This is very close to being a truly wonderful movie. The visuals are stunning and achingly real. The performances, especially those of the young Max Records, James Gandolfini, Forest Whittaker and Catherine O'hara were superb. So what was missing? Oh my, the music. There was way too much music and it was mis-spotted and strangely inappropriate. Do we really need SONGS in a movie like this? If Mr. Jonze really wanted to distance his audience from the emotional impact of the film, he couldn't have chosen a better way than with this "score".
First, go see it in 3D. Second, just go see it. The visuals are stunning, the story is sweet and meaningful and the performances are top notch. Truly charming.