So Good You'd Think It Was Live Action

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 2009)

There is something to be said for a mainstream movie for kids that doesn't slap you in the face with obvious jokes and with silly plots and sillier characters. But Pixar's Up avoids all that and manages to deliver a stunning, subtle, smart, funny, emotional, and utterly entrancing film that is as suitable for a six year old as it is for sixteen year old or for a sixty six year old.
From the moment little Ellie grabbed young Carl's hand to pull him along into her world of adventure to the tune of Michael Giacchino's touching and altogether beautiful score I was mesmerized. I watched as Carl fell in love and I watched the montage I had read so much about expecting to be wowed by the animation and by the advances in storytelling Pixar has made, but I wasn't. I was so caught up in the story that I didn't even notice at the time how well it was done. I was in the movie. I was in the meadow with them, I could feel the love they felt. And all the while that score just lifted me along effortlessly into their world. That twenty minutes was a story all by itself. I was moved to tears every time I went to see Up, and I will say that I saw it quite a few times.
But the movie doesn't end with this twenty minutes, it evolves into a funny and wonderfully surprising adventure film, and yet it doesn't lose a drop of the tenderness is started out with. We see Carl as an emotionally devastated old man, lost in grief for his wife, and we see him take this huge adventure in her honor. We watch as he holds on to his wife's memory above all else, and when he does this he doesn't seem like a cartoon hero at all. He seems like our grandfather struggling in the loss of his wife, or our parents struggling through the loss of their parents.
And that's another thing that astounds about Up. Carl never feels like a drawing. He is so human and so amazingly relatable that we can't help but root for him to make it through his journey. That is in no small part thanks to Ed Asner, who does brilliant work as the voice of Carl. But what makes it even more amazing to watch is that the greatest journey Carl takes isn't the one in the house with the balloons. His ultimate journey is the emotional trek he makes through that jungle, going from pathologically holding on to the life he made with his wife to the final realization that he has his memories and it's time to continue with the rest of his life. Powerful stuff for an animated film.
But Carl's journey is not the only part of this movie. There's a funny little boy named Russell who accidentally winds up on the ride, and there are jungle hijinks and yes there are talking dogs, but none of these elements are two dimensional and only there for laughs as they would be if any other studio had produced this film (not that any other studio would have gone forward with a project with a grieving old man as the emotional centerpiece and protagonist of an adventure story).
No, instead of making these characters two dimensional foils in Carl's journey, Pixar gives each of them life. From Russell's absent father serving as his motivation, to Kevin the bird's maternal instincts, these are not frivolous characters. Even the talking dogs are brilliant, because they don't seem like people in a dog's body, they seem like dogs with people's voices, which not only makes them funnier, it makes them more believable.
Now needless to say, seeing as how this is a Pixar movie, the animation is flawless. The colors, the design, the lighting, all brilliant. What was extra wonderful was that the characters looked like they acted. Everything about Carl is boxed. From his square head to his rectangular fingers to even his geometric ears of all things, we see how set Carl is in his life and his ideas and how boxed in to his life he is, and his animation matches. Ellie on the other hand is a free spirit and her animation differs to show that. And there is such wonderful poignancy in seeing Carl's boxy chair next to Ellie's flowing curvy one. Russell's face is soft and open, reflecting the innocence and the possibilities of his youth. And I think it is no coincidence that Russell resembles young Carl quite a bit. Muntz is properly sinister looking, and there is something about the way Doug is drawn that tells us "dumb dog" before he even opens his mouth.
I walked out of the theater having experienced on of the most full and satisfying films I have ever seen. I have loved every movie Pixar has put out, except for the Cars which was still better than most other non-Pixar animated efforts, but this one has stayed with me like none other, and that is saying something. I laughed and I cried but more than anything, I was thoroughly and completely entertained. What a movie! Go see it please, it is worth every penny.