Batting .1000

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2009)

Surprise, surprise, Pixar has made a wonderful film. "Up" is a true original, loaded with unique characters, outstanding design, and some wild, vertigo-inducing action. Through it all, the Pixar brand of wit and humor is fully intact. John Lasseter and his team have chosen another rather risky project for a Memorial Day weekend release: an old man ties balloons to his house to travel to a South America, a location he's desired to go to since his youth. Outside of "Gran Torino", this is the only film that's taken a risk on putting an octogenarian front and center of a potential blockbuster. But "Up' gives it's lead a real warmth and humanity that is all but missing in Hollywood's general portrayal of the elderly, who, when not pointing shotguns at the local hoodlums, are normally the butt of the joke.
"Up"'s main character is Carl Frederickson, and Pixar deals a masterstroke in telling his backstory in an remarkable montage set to Michael Giacchino's dazzling score (Giacchino scored both "Star Trek" and "Up" and deserves an Oscar for the love of god – he was unfairly passed over for his GREAT "The Incredibles" score years ago). The montage of Carl's life elicits laughs, tears and strongly establishes why Carl is doing what he's doing. The house with balloons is as memorable a cinema icon as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Dorothy's house flying through the tornado. But it's the reason for Carl's quest and the metaphor of the house as the baggage he's carrying that makes the story of "Up" go from memorable to truly magical.
The voice talent is strong throughout, and like "Wall-E" before it, there are no superstars driving the show. Ed Asner's voice brings all the weight of his years to Carl, and he's matched pitch-perfect by Christopher Plummer. In a hilarious turn, young Jordan Nagai kills as the Explorer scout constantly bothering Carl. "Up" has been shown in 3-D, and I get why theaters are doing that. With pay-per-view, on demand, online, blu-ray and DVD options for people to see a film, the in-theater option is pulling out all the stops to get you to come out and spend up to $14. But "Up" is so strong in character and narrative, there's no need to add the special effect of exploring the third dimension. An added plus, for sure, but not necessary. "Up" excels in its animation, robustly coloring every frame, whether it's with thousands of individual balloons or the painter's palette worth of color on a unique South American bird.
"Up" also fires up the Pixar humor to uproarious effect. Particularly funny are a pack of dogs who "speak" through collars that read their thoughts. The combination of the absurd and the direct translation of a dog's actions into words make for some pretty funny stuff. They also get a lot of mileage out of Carl's grumpiness, without making him unlikeable.
Gush time. Pixar makes the best films in Hollywood right now. An eclectic mix of top acting talent, dazzling animation, inventive and risky storytelling, every time. Next up, they're re-distributing "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" this fall in 3-D. Again, whether the 3-D is necessary is debatable, but it'll be great to re-watch the first feature length film that put Pixar on the national map. They came out of the gate so strong, it's amazing that they've managed to see the possibilities in risky plots and never waiver from a formula underneath that is the most watchable cinema out there.