighted by it, and found that I cared more for the stork and the cloud than for Carl and Russell (if you can believe it). It’s a little tale of unconditional friendship, and the effort you need to put forth to get along with a good friend who thinks differently from you.

My favorite Pixar short film is still Boundin’–I love how it tells its story through a song, and also the art direction and voice acting.

My problem with this — and yes, the animation and design and execution are excellent — is that the light-colored clouds get to make cute little puppies and kitties and human babies, and the single dark cloud is the one that produces “troublesome” infants. Why are these events less “blessed” than the others?

I loved it. The same heart that was in Up found its way into this short. One thing… I don’t like how the cloud got overly mad, then overly upset. I felt this was just a, “this is why it rains” kinda thing. I would have liked to see something a lot more subtle.

A simple story, well-told. I think the broadness of the characterizations kept me from connecting very deeply with the characters. The subtle, honest facial expressions are what sold “Tin Toy,” “For The Birds,” and “Geri’s Game” for me, and “Partly Cloudly” lacks those fine emotional details. Still, it brought a grin to my face.

Now David D, I can see how you could wonder about the racial connotation of the white v. dark clouds, but I think the association of dark clouds with troubled times has more to do with weather and agriculture than with race.

Cute !!!

I found Partly Cloudly was a little disappointing. I don’t mind stories with cute lovable characters but the theme “don’t hurt other’s feelings because it makes them sad” is a little weak.
It felt like the climax was nothing more that a soft pillow where at the end, no one changes, the dark cloud learns that if he throws a hissy fit he’ll always get his way. The storks are rehashed stock disneyesque characters who’s only role is provide bland humor to a useless theme.

For some reason, as much as I enjoy the features that Pixar produces, their short films never seem to grab me at all, apart from maybe Presto and Your friend the Rat.
Honestly, I felt pretty indifferent about Partly Cloudy, although I realise it’s probably aimed more for the kids.

The resolution ruined the whole short for me…the cloud made him football pads?…common…they KNEW that was a grab at nothing for a resolution.
Which is also why they threw in the contrived scene of the cloud putting a football helmet on the puppy at the beginning. It had nothing to do with anything. They just threw it in there to somehow justify a poorly thought out ending.

Theologically: Disturbing
Cinematically: Flawless.

Thank you :)

I like how all the babies in that town were concieved on the same night!

Technically, its great. But overall, I have to say this is the most disturbing Pixar short I have ever seen. The whole plot is based on an idea fluffier than those clouds. I saw it with a friend, and we couldn’t figure out what the point of it was. I don’t mean any disrespect to Peter Sohn, but this one just isn’t my cup of tea.

I wonder if all the comments would be the same if this were a blind taste test… if the name “Pixar” was removed from the opening.
That luxo logo tends to poison the water hole anymore.

(Oh, and Billy Batz, every creature pictures has a different gestation period, so the miracle is that they were all conceived at different times to be delivered simultaneously. Plus, Alligators hatch from eggs. Yes, I’m over-thinking it.)

Presto felt like someone had finally captured what was great about the old Warner shorts and then packaged it in a gorgeously made 3D animation. Cloudy felt like a step backward to me. Not bad, just not raising the bar.

The lack of dialogue seemed odd to me. It felt as if there was a “no talking” rule that the director was trying to get around and it made the pantomime felt very forced. Then I thought back and realized that almost all of Pixar’s shorts(“Jack-Jack Attack” and” Mike’s New Car” excepted) are the same way, which works for some and doesn’t for others. For this one, it didn’t. I know, “My Friend the Rat” and “Boundin’” both had V.O. but that doesn’t count in my book.

I saw it with the glasses. Gorgeous. I didn’t like the ending. I didn’t like the poor stork continue getting tortured as he is so likeable.

Did I say UP was fantastic? Well it was. An example in good storytelling..nothing was throwaway.

Cute short, beautifully animated, but on the whole just pretty good; not up to Pixar’s usual standards. (Or, if you want to implement Tim Hodge’s idea above, you can end that sentence at “pretty good”.)

I did enjoy the short, but I just can’t agree with the more enthusiastic reviews here. Part of it, no doubt, is due to the subjective nature of comedy; while I thought most of the gags were pretty funny, I didn’t think they approached the level of those in “Presto” or “Knickknack”. I also agree with Aaron that the lack of dialogue felt forced, and personally I didn’t care for the Littlest Pet Shop design of the cuddly baby animals, but those are minor quibbles.

The main problem, though, is related to the point David D made: Why is this one cloud, darker and lower than the others, making all the problem deliveries? Is it less competent, having a bad day, being punished? Some will no doubt say that I’m overthinking things, but I can’t help it: in a film so focused on the relationship between this cloud and its stork, questions about how things got to be the way they are drag me out of the film.

Even so, I did chuckle at most of the gags, I admired the animation and the music, and I smiled at the faithfulness of the stork; being a pretty good cartoon may make it among the weakest of Pixar’s shorts, but it’s still a pretty good cartoon.

im surprised nobody’s mentioned this yet.. or perhaps i didnt catch it while reading through the comments..

*POTENTIAL SPOILERS*

but for me, i think this resonated with the way our economy is going right now, and the lack of job availability..

that no matter what comes at you in your job (the stork working for that cloud) you need to be prepared for it and keep at it (the stork getting equipment on him at the end) because any job is a good job right now!

Sweet short, too short as it is so cute.

It was alright. Pretty to look at. Neat-o rendering of the cloud characters (behind nearly every Pixar short is some tech R&D goal). Gags were amusing, but not guffaw funny. Story was about what one can expect from a short. A decent middle of the road short film. Not sure it’s Oscar territory good, but if it wins worse things have happened in the world.

I saw it twice — made me laugh twice — made the entire theatre laugh twice. Say all you want about it — bottom line is that it got positive reactions out of the audience.

A lot of people here might make pretty good storm clouds! I found the story to be clear and concise. The audience and I laughed. Very well done.

It was really well done. But it was crap, because I would have done things differently, and I’m a genius. You’re welcome.

@ J. Encea:

Yeah, I know I know… we shouldn’t miss the point that THIS is a cartoon. But I was mildly shocked that the people of Pixar went further with the “storck cliché” than in any other short I remember seeing.

I just can’t help thinking that this short prompted a few awkward moments for some poor parents who still rely on the stork story to avoid telling their kiddies about the birds and the bees ;-)

We all have varying sensibilities for sure–I didn’t find Presto to be very funny (though everyone else seemed to)…Partly Cloudy at least made me chuckle.

What robcat2075 had stated is the same problems I have about today’s cinema versus the way it had been in the past. You don’t see the opening credit sequence much anymore, or the music that leads you to the film itself as there seems to be this attitude over getting the people into the film right away (no doubt the ads and trailers beforehand already stalled enough time as it is). Course then it bugs me to see extended end credit sequences that resemble what the openings should’ve been because they felt that was the only place left they could credit the main guys before going into the usual scroll for the rest (while every has left the theater for good).

Nothing wrong with a little one-two filmmaking. Setup-punchline is perhaps the oldest and best way of telling a short story. Presto is still far-and-away my favorite short by Pixar, but this was cute and enjoyable.

“I prefer the formulaic Jack Hanna’s Donald Duck late 50’s cartoons than this! Wait a minute! I even prefer the Paul Smith Wood Woodpecker’s cartoons than this”

I prefer to have ANY cartoon short before a movie. Did you know there are children in this world who have NO animated shorts before Dreamworks films? So just sit there quietly and quit playing with your shorts.

(hmmm – that didn’t come out right)

I think it’s unfortunate that some commenters think that the story and characters are weak. Or that people think that the resolution was throw-away or that the gags were the set-up for the payoff.

These are the thoughts I got from watching the short:

Pixar was re-telling essentially a “fairy tale” – that babies are dropped off by storks. And as with most fairy tales, they are targeted towards children, but contain truths and deep lessons that even adults can appreciate: don’t judge others based on appearances (Ugly Duckling), be honest and genuine (Boy who cried wolf), etc.
In this short, the dark cloud was the kid who never fit in, the person that people may not like because of appearances, the special intricacies and faults that others may not necessarily like. Maybe the person who does the unappreciated: the garbageman, the dishwashers, or the social workers. Maybe the person filling the world with beauty, and goes by without a notice or a request for recognition. It’s a character I hope we all relate to. Bill said it right: “A lot of people here might make pretty good storm clouds!”

This lonely cloud finds a lonely friend, the stork. No one else in the sky wants anything to do this cloud, and maybe they never even gave it a second thought. But this stork comes back again and again.
Then things get hard. Things get painful. It’s not easy an easy job for the stork, and he probably has all the right in the world to leave this cloud – simply out of a sense of self-preservation. He has a right to be envious and jealous. And no one was assigning storks or assigning clouds, so that’s why the cloud got angry and upset: he thought the last friend who would put up with him had chosen something easier over him. We all understood the stork when he flew away, and we all thought, “Yeah, I understand the exasperation in his face…”

But we learn that the stork never intended to leave. I would argue that he never even entertained the thought of it. He took a quick break for the sole purpose of getting ready for the next one. He went and armored up so that he could be an even better friend and partner for this cloud. His only sense of self-preservation was to get protection for himself SO THAT the cloud could continue creating adorable sharks and eels and porcupines and sharing them with the world.
This stork embraced the uniqueness of the cloud and marveled at the special beauty of his creations. That’s why every time he came back, he had outstretched arms. That’s why he Ooohh’ed at the eel. He loved this cloud, was completely devoted to him, and constantly waded into dangerous waters to support his friend’s craft – to help his friend make the world more beautiful in his own little way.
And when the going got tough? He suited up, got himself ready, and was at it again.

That’s the story. That’s the plot. That’s the payoff.

I’ve been lucky enough to have friends in my life who embrace the darker and painful parts of me. And when it’s burdensome for them, they take a break only so that they can come back and support me even better in the future. They’re in it for me to thrive and live a life of meaning.
To me, that’s beautiful.

I think that message transcends the use of dialogue. I think that’s something you can’t teach kids outright, as didactic as this short can seem to be. I think it’s a story and a message that is best understood when you allow it to inspire you. I think children understand that faithfulness, and I think we adults would do well in remembering it too. We probably weren’t taught as kids, “Be sacrificial in loving your friends.” I think somewhere along the line, as we were growing up, we were inspired by someone’s example – and it stuck with us.

Pixar is internationally loved and distributed, so please don’t think it’s “high-brow” of Pixar to stop using dialogue. They do it so their stories can more easily transcend cultures and ages. They use their gags to entertain, and they use these jokes and gags as stepping stones to their story. (Right? The crocodile and the porcupine were funny gags to illustrate the plight of the poor stork and how hard it was for him to continue choosing to support the cloud. And things like the helmet were probably established early on to tell us that the clouds are able to create more than just animals. @Frank)

The reason I love Pixar so much is not that they’re technically better than other 3D animators or that they’re funnier. The reason I love Pixar is that Story is central to all of their films, and in their pursuit of the best story, they achieve the best looking and funniest films anyway.