A dazzling, inventive and moving film for all ages.

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2009)

Two very unexpected things happened to me while viewing "Up." First, I cried. I actually found myself misty-eyed over an opening set piece in which our hero meets, marries and loses his wife to old age. There is no dialogue in this sequence. The entire story is told in images and music. I had no expectation of being so moved by a "kid's movie." The second unexpected thing that happened to me? I grinned with delight. As our hero lifted off into the sky in his floating house, held aloft by thousands of balloons, I had to resist the urge to squeal like a small child. The scene was so well animated, and the idea seemed so inspired, it was as if every shred of cynicism I had about movies was vaporized. "That's right, movies CAN be magical!" I thought. "Up" will dare you to enjoy the movies the way you did as a child. It will also remind you that kid's movies can have substance and still entertain young, easily distracted minds. Pixar has somehow managed to produce nothing but quality films over the past decade, despite being powered by a multi-billion dollar corporation most associate with overzealous commercialism.