Movie Review Corner: Up

[Amicitia]

Title: Up
Genre: Animated Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Synopsis: After decades of real life getting in the way, balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen finally sets out to fulfill his dream of going to Paradise Falls in South America. And how does he go? In a flying house, of course. His unwanted travelling companion, Wilderness Scout Russell, is dead-set on "assisting the elderly" so he can get his last merit badge and become a Senior Scout. Together, they navigate the skies, meet Carl's childhood hero, and hunt the elusive... snipe.

Wow. I liked this movie a lot. As usual, Pixar does a great job weaving a plot, leaving no element wasted. The theme is of dreams deferred and things never being quite what you hoped for, but the story manages to be mostly upbeat, with lots of funny moments.

On the technical side: The people are typical Pixar cartoony models, but the textures are great and the prop design is fantastic. The animals and lighting effects are very well-done. The music is good too - no pop songs, but some classical stand-bys and a quite satisfying original score.

I have to say, Pixar has some serious guts. In the first ten minutes of the movie, Carl's love interest grows up, has a miscarriage, gets old, and dies - mostly in a dialogue-less montage. At that point I already felt like I had gotten my money's worth. (Of course, this means that there are no women in the rest of the movie, but the focus on spry, spirited old men kind of makes up for it.)

Also, the pre-movie short, "Partly Cloudy", is amazing. Don't miss it.

Can't find the option to put in a poll, but...

  = LOVED IT!

[Phoenix]

Ah! Amicitia! You beat me to it!

I was on my way to post a review for this one. Was finishing up the other movie I watched this weekend.

This movie did bring many tears to my eyes, but that's a good thing. I do agree with you Ami about the stuff you have behind your spoiler cut.

It was an amazing movie and will be added to the DVD collection.

  = LOVED IT!

[BubblyShell22]

I also loved this movie a lot. Yes, the things you have in your spoiler, Ami, are very true. They did deal with some serious and grown-up issues within this movie, which made it very good for me. I had expected Carl to just be this cranky single man when we find out that he was once married and had a good life before it all fell apart. In that context, you can understand why he is the way he is. I also loved Russell, Doug, and Kevin (or maybe we should call her Kevina). I also loved the talking Doberman who had a broken wire and then got it fixed. "I liked his other voice better." LOL. Overall, I loved this movie and can't wait to get it on DVD.