Up, Up, And Away!

Rating: 10/10 (14 November 2009)

Meet Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a grumpy old man who wasn't always so grumpy. Meet Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), a well-meaning yet bothersome young Wilderness Explorer. Who would have ever thought that an animated film about these two characters would have become one of the year's best films? I can still remember watching the first teaser trailer, in which the plot was only vaguely introduced, and scoffing at the very idea of it. Though the marketing eventually won me over with its charming animation and vivid sense of humor, I stand now and humbly admit that my original suspicions were undeniably false. "Up", a tale of love and adventure, is wonderfully creative and downright lovable. It begins with a young Carl meeting the future love of his life, Ellie (voiced by Elie Docter), a precocious child who shares his love of famed explorer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer) and The Spirit of Adventure, his iconic airship.
He and Ellie had vowed that, following a lifetime of saving, they would travel to Paradise Falls, the land that Muntz discovered on his first major voyage, and have unimaginable adventures. Soon, however, the real world got in the way and there savings had to be used on flat tires, damaged roofs, etc. Following Ellie's death, Carl becomes a lonely recluse who carries out his day-to-day routines simply because he has to and not because he enjoys them anymore. After a misunderstanding with a local construction worker, Carl is ordered to move to a retirement community, a sentence that he believes is absolutely unbearable. Tying thousands of colorful balloons to his home, on the morning he is supposed to leave, he finally takes off for Paradise Fallswith little Russell accidentally on his porch! Together, they sail across the sky on an adventure to a place beyond imagination where dogs talk, birds are huge and comical, and a man from Carl's past waits with a dark scheme up his sleeve.
Please read my full review on my blog: www.whathappensincinema.blogspot.com