Up, way up, on top of the list of best films for 2009, a touching, adventurous winner!

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2009)

Karl (voiced by Ed Asner) met and married the girl next door, Ellie. Ellie was an extroverted adventurer while Karl was a shy, reserved person but their friendship and marriage lasted a lifetime. It was Ellie's dream to follow in the footsteps of a famous world traveler, Charles (Christopher Plummer) and make her way, someday, to Paradise Falls in Venezuela. Over the years, however, Karl and Ellie, a childless couple had many home and life realities to deal with and they never made it to South America. Now, Ellie has died and Karl is forlorn. Not only that, developers want their Victorian house, the last holdout in an urban neighborhood, to be razed to make way for high rise buildings. They almost get their wish. But, at the last moment, Karl attaches a fleet of balloons to his house, lifting it in the air, and steers a course for Paradise Falls. But, wait, there's more. A talkative, tweenage scout, Russell (Jordan Nagai), who had convinced Karl to help the young lad earn a merit badge for helping the elderly, has stowed away under the house's porch and is, thus, a fellow passenger in Karl's house-airship. At first, Karl is annoyed but after they land in Venezuela, not on target, Russell helps Karl begin to move the household toward the falls. The two also encounter a trained army of dogs, who obey the commands of their long-lost-to-the-world master, Charles the explorer, who has been trying to capture an elusive, large, colorful bird, new to the known world. It seems Karl and Russell are definitely putting a spanner into his plans. What will be the outcome? This is an extremely wonderful family film, highly entertaining and very, very touching. The story is ingenious, with a flowing action that will keep everyone riveted and the animation is amazing, especially in 3-D. But, added to that mix, is a beautifully moving tale of true love, friendship, and loyalty. This viewer was in tears several times and would dare to say most others will do the same. As the voice of Karl, Asner is excellent, his gruffness hiding a caring soul. Nagai is also topnotch, very funny and very sweet as the young, lonely boy. Plummer, too, does a fine job as the "heavy" of the movie and the lesser characters are absolutely perfect, too. In fact, this is a rarity among films, in that it is almost totally without any flaws whatsoever. If you can only see ONE film this year, make it this one. It is UP at the top, and will remain so, of the list of films for 2009.