Up Review

Given all of the scathing, opinionated reviews of movies in particular that I often deliver, one may come to the conclusion that I'm some elitist jerk that can't find the slightest bit of entertainment in anything I watch. I'll admit, it's no secret that yes, most movies I end up watching that look like they'll interest me absolutely disgust me, particularly animated movies. I find most animated movies to be among the most annoying of movies often times. They're usually loud, boisterous, generally unfunny piles of trash with furry little animals running around and getting into madcap zany adventures with poorly told pop culture jokes that barely half, if any, of the intended target audience (young children) will even get. They don't serve any particular purpose; they're merely Looney Tunes shorts that run entirely too long and fail to capture even a fraction of the wit contained within those Looney Tunes classics. In summary, they're just damned obnoxious and they need to die a horrible death.

Thank God for Pixar, though.

This company mercifully doesn't fit the mold of what has become a typical 3D animated film these days. Pixar films have become the standard by which all other animated films should be judged over their long history, and rightly so. They continue to churn out excellent film after excellent film and Up is no exception. By touching upon simple themes that everyone can relate to, Up has managed to warm even my often cold, jaded heart. What makes Up such a success is in its simplicity. The film is only 90 minutes long and as such, very little time is wasted. It gets to the point right from the get go in its first 10 minutes.

Are you guys taking notes?

Carl Fredrickson, once a youthful child in the early 50s, enjoys a spirit of adventure as he and his best friend Ellie, who would eventually become his future wife, plan to visit Paradise Falls. Years pass and they grow old, Ellie eventually passes away and Carl grows remorseful that he could never keep their childhood promise and continues to live out a fairly lonely, mundane existence as an old man. The film does this beautifully in a musical motif that lasts only a few minutes, and instantly you get a sense of Carl's entire character without one whit of dialogue being spoken.

Eventually, Carl begins to realize that world is beginning to pass him by and he just doesn't feel the same anymore. He can't stand all of the construction going on around him, he can't understand why anyone would want to buy his house. In his refusal to let go of his house, he strikes a man with his cane and is forced to be sent off to a retirement home. Rather than be sent along, he reveals millions of balloons that uproot his house and he plans to fly away to Paradise Falls. Along the way he accidentally gets a stowaway in the form of Russell, a chubby little boy scout who, like many young children displays goofy eccentricities that otherwise annoy Carl. He talks too much. He asks too many questions. He's clumsy. He's well; he's what most little boys are like, including Carl himself, when he was a child. Most of the middle portion of the film is spent with just the two on their journey to Paradise Falls, with Carl reluctantly taking the boy along with little choice, although deep down inside, he does care for the kid. In order to transport the house to Paradise Falls he needs Russell's help in carrying it over there, by tying a string around both of their waists and literally dragging it over there while the balloons support it in the air.

The film is a treat, visually as well, displaying bright, beautiful colors and looks particularly gorgeous on a Blu-Ray if you have one.

Thus does Up subtly reveal it's moral lesson. Carl is not only literally tied to his house and his possessions, but rather he's tied emotionally to it as well. He can't let go. Of course, there's a token bad guy present as well, who doesn't play a particularly large role in story, however, his role is very important for displaying what Carl will eventually become if he doesn't let go. That's what makes Up such a brilliant story. Rather than beat you over the head with any particular plot points it wants to address, it tugs at the heart strings of all of us by subtle expression of common themes that people of all ages can connect with. Basically, it represents what Disney movies used to be, not to say that this is a serious film and that there's no place for humor at all. Of course the movie has it's fair share of humor; the exchanges between Russell and Carl in particular are hilarious. The reason why I don't mind the humor in Up is because the humor here works. The characters aren't trying to be cute and funny, they just are. Hence the difference between most Dreamworks swill and this.

Thank God for Pixar.