Movie Review: Disney Pixar’s UP

By Kevin Coll • May 29, 2009 • 3 Comments

A wonderful adventure tale, Pixar’s UP, continues the tradition of not only Walt Disney’s ability to bring classic well versed storytelling to the screen but it continues Pixar’s tradition of bringing pioneering animation combined with well crafted master storytelling that immerse audiences everywhere. A narrative spectacle with such imagination it is seemingly two stories put together very well and brings the audience into the world of Carl Fredricksen, a man who throughout his whole life dreamed of adventure with the woman he loved.

That is where the movie starts off, as a love story, revolving around a childhood friendship between a young Carl Fredricksen and Ellie, both of whom were brought together by their admiration for their hero, the adventurer Charles F. Muntz, a beacon of hope for a down-and-out American public that becomes accused of lying about an impossible archeological find. Ellie and Carl begin to fall in love and the first 15 minutes of the film shows a montage of their life together ultimately ending with a tear. In traditional Disney fashion, with every laugh you have a tear and the beginning of the film is no exception which completely grabs you in immediately making you care about Fredrickson, and understanding why as an old man he is grouchy.

This is where the second part or story of the film begins and in the spirit of a Walter Mathau and Spencer Tracy film. We find the Ed Asner voiced Fredrickson as a grumpy retired balloon salesman who is forced to leave his home that he and his wife spent a lifetime building and living together. In an effort to fight against leaving his home and fulfill his lifelong dream of adventure he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure.

The film with its well crafted animation, adventure and action is seemingly about life. It’s the funniest film that Pixar has ever made, and also one of the most beautiful. A main character that is an amazing hero, Carl Fredricksen, is 78 years old and he travels the world in a flying machine of his own design and still has dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon. He’s the most unlikely hero you can imagine in an action picture.

The film has real true emotion and resonates in some way with our own life. Even though the stars of the film are “animated” humans and talking dogs, you identify with those characters on the screen and you understand what they’re going through. It’s important to have that foundation of real truth and an emotional attachment to the characters.

The movie is about discovering that life’s true adventure can be found not in travel, which Carl has dreamed of, or great accomplishments which is what Russell and Muntz wish, but in the everyday relationships that we have with friends and family. The film odes itself to director, Pixar veteran, Pete Docter and it should be no surprise that this film is the best Pixar movie to date, even better than Toy Story being that Docter developed the story and characters for Toy Story, Pixar’s first full-length feature film, for which he also served as supervising animator and wrote the initial story treatment for Toy Story 2.

Unsurprisingly, Pixar does no wrong in this movie. The vocal performances of Asner, Plummer and the young Nagai, bring enthusiasm, warmth and believability to the characters and the story. Michael Giacchino’s traditional score is superlative with a beautiful theme as it sweeps the action along as well harnessing the emotional heartstrings of everyone in the theater. Lastly, every character in the film is as memorable as previous Pixar characters with the lovable golden mutt living in the wilds of Paradise Falls, Dug, the talking dog and the rare flightless bird, Kevin, who is hidden from the world in its natural habitat, Paradise Falls.

UP, is a movie that is worth watching because when you go home you are still thinking about it. This is a film when you leave the theater and you’re not only  thinking about it the next day, but this is one I will be thinking about next year. Immensely satisfying, UP, restores my faith in Pixar after my disapointment in Wall-E’s preachy story and uninteresting characters. UP is the best movie of 2009 and will be hard to beat.

Total Score: 10 out 10

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