Movie Review: Up

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Laughs; real characters tell a heart warming story

Cons: Only minor: death and divorce are background for the main characters

The Bottom Line:

Looking for…Squirrel…

Heart felt moments and some laughs?

You'll enjoy this film

Pixar Soars Once Again with Up

Pixar fanboy that I am, I must admit I haven't been as impressed with their last couple of offerings.  Yes, I enjoyed them, but they weren't homeruns.  From the moment I saw the first previews for Up, however, I began to get excited.  I was hoping this would be a return to form.  I just got back from watching it for the first time, and I must excitedly shout that it is.

When Carl Fredricksen was young, his hero was Charles Muntz.  Charles was a world renowned explorer.  It was that love that lead him to Ellie, a girl who also idolized Charles.  The two eventually married.

The years went by, and the two never did fulfill their life long dream of visiting Paradise Falls in South America.  By the time our story really begins, Carl (voiced now by Ed Asner) is a lonely old man.  The land around his house has been sold to a developer who seizes on one action by Carl to take away his house, too.

The night before Carl has to leave, however, he seizes on an opportunity.  He blows up hundreds of helium balloons and sets out for South America.  He has a stowaway in the form of Russell (Jordan Nagai), a Wilderness Explorer looking to get his badge for helping the elderly.  Together, the two set out on a wild adventure that includes a giant bird and Dug, a talking dog (Bob Peterson).  Will they reach Paradise Falls?

So let's get the negative out of the way first.  This movie is fairly predictable.  I guessed most of the major plot points for the first two thirds of the film not too far into it.  But, as always, the ride through those elements is absolutely wonderful.  And the movie features the return of Pixar's patented climax that will not quit.

The movie expertly balances comedic and tender moments.  There are quite a few moments that had the audience I was with laughing out loud.  This is especially true when Dug shows up.  He is hysterical.  I loved the running gag with him getting distracted by thinking he saw a squirrel.

Yet, this is movie filled with tender moments as well.  That's true right from the start as we watch a wordless montage of Carl and Ellie over the years.  I was tearing up by the end of that, marveling once again about the power of images to move us without a single word.  And yes, the final scenes moved me as well.  As much as Carl tries to present himself as a curmudgeon, it is obvious early on he has a very tender heart.  And we see that over and over again, especially the scene when Russell starts talking about his divorced home life.

This wouldn't be a review of a new Pixar film if I didn't rave about the visuals.  Fortunately, they continue to build on their past success.  There are some truly stunning scenery shots.  And the fog effects used several times in the movie are amazing.

Equally good are the voice talent.  Ed Asner has made a career out of playing the not so tough curmudgeon (Lou Grant anyone?).  He absolutely nails Carl.  New comer Jordan Nagai is funny as Russell.  And praise must go to co-director Bob Peterson for his work as Dug and another character.  As I said, Dug makes the movie even better, so it would have been a loss without him.  Speaking of other characters, I do have to praise Christopher Plummer in a mystery role.  (I'm trying not to spoil anything here.)  And yes, John Ratzenberger gets his usual cameo.  I was glad to see him show up rather early this time around so I didn't have to keep looking for him.

Parents of young kids might want to note a storm sequence early on that might scare easily frightened young kids, although it isn't on screen very long.  As I mentioned before, the story does deal with death and divorce as background elements to the main characters.  The movie itself is rated PG for mild peril, and that's really all we get.  As long as your kid doesn't frighten easily, there's nothing here to object to in the slightest.

And I can't forget "Partly Cloudy" the new short that premiers before the movie.  It shows us the poor stork who is stuck delivering all the babies who aren't quite so cute and cuddly.  It's not the best Pixar short, but it's certainly fun.

Up is an uplifting movie (I resisted the pun as long as I could.  Sorry.) that will make you laugh and send you out of the theater wanting to hug the ones you love.  I think I'm going to have to go back and catch it again in the theater.

3D Update: A couple days after I saw this movie for the first time, I went back to the theater with a couple of friends to enjoy it in 3D.  The story was just as good the second time around.  Some of the 3D shots were beautiful, but there are no shots that make it absolutely necessary that you see the movie in 3D.  So catch it that way if you can, but if it's too much trouble or money, enjoy it in 2D.  Either way, enjoy this film.