WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

aimless-46 "You get to be the dreamer, all I'll ever be is the dream" says Loretta Modern (Spencer Redford) wistfully in the climatic scene of what is perhaps the most lyrical and intellectually ambitious film Disney has ever made. Lurking beneath its technological showcase and tame teen angst storyline, "Pixel Perfect" (2004) contains a rather deep allegorical take on an existential theme. It explores the isolation of someone who gradually realizes that they do not belong in the world. It is allegorical because Loretta really does not belong, she is a holographic rock star created by Roscoe ("Phil of the Future's" Ricky Ullman) through an experimental process his father's has developed. His friend Samantha's band, the Zettabytes, needs a front man (technically a front woman as this is an all-girl group) and Loretta has been assembled from a variety of sources to meet this need. This proves a mixed blessing to Samantha as she quickly becomes extremely jealous of Loretta's popularity and the attention she is getting from her creator. Understandable since Loretta was designed to transcend Samantha's limitations."Tron" (1982) and "Electric Dreams" (1984) are the film's obvious predecessors, and there is even a little bit of HAL from "2001 A Space Odyssey". But what appears to have started it all was the 1967 Star Trek television episode "Metamorphosis" in which a strange energy cloud called "The Companion" merges with the dying Commissioner Hedford (Elinor Donahue) to become human. There are several nice "Tron" - like special effects excursions into the world of bits and bytes; as well as a scene inside Samantha's mind. Like Edgar and HAL, Loretta soon begins to transcend her basic programming and develop human emotions.But Loretta goes somewhere else, into the world of films like "Carnival of Souls" (1962) and "The Incredible Shrinking Man". Taking on the concepts of human alienation, loss of identity, and separation from society. The film's best song "Notice Me" goes to this theme. As it was for a shrinking Scott Carey ("The Incredible Shrinking Man"), for Loretta getting to the outside (getting to feel the rain) is symbolic of no longer being constrained by limitations.The ending was a little too vague and pulls its punches. But what actually occurs is that Loretta gives up her identity to save Samantha. Loretta must subordinate herself to merge with and heal Samantha. The new Samantha appears unchanged but has taken on a lot of what was Loretta. The allegorical resolution is the realization that loss of identity is freedom, that you are not alone because you are a part of something bigger-and this is what Loretta discovers she wants more than anything else-despite being programmed to simply be a performer. Redford's take on Loretta may remind you of the character Tamara Hope played in "Stepsister from the Planet Weird" (2000). Until I checked out the two casts I thought it was the same actress. Things tend to bog down when Loretta is not in a scene. Girls appear to be the primary target audience of this film although boys and adults with active brain cells who are willing slow down long enough to examine its message should be entertained as well.Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Gracelovesmovies I rated it 9 because it deserves much more than the 5.6 it has at the moment. The songs are catchy and meaningful, and the acting is commendable. Although the first time i watched it (I've caught it over 4 times) I found Sam a tad irritating, it's easy to relate to the feeling of living in someone's shadow.The graphics in the internet highway and Sam's imagination were really good, but during performances or the dinner date, the graphics looked a bit too exaggerated and cheap. (perhaps as not to be taken seriously) Another thing that could have been changed slightly would be the dance routines which did not really work with the songs. Other than these very small "faults", the show was very touching and as with all Disney movies, there is a moral to the story. Very much worth watching as a filler for a Sunday evening with the family or friends.

Taynna I'm not sure who should be blamed for this debacle - in truth, the acting isn't too bad and the story isn't as terrible as some made-for-Disney movies have been. The story itself is shallow and undeveloped but that isn't surprising in a film of this type. The acting is more than a bit two-dimensional, but I give the actors credit for managing to do anything with the material that they had to work with.However, it's inexcusable, in my book, to base an entire storyline on the theory that they've created a 'perfect' pop star and then cast an actress who can't sing to save her life. If the girl can't sing, have someone who can record the music!This actress is a TERRIBLE singer - she was so flat she was usually singing in a totally different key!

ARCHTECHFL After all the droll of the Mowry movies on Disney Channel, Pixel Perfect turned out to be a breath of fresh air. I'm pleased to say that the only times I fast forward on the tape are to skip the commercials.The main characters were all well-defined. Rachel and Cindy seemed in the movie for relief and to chip in the occassional comment; Roscoe's dad had a little more character to him. Loretta's struggle to obtain some sort of humanity was somewhat old since I'd seen this concept on "ST: Voyager" with the EMH, but with Sam, Roscoe's best friend turned girlfriend, thrown in, the combination was not that bad.The music in the movie struck me as hokey sometimes. I could tell that in some sequences, it seemed that the vocals were just coming out of the air instead of Loretta's mouth. One of the best songs was "Get Real" with its jazzy, high-tech melodies. What really surprised me was the score by Philip Marshall, which reached its high point in the end with a nice flute undertone; it made the end of the movie very poignant.The exploration of human relationships was well-done for a Disney movie. Here, Sam and Roscoe were dealing with real issues, Roscoe with having trouble seeing the benefits of reality in Sam while distracted with Loretta, and Sam dealing with her jealously with Loretta and trying to > convince Roscoe "I'm real." Life may not be fun, but when someone real like Sam comes along, live