VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This is a 5-minute animated short film from Pixar that was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost to the entry with the longest runtime that year. The story is pretty simple. We do not have one one man band in this film, no, we have two. They are fighting for a little girl's affection, or I should probably say golden coin. Who's gonna prevail? Find out for yourself. The animation is pretty good (obviously a given with Pixar), quite a decent watch with the costumes etc. as well and the ending is funny too. Other than that that (and the priceless look on the girl's face when her coin is lost), I really only found it mediocre. But it's not bad either, so certainly worth a watch for animation lovers. Oh and for music lovers, for the tunes in here are pretty nice. But the music also had to be good as all the focus is on this aspect with no people talking. By the way, one of the writer/director duo won an Academy Award for "Brave" not too long ago and the other is enjoying a pretty prolific career too. You can see glimpses of their talent in this short movie. Recommended.

Stompgal_87 I remember seeing this short before 'Cars (my least favourite Pixar film so far)' at the cinema and whilst renting the first volume of Pixar Shorts on DVD, I enjoyed it more on my third viewing today than the first two.While the entire film takes place against a single background, it is relatively realistic if not as lifelike as the street in 'The Blue Umbrella' but the idea of using music as a duel is original, the musicians wear brightly-coloured outfits and the little girl is cute. The story had some sort of a 'will-she-or-won't-she?' moment when it came to the girl trying to decide which musician to pay or if she was going to throw the coins she got given at the end in the fountain. The music is authentic and very true to the instruments the musicians play. It also plays an effective part in telling the story since this short has no dialogue.All in all this is a simple, jolly and somewhat amusing short that was more substantial on my third viewing and preferable to the film it preceded. 9/10.

Jackson Booth-Millard Once again there was a short animated film from Pixar before the main Disney computer animated feature in the cinema, Cars. This one sees a busker on a stage, small, playing all his instruments hoping to get some money put in his cap. Along comes a little peasant girl ready to put her shiny gold penny in the near piazza water fountain, when the busker spots her and starts playing to tempt her to give it to him. Across the street however starts playing another busker with his assortment of string instruments, and the girl goes towards him to be tempted to cough up the cash. This need for attention from the little girl and for the penny is becoming a musical feud, and after a humorous rivalry the girl drops her coin into the nearby drain. The little girl is upset and wants her money back, but neither busker has a penny to give her, so she instead takes a violin off the second busker. She starts playing badly and trying to tune it, and she eventually plays well, and she ends up getting a whole sack full of coins. It looks like she might give the two buskers a coin each, but she instead tosses them both into the above high bird bath, and the film ends with them clambering on each other to get them. With some good music, amusing moments, and the same sense of heart has been put into a simple but affective tale for all the family to enjoy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film. Very good!

Polaris_DiB I don't think people really pay attention to Pixar shorts as something other than a bonus to Pixar features (this one coming before Cars), but these things are really great, even standalone. A lot of Pixar shorts involve a theme of personal struggle, usually for recognition or comfort in an empty or uncaring world. They tend to involve smaller characters that are lonely and helpless, but learn something in their struggle.This one is a fun mixture of those themes, involving two competing one-man-bands (or, rather, a one man band and a one man orchestra) who are hunting for the only available coin in an empty plaza... held by a little girl who wants the coin to go far. As the competition heats up they get further and further off track of what they're doing, ultimately fumbling in a predictable direction but one that is still wonderfully poignant.Another magical thing about Pixar shorts is that few of them have any dialog, thus showing character through action and expression. This one is great at that approach, and has a great musical score to back it up.I hope someday Pixar releases a DVD of just their shorts so that people can regard them away from their feature presentations. They really are great on their own.--PolarisDiB