The action and scenery in Up are breathtaking, particularly as so much of the action takes place in high places: a floating house; a dirigible; dogs in planes; and thousand foot waterfalls. The attention to detail, color, and perspective, especially in 3D, is stunning. The premise, of an old balloon salesman escaping reality via thousands of balloons attached to his home, is clever, and the story is energized and given comic relief by a little boy who's accidentally along for the ride.
But the real scene-stealers are the emotional moments that serve as bookends to the movie. The first is a montage spanning the courtship, marriage, and gorgeous relationship between main character Karl and his lifelong love, Ellie. It is one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen in a movie- film or CGI; it comes out of the blue and gives your heartstrings an unexpected yank, much like the "When She Love Me" (Sarah Mclachlan) scene in Toy Story 2. The other, between Karl and the 8 year old thorn in his side, Russell, ties the film up in a tidy package (and would be a spoiler to reveal). Both are superbly done, and the theater was full of silently crying adults squeezing unaware kids on their laps, or leaning over to kiss them in adjacent seats.
A consequence of that kind of true life emotional drama is making the fantastic action scenes more unrealistic by comparison. Imagine how much more cartoonish events in The Incredibles or Flushed Away would seem if sandwiched between scenes of Beaches or Love Story. And some of Up's action might be unsettling to young kids, especially the menacing guard dogs that appear throughout the film. Kids also may be puzzled by them, as the pooches speak though a device on their collars that translates their thought into sound; the concept wasn't that intuitive for the 6 and under set. These are observations, not complaints, and they don't detract from the movie's considerable sweetness and excitement. Get more detail about Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray].
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