Pixar soars again

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2009)

"Up" is a winner, and I couldn't be less surprised. Anyone still putting a limit on how new and inventive they think a Pixar film can be deserves to have their socks blown off. For the rest of us, just buy a ticket and expect to be taken away. This new flick is the work of writers/directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, two guys who have each been around the making of Pixar flicks before. Docter was a director on "Monsters Inc", a writer on "Toy Story" and a co-writer and director on "Wall*E." Peterson was a writer on "Finding Nemo". Both know the guidelines for success and while "Up" doesn't reach the heights of say a "Wall*E" or a "Toy Story", it's still a fantastic movie because, well, I don't think the people Pixar hires know how to make anything other than fantastic movies.
This one is about Carl Fredericksen (Edward Asner), a 78-year old retired balloon salesman living alone in a house full of old memories. Carl and his wife Ellie met each other as young children, both enamored by the newsreels about adventurer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). They eventually married and planned on seeing the world together, especially Paradise Falls in South America, but life kept getting in the way and before he knew it, Ellie died.
As the world changes, Carl refuses to change with it. When developers threaten to move him out of his house and into a retirement home, the old codger rigs his house up with thousands of balloons and before you can say "way to go Carl", he floats away, determined to have the adventure he and his wife never had. He doesn't plan on taking 8-year old chubby wilderness explorer Russell (Jordan Nagai) with him or crash landing on the other side of Paradise Falls, or finding an exotic female snipe (that Russell names Kevin) or a group of talking dogs (one named Dug befriends them) tracking down the bird for Muntz, who it turns out is a sinister villain, but things kinda turn out that way.
You're grabbed instantly. The adorable opening montage of the Carl and Ellie love story is more endearing and moving in its dialogue-less 10-minute entirety than any other romance this year by a long shot. This is another Pixar flick that goes in a daring direction. We next see Carl as a heartbreaking old man, his wife dead and the world no longer needing him. You forgive him his bitterness and you love him for the sentimental streak he has towards the things he and his wife shared together. His crabbiness is a little funny but there are also some heavy scenes early on as well. It sets up a beautiful, multi-layered story about enduring love and learning to live life without limits.
When a thrilling rainstorm crashes Carl and Russell on the other side of Paradise Falls, the two must each harness themselves to the house floating above them. The characters each look terrific and share a good chemistry. Russell is the usual 8-year old kid, talkative, inquisitive, and annoyingly overeager. He is a good comic foil to crabby Carl, his big, rosey smile and plump round stature a counter to the stout, frowningly square-faced Carl. As the two spend more time together, a wonderfully written friendship develops.
The movie is full of visual gags and the talking dog-henchmen are great fun. Muntz, an adventurer who travels around the world in a big blimp, offers a menacingly evil villain to chase Carl and Russell through rough mountainous terrain before the exciting final house vs. blimp in-air showdown. Plus the movie looks fantastic, a lush array of candy color and grand scenery. And the vocal cast, from Edward Asner to Christopher Plummer and Jordan Nagai each deftly voice their roles. "Up" is one of the year's rare treasures, a movie that flies in every way possible and from Pixar, you shouldn't expect anything less.