Fun, colourful and poignant

Rating: 9/10 (30 March 2017)

While Pixar tend to gear their films towards kids/family audience, it doesn't stop them from kicking you to the ground emotionally. I am of course referring to the first ten minutes of the film, where we see our protagonist Carl as a child, meet his future wife, an eccentric energetic girl called Ellie, who bond over their love of adventure. They make a bond to travel together but life problems always get in the way. The opening montage is possibly the most moving, poignant piece showing them grow old together until Ellie dies, making Carl a widower.
The film continues as Carl is now a grouchy old man, threatened with eviction as construction is due to take place where his house is currently situated. He manages to make his house airborne by harnessing hundreds, if not thousands of balloons to it and begins to make his way towards the spot himself and his late wife dreamed to live. He accidentally brings a boy scout called Russell along for the ride and together they encounter a series of zany characters along the way.
So putting the first ten minutes aside, which in my opinion, deserves to be a standalone short film, the rest of the film is humorous, bright and ultimately shows us the journey of Carl becoming more compassionate over time, struggling to cope with the grief of his wife's death.
It'll bring a tear to your eye and once again, Pixar's mastery over computer animation has not faltered.