Pixar in Concert

On the weekend Rochelle and I went to see Pixar in Concert at the Festival Centre – it's a show combining clips from Pixar films with the music from those scenes performed live, in this case by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

And it's brilliant. I wasn't sure what to expect, given that (despite being a film enthusiast) I'm not someone who pays that much attention to a film's score – though that's not to say I don't believe it to be important; quite the opposite. But it's on an almost subliminal level most of the time. Here, though, the music is at the forefront and the visual aspect only exists to provide context – there's no dialogue, even though several of the scenes have it in the original films.

It was a great way to experience just how important a score actually is – and then there was getting to experience some great film moments (including the legendary flashback montage scenes from UP; the opening credits of The Incredibles; the ratatouille scene from, well, Ratatouille; and the ending of Toy Story 3) with the extra emotive power of music.

Our only complaint was that it wasn't long enough. Oh, and I found myself annoyed about the recently announced Toy Story 4, which I believe to be perhaps the most unnecessary and downright counterintuitive sequel conceived since The Matrix Reloaded.

And, despite thinking the music was quite good, it did not change my mind about not having seeing either of the Cars films; despite being okay with films about toys that come to life, anthropomorphic insects, alternate universe monsters who use screams as a power source, anthropomorphic sea creatures, superheroes, anthropomorphic (and gastronomic) mice, surprisingly emotional robots, aeronautical geriatrics (with talking dogs) and Scottish tribespeople with access to magic, I can't cope with the idea of anthropomorphic (and, more importantly, somehow capable of existing despite the apparent non-existence of humans) cars.

All of that aside, it's a great experience. They're doing them all over the world – dates/places can be found here – so if you get a chance to see it, you should.