Post by Alice on Jun 26, 2009 23:49:44 GMT -8
I love this movie. I can't even think of a buildup for this review, because... well, let's face it. This is a Pixar movie, and whenever you mention Pixar there's a strong chance that the movie in question is good. But Up isn't good; it's great. Because this movie is still in theaters I won't be too meaty with this review, so I'll just give you a brief synopsis, and my thoughts.
The film opens in a 1930's movie theater, where a young boy named Carl Fedricksen watches a newsreel about the hero and explorer of the day, Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer). Muntz, with his dirigible and trained dogs, retrieved a large skeleton with a missing skull from South America, but he is discredited and labeled a fraud. Enraged, Muntz leaves and promises to return with a live specimen. Regardless of being labeled a fraud, Carl idolizes Muntz, and out in the neighborhood the boy pretends to have his own dirigible. One day he meets a highly energetic and imaginative young girl named Ellie, and they become fast friends.
The film jump cuts to their young adult years, and their friendship has blossomed into love. They marry, and they spend the many, many years together in a happily married life, from the wedding until, tragically, Ellie's death. This view of a happily married life is portrayed in a nearly five-minute montage, without dialogue. As is the case with WALL-E, silence can be golden; this montage has no spoken words, but the gorgeous score by now-Pixar go-to man Michael Giacchino, and the masterful CGI Pixar is known for render this emotional montage an absolute highpoint in Up. Walt Disney once said, "For every laugh, there should be a tear." Pixar doesn't screw around with this practice: Up's "Married Life" montage rendered me weepy, and it's only within the first ten minutes of the film!
The rest of the film isn't quite as depressing as the finale of the montage. Actually, there was only one other scene in the film that made me teary yet again, but the majority of the rest is filled with either gripping action or funny humor, or both simultaneously. After Ellie's death, Carl (spectacularly voiced by Edward Asner) is bitter, emotionally withdrawn and pretty much waiting to die. But when his house--Ellie's house--is threatened to be demolished, and when Carl is forced to face life in a retirement home, he takes action. He ties thousands and thousands of balloons to his house, which allows it to float. Carl's destination is where his wife always wanted to visit: Paradise Falls in South America.
Unfortunately, there is a fly Carl's ointment: an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell (voiced by newcomer Jordan Nagai) accidentally tags along for the ride, and Carl is stuck with the boy. Together they journey through South America, attempting to bring Carl's house--essentially a symbolism of Ellie--to Paradise Falls and fulfill the late Mrs. Fredricksen's wish. Along the way, they meet a dim yet loyal golden retriever named Dug (voiced by co-director and co-writer Bob Peterson), a comical and beautiful bird whom Russell names Kevin, and even the once-glorious Charles Muntz.
Some of this film's detractors accuse this film of not knowing what it wants to be. I disagree; I believe this film knows exactly what it wants to be. Actually, I know what it doesn't want to be, and that is to be standard. There are several genres in this film:a comedy; a sad story of lost love; an adventure film; a buddy action film. This film juggles quite a few different genres and moods, yet it pulls all of them off with great execution. The movie starts "small" (not an insult) and ends "small" (also not an insult).
This movie is funny and sad, just like Pixar's previous film, the spectacular WALL-E. But while WALL-E focuses on environmentalism, this movie focuses on other serious themes. Above all, the death of a loved one. But even other serious subjects, such as infertility (no joke), divorced parents and being snubbed by a father, the cone of shame, et cetera. This movie is proof that animation isn't always strictly reserved for children. If anything, I think this is a movie for senior citizens, especially considering what Carl has gone through.
As I have hinted, I greatly adore Edward Asner's vocal performance as Carl. He is terse and grumpy for most of the time, but you can just hear the pain and overbearing grief in his voice. Jordan Nagai makes the most of his theatrical debut as the hyper, energetic Russell. Bob Peterson is simply adorable as Dug, because he really gets into a canine mentality; Dug is literally your dog if he/she was suddenly able to talk ("I have just met you, and I love you!"). Of course, Christopher Plummer deserves praise for his performance as Charles Muntz. Up uses a familiar theme that is seen in most of most Pixar films, and that is the theme of seemingly good or admirable characters harboring more than meets the eye, and Christopher Plummer nails this theme with his character.
The animation is gorgeous. The textures, the fluidity of the characters, the physical humor... this movie is pure eye-candy. Of course, the sound is just as strong, if not better, than the visuals. Michael Giacchino's aforementioned score is simple in its core (the main melodies are relatively simple), but like any good motifs the character themes shift and segue appropriately when attitudes and action change. The score that plays during the wordless montage is once again top notch, but the rest of the film's music is simply magnificent, as well.
Now, about the Disney Digital 3D aspect. I have in fact seen this movie in 3D, and, I have to be honest, I really didn't see any real significance for utilizing digital 3D. Films like Coraline (which is in my opinion the single best 3D film ever made) and My Bloody Valentine 3D were amplified because of their splendid 3D effects, but Up didn't have any real standout 3D effects. Of course, as a movie Up is a much better film than My Bloody Valentine 3D but then again comparing a slasher film with a family CGI film is a bad idea. To get to the point, watching Up in 3D was pleasurable, but I wouldn't recommend spending a few extra dollars when you can watch the film in standard viewing and be just as entertained, if not more. In fact, I've seen this movie three times so far, in Digital 3D and standard viewing, so I have compared for myself.
Overall, Up is definitely among my absolute favorite Pixar films. "For every laugh there should be a tear," after all, and Up delivers. I'm so happy that after the mesmerizing WALL-E (which also gave me a case of the tears) Pixar delivered another knockout film. I really hope this trend continues.
**** out of ****
The film opens in a 1930's movie theater, where a young boy named Carl Fedricksen watches a newsreel about the hero and explorer of the day, Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer). Muntz, with his dirigible and trained dogs, retrieved a large skeleton with a missing skull from South America, but he is discredited and labeled a fraud. Enraged, Muntz leaves and promises to return with a live specimen. Regardless of being labeled a fraud, Carl idolizes Muntz, and out in the neighborhood the boy pretends to have his own dirigible. One day he meets a highly energetic and imaginative young girl named Ellie, and they become fast friends.
The film jump cuts to their young adult years, and their friendship has blossomed into love. They marry, and they spend the many, many years together in a happily married life, from the wedding until, tragically, Ellie's death. This view of a happily married life is portrayed in a nearly five-minute montage, without dialogue. As is the case with WALL-E, silence can be golden; this montage has no spoken words, but the gorgeous score by now-Pixar go-to man Michael Giacchino, and the masterful CGI Pixar is known for render this emotional montage an absolute highpoint in Up. Walt Disney once said, "For every laugh, there should be a tear." Pixar doesn't screw around with this practice: Up's "Married Life" montage rendered me weepy, and it's only within the first ten minutes of the film!
The rest of the film isn't quite as depressing as the finale of the montage. Actually, there was only one other scene in the film that made me teary yet again, but the majority of the rest is filled with either gripping action or funny humor, or both simultaneously. After Ellie's death, Carl (spectacularly voiced by Edward Asner) is bitter, emotionally withdrawn and pretty much waiting to die. But when his house--Ellie's house--is threatened to be demolished, and when Carl is forced to face life in a retirement home, he takes action. He ties thousands and thousands of balloons to his house, which allows it to float. Carl's destination is where his wife always wanted to visit: Paradise Falls in South America.
Unfortunately, there is a fly Carl's ointment: an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell (voiced by newcomer Jordan Nagai) accidentally tags along for the ride, and Carl is stuck with the boy. Together they journey through South America, attempting to bring Carl's house--essentially a symbolism of Ellie--to Paradise Falls and fulfill the late Mrs. Fredricksen's wish. Along the way, they meet a dim yet loyal golden retriever named Dug (voiced by co-director and co-writer Bob Peterson), a comical and beautiful bird whom Russell names Kevin, and even the once-glorious Charles Muntz.
Some of this film's detractors accuse this film of not knowing what it wants to be. I disagree; I believe this film knows exactly what it wants to be. Actually, I know what it doesn't want to be, and that is to be standard. There are several genres in this film:a comedy; a sad story of lost love; an adventure film; a buddy action film. This film juggles quite a few different genres and moods, yet it pulls all of them off with great execution. The movie starts "small" (not an insult) and ends "small" (also not an insult).
This movie is funny and sad, just like Pixar's previous film, the spectacular WALL-E. But while WALL-E focuses on environmentalism, this movie focuses on other serious themes. Above all, the death of a loved one. But even other serious subjects, such as infertility (no joke), divorced parents and being snubbed by a father, the cone of shame, et cetera. This movie is proof that animation isn't always strictly reserved for children. If anything, I think this is a movie for senior citizens, especially considering what Carl has gone through.
As I have hinted, I greatly adore Edward Asner's vocal performance as Carl. He is terse and grumpy for most of the time, but you can just hear the pain and overbearing grief in his voice. Jordan Nagai makes the most of his theatrical debut as the hyper, energetic Russell. Bob Peterson is simply adorable as Dug, because he really gets into a canine mentality; Dug is literally your dog if he/she was suddenly able to talk ("I have just met you, and I love you!"). Of course, Christopher Plummer deserves praise for his performance as Charles Muntz. Up uses a familiar theme that is seen in most of most Pixar films, and that is the theme of seemingly good or admirable characters harboring more than meets the eye, and Christopher Plummer nails this theme with his character.
The animation is gorgeous. The textures, the fluidity of the characters, the physical humor... this movie is pure eye-candy. Of course, the sound is just as strong, if not better, than the visuals. Michael Giacchino's aforementioned score is simple in its core (the main melodies are relatively simple), but like any good motifs the character themes shift and segue appropriately when attitudes and action change. The score that plays during the wordless montage is once again top notch, but the rest of the film's music is simply magnificent, as well.
Now, about the Disney Digital 3D aspect. I have in fact seen this movie in 3D, and, I have to be honest, I really didn't see any real significance for utilizing digital 3D. Films like Coraline (which is in my opinion the single best 3D film ever made) and My Bloody Valentine 3D were amplified because of their splendid 3D effects, but Up didn't have any real standout 3D effects. Of course, as a movie Up is a much better film than My Bloody Valentine 3D but then again comparing a slasher film with a family CGI film is a bad idea. To get to the point, watching Up in 3D was pleasurable, but I wouldn't recommend spending a few extra dollars when you can watch the film in standard viewing and be just as entertained, if not more. In fact, I've seen this movie three times so far, in Digital 3D and standard viewing, so I have compared for myself.
Overall, Up is definitely among my absolute favorite Pixar films. "For every laugh there should be a tear," after all, and Up delivers. I'm so happy that after the mesmerizing WALL-E (which also gave me a case of the tears) Pixar delivered another knockout film. I really hope this trend continues.
**** out of ****
Carl <3 Ellie
