Up

Plot synopsis:
Young Carl Fredricksen (Jeremy Leary), a quiet bespectacled boy wearing an old pilot's cap and goggles, watches a film reel in a theater depicting his hero Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), a famous explorer. The reporter speaks of Muntz's various accomplishments and discoveries before commenting that he was recently dishonored by scientists who believed his latest find, the large skeleton of a bird, was a hoax. Intent on proving them wrong, Muntz is seen boarding his zeppelin with his team of dogs and promises to return once he has brought back living proof of his find. After the show, Carl runs down the street with his balloon, named after Muntzs zeppelin The Spirit of Adventure. He passes an old, rundown house where he hears someone shout out Muntz's famous slogan: Adventure is out there!Carl goes inside to investigate and meets a young, outgoing tomboy who shares his passion for exploration and admiration of Charles Muntz. Startled by her loud, boyish demeanor at first, Carl loses his balloon in the rafters. The girl, Ellie (Elie Docter), helps him retrieve it, though Carl falls from a beam and breaks his arm. Ellie sneaks into his room that night and shows him her adventure book where she expresses a desire to one day move to the top of Paradise Falls in South America, showing him a picture that she 'ripped right out of a library book'. She makes him promise that they will go together someday before leaving. A musical montage shows Carl and Ellie eventually getting married and moving into the old house where they first met. Their marriage is blissful and they get jobs as a balloon salesman and zookeeper, respectively. When they discover that Ellie is unable to have children, they make a pact to save money to travel to Paradise Falls. However, as the years pass, they are forced to dig into their Falls fund for other obligations. One day, an elderly Carl realizes that, despite living happily together, they never fulfilled their old promise and decides to surprise Ellie on a picnic with tickets to South America. However, Ellie's declining health puts her in the hospital and she eventually passes away, leaving Carl alone.Carl remains in his home, a retired and sour recluse, as the city grows around him. He is encouraged to move to a retirement home due to increased construction, but often argues with the foreman (John Ratzenberger) and refuses to leave. One day, he meets Russell (Jordan Nagai), a young wilderness explorer scout who attempts to assist Carl in order to earn his 'assisting the elderly' badge. Carl tricks Russell into 'assisting' him by telling him to find and get rid of a 'snipe' that invades his yard. When a construction worker accidentally breaks Carl's mailbox, a part of the house and a part of Ellie that Carl cherishes, Carl hits him over the head with his walker. The assault lands him in court where he is forced to move out of his home by the next day. Workers from Shady Oaks retirement home arrive to pick him up the following morning but are shocked to find Carl releasing millions of helium balloons into the air which detach his house from its foundation, lifting it over the city and into the sky.Comfortably away from the city, Carl sets a course for South America and rests in his chair until hes interrupted by a knock at the door. Upon answering, he discovers Russell hanging on to dear life on his porch; apparently, Russell had been snipe searching under Carls porch. Carl lets him in and decides to descend to return Russell home before a severe storm hits. The house is knocked around in the turbulence but Carl manages to tie most of his items down before falling asleep. He's woken the next morning by Russell, who tells him that they're over South America (thanks to a GPS device that he accidentally throws out the window), though the ground is hidden by a dense fog. Carl releases some balloons to descend but they hit ground early and are knocked out of the house. They manage to hold onto it using a hose attached to the porch while the fog lifts to reveal that they are standing on a high plateau opposite Paradise Falls. Unable to climb back into the house, they resolve to walk to the falls before the helium in the balloons lets out.Meanwhile, a chase is progressing in the jungle. Three dogs with red lights on their collars are in hot pursuit of what appears to be a giant bird, but they lose the trail when their sensitive ears pick up the fine tuning of Carl's hearing aid. Russell stops to go to the bathroom and happens upon a giant bird which he lures closer with a chocolate bar. He introduces the colorful creature to Carl and gives it the name Kevin. Kevin follows them as they continue their journey but runs off when they approach the silhouette of a man who calls out to them. However, they see that the man is nothing more than a trick of the eye caused by overlapping stones. They are then approached by a golden retriever with a red light on his collar. Russell tells him to sit and speak and is surprised when the dog answers, using the device on his collar. He tells them his name is Dug (Bob Peterson) and that he is a tracker looking for a bird, at which point Kevin tackles him. The foursome continue their journey, Carl begrudging the additional company. At one point, Kevin loudly calls out and is answered by smaller calls. Dug says that Kevin is calling to her babies and Russell realizes that Kevin is a girl.Meanwhile, the three dogs seen chasing the bird earlier have picked up the scent of Carl and Russell, who they nickname the mailman. The leader Alpha (Bob Peterson), a doberman pinscher, tells Beta (Delroy Lindo), a rottweiler, and Gamma (Jerome Ranft), a bulldog, that they must be vigilant and continue their search. His speaking device appears to be damaged, causing him to talk in a high pitch. Using the device on Gamma's collar, Alpha calls to Dug, who they'd sent on a false mission in order to get rid of him, but finds him in the company of the bird they'd been after. They soon track him down and come upon Carl and Russell, but Kevin has already run off. Instead, they choose to take Carl and Russell to their master. Entering a large gorge, Carl and Russell meet a large pack of dogs, all with high-tech collars on, before meeting their master -- who turns out to be none other than an elderly Charles Muntz.Muntz invites them into The Spirit of Adventure as guests, but his behavior soon turns hostile when he finds out that Russell has adopted a new pet bird. Carl is shocked to see that Muntz has spent all the past years hunting for the bird which he was deemed a fraud for and has gone mad as a result. Muntz reveals a table of head mannequins wearing various headgear and grimly knocks each one off with his cane as he describes the stories their wearers told him; claiming that each one was actually after his bird. Carl and Russell run away from the zeppelin just as Muntz discovers the bird calling out from the roof of Carl's home. Riding on Kevin's back and assisted by Dug, who calls Carl his new master, they barely escape capture by Muntz's dogs, though Kevin is injured in the process. Carl agrees to help Kevin get back to her babies safely but, just before Kevin can re-enter her labyrinth home, a net flies out and captures her. Muntz and his dogs have arrived in the zeppelin, led to the spot by a tracking device on Dug's collar. Muntz throws a lantern beneath Carl's home, setting fire to it. Carl ignores Kevin and runs over to extinguish the flames as Muntz takes Kevin on board and leaves. Angry and disheartened, Carl yells at Dug and tells Russell that he's taking his home to Paradise Falls if it kills him. He manages to set his house down on the Falls, but loses Russell's respect for leaving Kevin.Carl goes inside the house and sits down to look at Ellie's adventure book. Saddened that she never got to see the Falls, he is about to close it when he discovers added pictures near the end, documenting their life together. On the last page is a note written by Ellie that says thanks for the adventure, now go have a new one! Enlightened and inspired, Carl goes outside in time to see Russell take off with a few balloons, using a leaf blower as propulsion. Carl empties his home of extra furniture, allowing it to become airborne once again, and follows Russell. He finds Dug on his porch and happily exclaims that Dug is his dog and he is his master. Russell manages to sneak aboard Muntz's zeppelin but is quickly caught and tied to a chair. Muntz sits him on the ships bomb-bay doors and flips the switch for them to open. Carl flies in and manages to rescue Russell in time, setting him inside the house while he goes into the zeppelin with Dug to fetch Kevin. Hes able to distract the guard dogs with a tennis ball from his walker and frees Kevin but is confronted by Muntz. They engage in a sword fight (albeit Carl uses his extended walker) while Russell, freed of his ties, fights off a squadron of dogs in fighter planes. He regains control of the house and returns to help Carl, who has climbed to the top of the zeppelin with Kevin. Dug has, meanwhile, faced off against Alpha and outsmarted him, effectively becoming the new alpha, and runs off to meet the others topside.Kevin, Dug, and Carl run for the house which Russell has landed on the wing of the zeppelin, but Muntz appears with a rifle and shoots at them, causing the house to slip and dangle in the air. Carl struggles to hold onto the house with the hose while Muntz goes in after Kevin. Carl lures Kevin, carrying Dug and Russell, out of the house with chocolate and Muntz attempts to jump out of the window after them. He doesn't make the jump as his foot gets caught in some balloon strings and, weighing too much for the balloons to support him, he falls to his death. As Kevin, Dug, and Russell make it back to the zeppelin, Carl is forced to release his house, which slowly descends into the clouds, a loss which Carl accepts as being for the best.Kevin is returned to her three chicks and Carl takes Russell and Dug home where Russell attends his senior explorer ceremony. When Russell's father fails to present him with his final badge, Carl fulfills the role and gives Russell a grape soda badge that Ellie gave him when they first met, calling it the Ellie badge. Afterwards, they sit on a curb together in front of an ice cream shop, Carl acting as a surrogate grandfather to Russell, The Spirit of Adventure anchored above them.At Paradise Falls, Carl and Ellie's house has landed right at the spot where it was meant to be: on the cliff overlooking the falls.

Tags: comedy, boring, depressing, dramatic, feel-good, tragedy, romantic, entertaining, storytelling, sentimental

Review:
It'd be hard to pick just one above another and perhaps another viewing of Up may be in order to figure out where I'd place it among so much stellar work.Up is by far the most emotional human drama of any Pixar movies thus far, very heavy, so much so if you're looking for pure fun with some jaw-dropping chase and/or thematic scenes and no downer moments, Up may not be for you.
It's pretty heavy subject matter, Pixar handles it, like they do everything they touch, incredibly well, but it doesn't make it any less sad to have the material threaded throughout much of the movie you're reminded of it, but I suppose it's up to one's own interpretation of loss and how to place it in your life that perhaps will have an emotional effect on you.Story is what makes a great movie great.
Without story, you don't really have anything, maybe some effects, some action, maybe some cute or clever sight gags, maybe some laughs, hopefully some emotion, where Pixar shines above all others in animation and over a good 99% of the movies out there is they can intertwine it all and do it seemingly effortless, which is an incredible feat.
After a hour-long reception in the atrium of their beautiful main building we went through some rigorous security (metal detectors!) and were treated to an hilarious short (Partly Cloudy) and Pixar's new high water mark, Up.My favorites to date have definitely been Wall-E and the Incredibles, and Up is another slightly-left-of-center masterpiece.
The emotional impact of the beautiful, wordless summation of Carl's life that opens the movie is the bass note that resonates through the whole film and is at least as affecting as the scene in Wall-E when he holds his own hands while watching Hello Dolly.
With no "new" technical milestones (fur in Monsters, Inc., water in Finding Nemo, realistic camera effects in Wall- E), the design is the main focus, from the hilariously stylized characters to the amazing setting of the tepui.As the associate producer who participated in the Q&A following the movie pointed out, the past three Pixar movies have not been easy sells to their parent company Disney (they'll be back in familiar territory with Toy Story 3 and Cars 2), but Pixar's commitment to inventive, story-driven films continues to pay off here.
Except, he is not alone – young "wilderness explorer" Russell (Jordan Nagai) inadvertently shows up in mid-air, and Carl sees no other choice but to bring the boy with him.The fact that this plot line is even relevant enough to get made into a movie is more than enough reason to praise Up. Ever since Toy Story, Pixar has consistently delivered the most radically original and unique ideas for animated films, and live action films.
Where WALL-E spent the majority of its runtime primarily on Earth with its main character, a love interest and a cockroach, Up spends its majority with Carl, Russell, a "bird" named Kevin and a talking dog named Dug (voiced by co-director Bob Peterson).
We know from the very first trailer that Carl is a fairly mean old man, but the film spends a great deal of time to develop him into an emotional wreck of a man.But the real success of the film is in its imagination and adventure.
Like the kid at the beginning of the movie, you don't try to conquer the immovable force; you work around it.The one clue I can give away – because it's the movie's heavily hyped premise – is that Carl Fredrickson, a gruffy old widower (voiced with gruffy old charm by Ed Asner), miraculously inflates enough balloons to use his house as an aircraft.
One is a gag that is a take-off on a famous painting – perhaps too inside of an inside joke, but typical of Pixar's cheery attempts to appeal to viewers of all ages.Also, part of the plot involves Carl's long-held wish to meet a Lindbergh-type adventurer named Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer!).
The story of the adventures of an old man and a young boy, a flying house tethered to countless balloons, a long-lost (and mad) explorer, a giant bird called Kevin and assorted 'talking' dogs gets funnier and more exciting as it goes along.This isn't slapstick humour, although there are some lovely visual gags, but deeper, more thoughtful.
The fact is, Up is an incredible piece of cinema, was a big hit with a very demanding press audience, and is worthy of your time and money.Anyone who says animated films cannot amuse and entertain, while at the same time delivering any kind of emotion, does not know what they are talking about.Up is so good I can now forgive Pixar for Cars!.
Overall movies may not be better today than "in the old days," but there is no dispute there are two areas in which films keep getting better and better: special-effects and animation.
Got to see this at the Cannes Film Festival in France (went on a trip with my family) and Pixar gives us another instant classic: Up.The movie focuses on 78-year old man Carl Fredrickson's (voiced by Edward Asner) life who always had a dream of going on a journey to South American to see the wilds of it.
He invites the boy with him on his journey to South America.Just brilliant and simple story-telling, beautiful visuals as usual with Pixar, awesome voice work, funny and smart dialogue, beautiful score once again by Michael Giacchino & very, very enjoyable characters.
It isn't as though they may not have fun watching it, as the visual effects are quite stunning, or they might not get a giggle or two from a few scenes, it's just that in order to fully appreciate the film you must have been in love at some point in your life...or at least comprehend love to the fullest extent.I would categorize this movie as a romantic comedy/action thriller for adults had it NOT been an animated film.
Had I known a thorough synopsis through the commercials, as some films seem to give everything away in a 30 second preview, I don't think I would have enjoyed the film as much.The movie touched my heart and as one reviewer said "I began crying in within the first five minutes of the movie, and I'm not much of a crier." Well, I certainly concur.This is a great movie for lovers, perhaps those going through a tough time in a relationship, or newlyweds.
Yet another movie of pixar with a nice concept but failed to capitalize it...it was surprising that there was not one funny scene in the movie to which i could laugh.It is very disappointing that after a brilliant movie like wall-e with a brilliant concept and perfect execution pixar gave us UP which disappointed me very much...the movie is good enough to watch but this is not what i expect from pixar..this is not anyone expects from pixar!!!overall i am not satisfied with the movie and i don't think it is worth an 8 or a 9.this movie is overrated and i recommend everyone who loves pixar and loves their movies like wall-e,toy story,monsters inc.
After watching the film, some may find the ten-minute Carl-and-Ellie love story much more touching and memorable than the Carl-and-Russell adventure.
"Up" may be more emotionally charged than previous Pixar efforts, though almost exclusively in its first act, and is nevertheless a step down in storytelling for the company that last year brought us "Wall-E" and before that "Ratatouille." "Up" suffers in comparison to those films, and happily resigns itself from 'good Pixar' to regular good.The story follows reluctant protagonist Carl Fredrickson, a 78-year old balloon salesman, who along with his now-departed wife, always dreamt of flying to adventure in Paradise Falls, South America.
With the floating home strapped to their backs, Carl and Russell begin their trek, only to be sidetracked by the obligatory supporting characters, amusing though they may be: "Kevin" a fictional female dodo-like bird with hilarious favoritism, and "Doug" a golden retriever with a dog-to-English translation collar.Where the film finds itself in trouble is in keeping the established themes at the forefront of the story when the arbitrary sequence of events in the second act unfold.
The villain, Carl's childhood idol (which makes this guy how old?), a disgraced adventurer by the name of Charles Muntz, is the perfect match as a man who's been corrupted by his dreams, but he's never developed to a satisfying level and receives relatively little screen time.Muntz's minions are a wellspring of only occasionally successful gags, an armada of translation-collared dogs tasked with hunting down Carl, Russell, and most importantly, Kevin.
"The thirst for adventure is the vent which Destiny offers; a war, a crusade, a gold mine, a new country, speak to the imagination and offer swing and play to the confined powers." Ralph Waldo Emerson Let's play a little game: What's the common denominator of these Pixar films?Toy Story A Bugs Life Toy Story 2 Monsters, Inc. Finding Nemo The Incredibles Cars Ratatouille Wall EYou're right!
But then, all the above are Pixar's best.Seventy-eight year old Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner) has lost his wife and his reason to enjoy life.
Enter eight year old Russell (Jordan Nagai), a stowaway on Carl's flying house as they float with thousands of balloons to South America to fulfill Carl's commitment to his dead wife to find adventure.Enter Pixar's expertise at fashioning character out of animation: Carl's expressions are so true to an old man's disappointments and lost dreams that the animation medium is benignly lost to the humanity.
Enter Carl's traveling buddy, Russell, a pudgy scout with uncertain Asian influences in his genes, who earns the equivalent of a Boy Scout badge by helping Carl travel to a remote falls in South America to fulfill the dream of his deceased wife to live there.Besides the 3-D loving color and careening objects, directors Peter Docter and Bob Petersen explore the universal need for meaning in life beyond the accumulation of things and the old man/young man dynamic without maudlin musings.
that being said: it is a cute movie, one that kids will enjoy, and has some excellent animation.The plot could have been better developed, and really, with the exception of Carl, all the characters are extremely static, the worst of all being the villain who gets all his development within the first five minutes of the movie.
It's incredibly formulaic.They establish how he's got this idol at the start of the film, and how his wife dies too soon and he loved her so dearly, and the little inside jokes they had between them (which is cheaply used as a recurring thing throughout the cartoon, like the obligatory repetition/emotional thing), and then there's the bad guy who's the irrational caricatured token bad guy, then the kid without parents just looking for love and companionship, then they threw in dogs because everybody loves dogs but they're not even all that funny (although some of it is okay-funny).It's way too rushed, and it's not touching at all and isn't very funny.
Along the way he meets up with a young boy scout, a giant colorful bird and a talking dog.Seriously if I hadn't heard this movie wasn't being done Pixar I would have brushed off the movie completely, thinking it nothing more then a stupid, childish animated movie with one too many fart jokes.
And makes the audience look on in awe one minute, laugh out loud the next and then cry their eyes out finally.There certainly is something to be said about a movie which can make you blubber like a little girl 10mins in only to do it again in the last 20mins.
This is going to be relevant.I'll try and keep the spoilers to a minimum, but anyone who's even half awake will know that Pixar's latest animated feature follows the adventures of an old man and a small boy who fly a house to South America using balloon power.
At the end of this sequence, it would be a hard heart indeed that was not moved.Once Carl finds his young stowaway, the pace shifts up a gear as the two get involved in an adventure in the mythic location of Paradise Falls where Carl has always longed to go.On one level, this is a fantastic film, surely one of the best of the year; moving, funny, heart-warming (with a soupçon of the environmental message seemingly mandatory in all such features).
I expected great things because Pixar has made some of the best animated movies ever.
this was a fairly enjoyable animated film from Disney/Pixar.there's some funny moments here and there.it's touching without being too maudlin or sentimental.there certainly is a fair amount of action as well.the story is also good.there a few scenes of minor peril which might be a bit too much for younger children,and the movie fleetingly touches upon a sad topic.for the most part,i enjoyed the movie.i did think however,there were a few scenes that were probably intended to be funny,but came across flat and pointless in my mind.all in all,pretty good effort,just not as good as i hoped or thought it would be.for me,Up is 6/10.
But the journey is bound to change radically when he meets the scout Russell, eight-year-old, grabbed on his porch, an unwitting passenger on that trip.Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, two brilliant directors of Pixar Animation Studio behind hits like "Wall-e", "Monsters Inc." or "Finding Nemo", this film has a number of experienced voices and a touching soundtrack, which earned the Academy Award that year for Best Original Score.
I also didn't appreciate the fact that it was their childhood hero and inspiration who turned out to be the baddie and of course cuteness must have its place in any Disney feature and here we get a double dose with Doug the dog and Kevin the err...big bird.However the crotchety old Carl Fredricksen is a fine creation and even more so his keen-as-mustard adventure scout assistant, Russell, the film also reminding us that the generation gap needn't be so wide.
Soon they both land some far off place in South America, where they soon meet a dog named Dug, who wears a special collar that can translate his thoughts(his voiced by Bob Peterson).And that is all I want to tell you, but this was an enjoyable film, pixar never ceases to disappoint.
We went to see it one of those summer days that was too hot to do anything else, and since we'd heard so many people say it was "The Best Disney/Pixar Movie Ever Made", or the "Best Film of the Year" we figured it would probably be good.About 45 minutes into the film when it had yet to get interesting or funny we talked about leaving, but kept hoping it would get better.
Well, turns out our time would have been better spent elsewhere.I thought it was cute, but all the jokes were the ones where I would turn to my mom and tell her the punchline before the joke was halfway said, and about 40 minutes from the end told her what would happen, and she agreed.In terms of "Best Disney/Pixar Movie Ever Made", I'm still waiting for something to top "Finding Nemo.".
Remarkable first 20 minutes or so.Very interesting characters.But then, as other reviewers put it, the makers didn't know how to advance the story.So they threw in blood-thirsty dogs and such, turning a movie for children (and adults with hearts) into a horror show, or whatever.Keep away.
One day he meets a young scout named Russell and his life changes; maybe Carl has one more adventure in him, after all.I'd heard this animated film was touching, and sure enough, ten minutes into it, I was reaching for a tissue and sobbing.
Starting with Carl and Ellie's love story and their life together and continuing with Russell, the good hearted little boy who really just wants to help Carl; you really embrace the main characters in an incredible way in the first few minutes of the film.
This movie is for big and little kids as well, I went to see it with a buddy of mine from work and we laughed through the entire film, and we're both in our 30's.This film is, without a doubt, one of PIXAR's best yet!.
Nonetheless, the film looks great, and yet again proves that Pixar is on top of the animation heap.The main strength of Up lies in the action and its characters.
Like the other Pixar movies, it takes an intriguing, original plot line and creates a masterpiece of a story with humor and heart.The main character of this story is someone who has the least potential to be made into an action figure, which is probably what is making Disney stockholders nervous as of the date this review is being written.
It seems for a lot of people the central premise/moral of the story touches a nerve, but that one idea alone isn't enough to lift the movie above an average rating.The animation is very good, as one has come to expect from Pixar, but sorry, the bar has been raised - in 2009 this level of quality has become the norm, i.e. average.The character development is good for Carl Fredricksen, but lacks depth for Russell and also for Charles Munts.
I've been a pixar film since 10 years old ever since I first saw toy story and fell in love with those characters.
Pixar films like "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" worked because they established a connection between the viewer and the characters.
They were quirky and funny and lovable all at the same time, something that the guys over at Pixar are really good at.The beginning of the movie was a bit more dark than I was expecting it be, but it set up the rest of the story so well.