Friday
29May2009
Movie Review - 'Up'
Friday, May 29, 2009 at 12:02AM | Up
Featuring the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, and Jordan Nagai  |
Up is the tenth Pixar movie in 14 years and the first one the company has ever made in 3-D. With the remarkable – perhaps even unmatched – reputation the studio has with its audience, Pixar has broadened the artistic horizons of mass appeal animation over the past few movies, especially last year's Wall-E. Even with the 3-D, Up is not the staggering technical achievement of that film, but it is likely more accessible and may feel more familiar, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
The story seems borne out of a childhood daydream: Tying thousands of helium balloons to a house and taking a joyride in the clouds to South America, all wit/eet on the ground, now filled with melancholia over never taking that trip with his late wife, Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner) pursues their shared dream of visiting Paradise Falls in Venezuela.
As children, Carl and his future wife Ellie looked up to the dashing explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who somewhat poetically vanished looking for a lost civilization over Paradise Falls, hence Carl's unending fascination. It is the common thread that links two kids who grow up and fall in love.
There is a montage early in the film that illustrates the life and memories that Carl and Ellie shared, filled with as much disappointment as happiness. It might be the most beautiful storytelling Pixar has ever envisioned. It will be hard for any other scene this year to match its depth and emotional impact. And somehow, it fits in perfectly with a fairly silly buddy action movie, involving a septaugenerian, a chubby kid who has stowed away on the floating house trying to earn merit badges as a Wilderness Explorer, and a talking dog.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in 3D, Animation, Pixar, Reviews, Up | Print Article | Email Article | 15 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (15)
Colin I must say - Until you saw the movie you thought that this could be the movie that ends Pixar's streak, that this could be the most unimaginative movie Pixar could make - and now you are eating your words. After I saw Finding Nemo I decided not to judge any Pixar movie before seeing it - coz I thought (based on the trailers) that Finding Nemo would be a big flop - no one would want to see a movie on fishes getting lost (boy was I wrong) - Nemo is my favoritest Pixar movie (dont know how Up matches up with Nemo)
It seems you really liked this movie, what keeps it from being 5 dirty apes?
I wouldn't say I'm eating my words, just that the trailers and clips were uninspiring. And they are. Happens all the time. I thought Australia looked great and it was bad, and we only need to go back a week to find a major disappointment in the finished product vs. the trailers.
I will say, though, that this isn't terribly imaginative by the recent standards of Pixar, but it's nice story that Pete Docter just tells the hell out of. That kind of movie always wins and you can't really predict it based on the trailer.
What's keeping it from Five Apes? It's my fifth favorite Pixar flick, and only three have gotten Five.
This movie is awesome. Thank you for posting this and telling me to see it. It was worth every penny.
Do NOT see this movie! It is horribly depressing and sad! My poor elderly in-laws were devasted!
What, did you leave nine minutes in?
WOW
Up was incredible what a beautiful wonderfully told story...
It was pure and real and truthful and just an inspiration!
What an emotionally impactful and exceedingly hilarious film...
I did not ever expect to witness such a story coming from an animation ..
I tell ya, Pixar and films such as these blow movies with humans and people out of the water, I mean it seems filmmaking in this area has greatly risen while real life human films are steadily progressing...
The only bad thing I have to say about UP is that it ended!!!
A must see!
YES COLIN the montage was amazing, I dont know if such minutes of a film will be so impactful in another movie this year... I sure hope so but it has big shoes to fill..
I found myself in tears after the montage and suddenly realized it, I myself was a bit in shock...
Tears? Any Tears Colin???? .... jus wondering .... lol
Yep.
There were so many deep moments in this film. Dug's innocent, blind love made it a total emotional roller coaster ride for me.
Crying Moments:
1. Opening montage: so touching and well done.
2. Mailbox/walker scene: you could feel Carl's remorse and the impending doom he sensed.
3. Russell's comment about car counting with his dad: "Sometimes the boring stuff is what I remember most." So poignant and sweet.
4. The 'final' adventure book: he was her adventure. :)
God - I'm a sap and I loved this movie.
Colin,
For years I have mostly disagreed with critics statements about movies but for some reason you hit the nail on the head. I am an avid listener to the Mike O' Meara show and look forward to your weekly review.
Up was an amazing movie that I was able to share with my 3 year old son. Not just your rating but also your insight into the film was perfect. I was surprised how emotional the film was. Many animated films do not go in that direction with such a deep emotional impact as Pixar did with Up. They also managed to somehow keep you laughing at the same time. I wish the rest of Hollywood was as imaginative with their films as Pixar is with theirs.
I cant w8 2 seeit
Yes, I know, I should've read the comments before watching this movie (I just returned from seeing it)... I cried like a little child, it was horrible and wonderful at the same time. Even now, 2 hours after seeing it, I remember the those few first minutes and my eyes swell up. Even through the whole film, I just saw a picture of the wife, or whn he said something to the house, or whenever actually, my eyes would swell up again.
Thanx Colin for giving it a great review. I never planned on seeing it because of the trailers. I changed my mind when you did your review (which I didn't read enterily because I don't like to ruin it). I was amazed by the 3-D quality and I totally agree with you on the real necessity of it (the movie doesn't need it at all, but wow does it look good).
I hate Pixar because they make me cry so easily (Red's Dream is an example of that).
We took our 8 & 9 year old kids to the movie expecting another funny, feel good Disney movie. Boy were we wrong! This movie had a lot of deep emotions and the opening montage covers everything from miscarriage to death. The CGI work, of course, is wonderful, but this is not the standard Pixar movie. My daughter was very depressed after the movie. There are too many deep emotions in this animated movied to think that this is just another kids movie. Read the reviews, adults are crying from the emotions, how do you think kids handle this? I am not an over protective mom, I just think the commercials do not portray the true depth of the movie. Great movie for older kids that understand death as you grow old and kids that have "absentee parents, not for the young kids that want another funny Pixar moive.