Mac Miller is a famous Pittsburgh native rapper with multiple acclaimed albums like “Swimming” and “Circles,” who tragically died in 2018 at 26 years of age. His genres extend past rap: he has fused jazz, alternative rap, hip-hop, soul, and synthwave. His albums are sometimes very different and show the progression through his personal and artistic life.

Miller’s second posthumous album, “Balloonerism,” has officially dropped. Before that, Miller’s estate decided to show the film the album is based on for one day only in select theatres. Only two theatres in the USA showed the film: one in New York City and the other at Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA, Miller’s hometown.

Tickets were only five dollars, and buyers could only select two for the Pittsburgh show. There were two times, one at 7:00 pm and one at 9:00 pm, in which both were sold out. All proceeds benefited the Mac Miller Fund, which provides programming and resources to underserved communities. The event also gave away free popcorn and drinks and included a free merch poster and t-shirt of the new album.

For the viewing, we sat in the science center’s Rangos Giant Cinema, which consists of a 71-by-39-foot screen that showed 4k images with intense colors and a sound system that has 49 speakers, something not normal for a giant screen. The film was roughly thirty minutes, but with the fierce images and intense sound, it was a super enjoyable time.

The overall film is structured around a group of childhood friends (presumed to be Miller’s friend group) who are sucked into this musical world by a synthesizer. In this world, childhood friends are turned into forest animals as they navigate this trippy, almost enchanted world. The claymation approach in the film allowed mesmerizing shots to take place, which showed the genius creativity and art done in the movie. The only dialogue in the film is Mac Miller’s recorded voice singing his songs on the new album. It’s almost like a thirty-minute music video of multiple songs. Still, it did not hinder the genuinely amazing images the animators could shoot, and at times, I was more focused on the pictures than genuinely focusing on the new songs being played. However, the sound and pictures do not overpower one another; they complement each other very well to help the viewer navigate the short story of the childhood friends.

Rating: 5/5

Any posthumous artwork shared with the world is already an emotional roller coaster. However, the art was deeply impactful with its existential storyline of growing up with childhood friends, with intense depictions and animations that help correlate to the overall feeling of coming-of-age. Miller’s voice brought this film to life, and his profound message was delivered to a broader movie-going audience.