Gather 'round, kiddies!
It’s time for Uncle Matt’s better-late-than-never review of Disney/Pixar’s “Up.”
The movie starts off introducing us to Carl- the old man you see in the trailers- as he sits in the theater as a little boy and watches the latest news on his idol, the explorer Charles Muntz as he takes off to “Paradise Falls,” a beautiful wilderness in Argentina, and vows to return only with the mythical bird he claims to have discovered, the “snipe.”
Even in these early few minutes of the film, Pixar has already done a wonderful job capturing the look and feel of a 1940s-ish America in the video of Muntz, from the voiceover narration, to the streamlined blimp the adventurer pilots with his team of trusted mutts.
Early on in the film, we are shown a magical montage of Carl and his childhood friend and future wife, Ellie. We witness their life together, from their marriage, to their jobs together (Carl sells balloons to children at the zoo Ellie works in), to evening picnics under a tree, to Ellie finding out she can’t have children, and finally to Ellie’s death and Carl’s loneliness.
This entire sequence is done just beautifully and entirely dialogue-free with music gently flowing throughout to perfectly compliment both light and dark moments. It’s arguably the greatest sequence of the film.
The rest of the film is pure nonstop comedy till the end.
Russell, a cute, chubby boy, is introduced trying to help Carl in his old age in some way so that he may receive his “Assisting the Elderly” badge and be promoted to the rank of Senior Scout with his Wilderness Explorers group. He ends up “assisting” Carl as they both try to physically move Carl’s house to Paradise Falls to fulfill a lifelong promise Carl had many to Ellie when they were both children (hence the balloons and flying house).
They, of course, only face newer and bigger challenges the further they advance along their journey, which include a giant bird, talking dogs, and some shady (and dangerous!) characters.
Russell is voiced delightfully by newcomer Jordan Nagai, and Carl’s vocal work is performed “to the T” by none other than Ed Asner. Muntz is voiced by the perfectly evil Christopher Plummer.
The movie visually looks great. All the animation is nicely fluid and the textures are kept fairly light, similar to “WALL-E.”
Nothing in the film is too scary to take younger children. It has it’s sad, darker moments here and there but the majority of the film is definitely side-splittingly hilarious.
The story twists and turns you into some unexpected places, never disappointingly, and shares a very important life lesson in the end.
I saw the film in 3D, which is a real treat. Theaters are still holding 3D showings, so go catch it while you still can! The $2 dollar difference in price is worth it.
I also watched it in 2D and it’s still just as fantastic.
Definitely don’t miss out on watching “Up” in theaters, especially if you don’t have a mammoth-sized screen at home, because the visuals are deserving of a screen as large as the adventure in the film!
Go see this gem.
I highly recommend it.
-Matt
P.S.
Movie buffs should keep an eye (or ear, rather) out for John Ratzenberger, who voices a character in every major Pixar film. See (or hear) if you can recognize him in this one!
