Exceeded my already sky-high expectations

Rating: 10/10 (23 June 2009)

At this point, I expect nothing less than excellence from Disney/Pixar. It's only natural after seeing them produce 9 high quality films in a row, a streak that is unmatched by any studio in Hollywood. And the greatest thing about their films is that they continue to mature from movie to movie, both in the animation and the storytelling. Culminating in last year's triumph, "Wall-E", Pixar showed us that they can take any story, and character, and make us care about them.
Well, the trend continues and then some with this summer's "Up". Like I alluded to earlier, this film continues the maturation trend that Pixar has shown throughout their existence. In fact, this could be the most mature 'children's film' since "Bambi", both in the themes that it covers and the way that it presents them. But part of the genius of these storytellers is that they can make an extremely mature film without it losing its innocence. I personally consider that to be the greatest achievement of the film, apart from the wonderful animation.
We are introduced to balloon salesman Carl Frederickson (Ed Asner, the best voice-over since Ellen DeGeneres) early on as the movie takes us joyfully, and painfully, through his life. His wife has passed, and he is now alone living around a construction zone. When an incident with a construction worker forces him to move to a retirement home, he has trouble leaving his house. So much trouble, in fact, that he decides to tie thousands of balloons to his house and soar away to South America, a dream he and his wife shared while she was still alive. But unknown to him upon takeoff, a precocious young boy named Russel was on his porch, and becomes an unexpected stowaway on the voyage.
Once in South America, Carl and Russel run into Carl's childhood hero, an exiled explorer accused of fabricating evidence of a "monster" in South America. The explorer vowed to leave the U.S. and not return until he found the monster. Pleasant company quickly turns unpleasant, however, after the explorer thinks that Carl and Russel have come to claim the monster for themselves, and a battle quickly ensues between the two parties. By the end of the struggle, Carl is able to learn valuable lessons about life, and the small adventures that often go overlooked.
The film is incredible, the animation is stunning, the voice-over work is tremendous, and the themes are timeless and important. 15 years ago, if anybody had said that an animation company who made films on a computer would become the most consistently successful film company in Hollywood, people would have laughed.
Nobody is laughing now. Or rather, everybody is. They're just all laughing with Pixar.
10/10