I'm not an aficionado on animated films and, truth be told, I rarely watch them. With that said, I have not seen every Pixar film, but I can tell you there's never been one I didn't like. Whenever I end up watching one I'm stunned at how many levels it succeeds on as a motion picture and it's probably not a bold statement to imply that Pixar is the most consistently reliable animation studio.
The film's opening is an achievement in the animated medium simply for the emotional response it evokes from it's viewers with stark simplicity. Carl Fredericksen and Ellie meet as children, brought together by their mutual yearning for adventure. The story of their entire relationship concluding with her death is told using no words and is handled more poignantly than it would have been in many live-action films. Carl (now voiced by Ed Asner), a balloon salesman, adjusts to life without Ellie wandering his home without purpose and frequently annoyed by the construction occurring right outside. After city officials decide to place Carl in a nursing home, he attaches a great number of balloons to his house and begins steering his floating house to Paradise Falls, a place Ellie and himself had for years dreamed of going. Of course, Russell, a young, naïve Wilderness Explorer trying to earn his "help a Senior citizen" badge is standing on the porch of the floating house.
The story picks up steam upon their landing, where they discover a rare bird (nick-named Kevin by Russell) that begins following them. Problem is there's a group of mysterious dogs with collars allowing them to speak tracking the bird. One of these dogs is Dug, a marvelous creation courtesy of Pixar. Dug, the comic relief of this film is an adorable, funny, sympathetic character in a film that already has more memorable characters than just about any film this year.
Up is such an impressive film. It uses none of the animated film-clichés; there is no adult innuendo, no clichéd, mass-produced characters. It's geared towards children, but will appeal to all audiences because it's really a quality film. It has truly human characters that are emotionally complex and funny. The fact that Pixar continues to create characters that are both human and sympathetic is more of an achievement in animation than 3D is.
With a beautifully vivid color palette and inspired voice work by Asner, Jordan Nagai (as Russell), Bob Peterson (as Dug), and Christopher Plummer (as the film's antagonist, you'll know about him when you see the film), Up is one of those films that makes it unfortunate the Academy has a Best Animated Film category. It will more than likely win this award come Oscar-time, but Up isn't just one of the best animated films of the year it's one of the best films of the year. It succeeds on so many levels that animated films should not and most live-action films do not. It's a great animated film, yes but also just a great film, period; A stunning achievement on all levels.
GRADE: AGet more detail about Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray].
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