Although opening night at the Cannes Film Festival is usually dedicated to a French film, the 62nd annual event will be going in an entirely new direction. On May 13, a Disney production is getting the spotlight.

Up, the first animated feature to ever kick off the international event, is Pixar’s first PG-rated film since 2004’s The Incredibles. The comedy tells the story of a retired balloon salesman (voiced by Ed Asner) who decides to carry out his deceased wife’s dream of traveling to South America. Unfortunately, he accidentally takes an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer along for the ride.

The film, which is also being released in 3-D, was directed by Pete Docter, the same man who helmed Monsters, Inc. and co-wrote Toy Story. Up doesn’t officially debut until May 29, but you can read a few of the glowing reviews after the jump.

The Hollywood Reporter:  “Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, the gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it….But what gives Up such a joyously buoyant lift is the refreshingly nongimmicky way in which the [3-D] process has been incorporated into the big picture—and what a wonderful big picture it is.”

Roger Ebert:  “This is a wonderful film. It tells a story. The characters are as believable as any characters can be who spend much of their time floating above the rain forests of Venezuela. They have tempers, problems, and obsessions. They are cute and goofy, but they aren’t cute in the treacly way of little cartoon animals. They’re cute in the human way of the animation master Hayao Miyazaki.”

Time:  “And though it’s not yet summer, we can declare that Up, like WALL-E, will prove to be one of the most satisfying movie experiences of its year….Extending the patented Pixar mix of humor and heart, Up is the studio’s most deeply emotional and affecting work.”

Variety:  “Despite the sheer volume of incident and action required of any film that includes young kids as a major portion of its target audience, Up is an exceptionally refined picture; unlike so many animated films, it’s not all about sensory bombardment and volume. As Pixar’s process is increasingly analyzed, the more one appreciates the care that goes into the writing. The underlying carpentry here is so strong, it seems it would be hard to go too far wrong in the execution.”