Pixar Soars To New Heights.

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2019)

'Up' has become only the second animated film in history to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It did not win, but was the nomination worth it? It sure was.
One thing I have always loved about the Disney production is that the movies they make show a tremendous amount of humanity. That is the essence of this. I absolutely adored the love story between Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) and his wife, Ellie. It opens up with them as children that aspire to explore the world, much like their hero, Charles F. Muntz (Christopher Plummer). They plan on one day travelling to the mystical Paradise Falls in South America--a promise Carl keeps. It then leads to a four minute montage of Carl and Ellie's lives together. At four minutes and silent, it certainly seems like a life well-lived. It goes through everything from them as children to the time of Ellie's death. Along with its lovely score by Michael Giacchino, this silent montage of life with Ellie is sure to make the viewer weep. We feel the effects of this scene long after it ends. Afterwards, faced with being forced to an old-age home, Carl decides to tie thousands of balloons to his house and float to Paradise Falls like he and his wife had always dreamed about. The house symbolizes Ellie helping her husband reach his destination. It is almost like her spirit inhabits the house. And with the thousands of balloons helping the house float, it is such a sight to behold. True beauty.
Carl meets a child named Russell who wants to help Carl to earn a badge in assisting the elderly, much like an angel getting his wings. When the house floats, it takes Russell along for the ride. They wind up a distance from Paradise Falls, but must walk the house to their destination. Now here is where the movie gets silly: Russell wants to keep a unique kind of bird he calls Kevin, and they encounter a group of dogs with animal language converters that allow humans to hear the dogs speak English. They just annoy Carl to no end. Turns out Muntz, who is surprisingly still alive, has made new dog tools and has been seeking bird like Kevin for years. These action scenes with he dogs and Muntz run on much longer than needed. I gather that was just for the children. Luckily, none of it diminishes what we have come to love.
Carl is a multilayered character that is easy to sympathize with. As a child, he was timid but still wanted to explore. After the death of wife, became more grumpy as his dreams of adventure dies. When his house floats, his yearning for adventure resume from where it was years ago. Carl is torn between his new responsibilities to Russell and wanting to fulfil his dream. He wonders what is more important: a house, or people? The arrival of Russell may make things harder, but the kid is someone Carl grows to love like the grandson he never had. And the bird, the dogs, and Russell may be the perfect ingredients for Carl to have the adventure of a lifetime.
This thrilling, beautiful and hilarious adventure film it one the whole family can savour. Reasons for loving this may differ with the age groups, but nobody can deny the greatness that 'Up' possesses.
4/4