Wednesday, March 18, 2009

UP! Game Launch Party



Have you seen the preview for the latest Pixar movie, UP? Well. At our house, we've watched the preview like maybe 5000 times. Because seriously, I have never met a kid as film obsessed generally, and Pixar obsessed specifically, as Ralph Blair.

So last week, when we were invited to attend the launch party for the UP video game, the whole family was beyond excited.
The party was fantastic — held in a perfect kid space called Kidville on the Upper West Side. There was a great place space with gym equipment. Balloon animals and face painting. Lots of food. Helium balloons everywhere — brilliant. And 3 screens setup where you could play the UP video game on either Wii or DS.




Right before dinner, the party attendees gathered in a screening room and Ronnie Del Carmen of Pixar, took us through 4 extended, unreleased clips from the movie. (It is so good. I can't wait to see the whole thing. The kids in the room — and adults as well — were all mesmerized as the balloons appeared and the house rose over the city.)

Once we were familiar with the characters from the movie, we were introduced to the video game by two developers from Heavy Iron. There are different versions for Wii and DS and we were able to learn about both.
My favorite part of either version of the game is how carefully the makers kept violence out of them. I also appreciated how the characters' behavior in the movie was reflected in the games. Very cool. You can check them out and even download a game demo here.


Ralph with Ronnie Del Carmen from Pixar. Ralph is a bit embarrassed of his bulging lower lip — he just had a "lip bumper" installed as part of his orthodontia. He's such a good sport.

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12 Comments:

Blogger Jenny@ L.O.T.s of Love said...

What fun! Can't wait to see it too!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 4:40:00 PM EDT  
Blogger jared stanley said...

wow. so cool.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 1:00:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gabby! You and your kiddos are SOO cute!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 8:54:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

ahhh, the lip bumper. it's been a few years since i've heard that term. that's exactly what i look like in every picture from 1984 -1987. Do you know how many of those (very expansive) pieces of wire I threw away with my lunch (by mistake, ahem.) too many.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 10:16:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Liz Stanley said...

how fun! love that last pic of you with all the kids. cute

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 10:19:00 AM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was great seeing you (briefly) at the event. My son was (literally) counting down the days to it!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 11:44:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Hilary said...

I laughed SO hard when the dog started "talking". I'm not too old for this film I guess.

It reminds me a lot of the movie Danny Deckchair. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 12:27:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Jennifer said...

Gabby-it is so wonderful to see you with all the kids in one shot--growing so quickly. I did not know how you manage it all.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 1:41:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow. You get to go to the coolest events. How do you wangle the invites?

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 2:22:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Rynell said...

We have some very Pixar obsessed people at our house too. Can't wait to see it!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 5:21:00 PM EDT  
Blogger simply kris said...

my kids and hubby would spin in jealousy... Me? i'm thrilling your fam got to do this. I think I need to move to NY.... so much to do there. Is that you in the background in the photo?

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 5:26:00 PM EDT  
Blogger The Frugal Muse said...

Wow- what incredible experiences your blogger fame is bringing for your family! I think that is awesome.

We're massive Pixar fans around here. Looking forward to seeing "Up"!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 9:19:00 PM EDT  

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