Up

What has worked so well for animated features over the last 10-15 years -- besides the crazy advances in technology -- has to be the choice to play to both an adult and child audience. The visuals, the cute characters, the vivid colors, all things that while appealing to both an adult and a kid are more directed toward a younger demographic. Then for the adults in the crowds, there is the stories that reflect your own past and upbringing, the in-jokes that a little kid wouldn't appreciate, and an ability to pull at your heart strings like nobody's business.

No studio has embraced this concept -- playing to both audiences -- better than Pixar Studios with the Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, WALL-E and many more.  Of all the studio's films though, maybe no other movie has hit all the right notes like 2009's Up did. Crazy, ridiculous, awesome animation aside, this has to be one of the most unique movies to hit theaters in recent years.  The story is unlike any other animated movie I can think of, and the story goes for the emotional jugular on several different instances. All the Pixar movies are memorable in their own way, but this is right up there with Toy Story and Monsters Inc. as one of the best.

After a long happy life with his wife Ellie, crotchety old guy Carl Fredericksen (voice of Ed Asner) doesn't know what to do with himself as the world changes around him when his wife dies. He decides to complete one of Ellie's dreams, building their house on Paradise Falls in South America, attaching thousands of balloons to the house they lived in for so many years and flying it to South America. Carl isn't alone though as Russell (voice of Jordan Nagai), a young boy and Wilderness explorer looking for his final merit badge -- assisting the elderly -- was accidentally swept up with the house too.  Together, they fly south toward Paradise Falls, picking up passengers along the way including a mythical, colorful bird Russell dubs 'Kevin,' and a dog named Dug (voice of Bob Peterson), who can communicate with words thanks to a gadget in his collar. Waiting in South America though is a longtime idol of Carl's, Charles Muntz (voice of Christopher Plummer), a supposedly heroic and good person who may have some ulterior motives.

I think the best and most positive thing I can say about this Academy Award winning animated feature from directors Pete Docter and Peterson is that it is unlike anything I've seen. All the Pixar movies have some unique feature, something different that sucks an audience in. Toy Story had toys coming to life, The Incredibles a superhero family, WALL-E a friendly alien.  But what about Up? A story of a senior citizen who resents the way the world is changing after his wife's passing, a chubby, precocious and well-meaning kid looking for a friend, a dim-witted, ultra-friendly dog who can talk, and a bad guy straight out of a 1930s serial?  Whoever thought that list of ingredients was a good one for an animated feature, well good for you. Nothing about that screams 'HUGE SUCCESS!' Somehow and some way, it just works.

Up does not have the huge name recognition among its voice talents, but that's not an issue by any means.  Ed Asner providing his gravelly, scratchy voice to play Carl Fredericksen is an inspired choice.  The visual of what Carl looks like just completes it all, making one of the most unlikely main characters ever to lead an animated movie. Young 10-year old Nagai clearly has a future doing voice work, bringing Russell to life as one of many characters in Up that leaves an impossibly positive impression.  Peterson gets a ton of laughs as Dug, the talking dog (Squirrel!) while Plummer's always menacing voice is a nice touch as hero turned villain Charles Muntz.  The voices are really solid without being distracting, letting the story and its emotion and visual aspects do their thing.

What struck me most about this movie was the darkness of the thing, the gut-wrenching emotional impact this supposedly kids oriented animation movie had.  We're not talking a sniffle here and there, but instead that feeling where you want to throw up you feel so bad, the tears welling up in an instant in your eyes.  The plot description I attempted doesn't exactly seem like a story designed for a young audience, does it? I'd be careful who I actually showed this movie to depending on the age of the kid.  Up might be too dark and too much to handle for a very young audience.  All the Pixar movies have that dark edge at some point, but nothing like this.

I knew I was in trouble about 10 minutes in with a montage showing Carl and Ellie's life together, a sequence done with music and visuals but no dialogue.  I said it before, and I'll say it again. Gut-wrenching, it's the best and only way to describe the very moving montage, and nothing you'd expect from a Pixar movie (not on that emotional level at least).  Think you're in the free and clear? Not so fast. The movie is full of these moments as Carl and Russell become surprisingly fast friends, two lonely people looking for just that...a friend.  Carl misses his wife while Russell is looking for a father figure, a big brother if nothing else.  In each other, they find what they're looking for; genuine friendship. The movie's ending is an especially touching one, working mostly because of its simplicity. It doesn't go for a BIG moment, just an effective one.  The last shot especially is the perfect capper for a great animated movie.

Great voice talent, an incredibly unique storyline, beautiful visuals (what else do you expect from a Pixar/Disney movie?), and an emotional impact that most movies only dream of.  Up slipped by me these last couple of years, but am I ever glad I watched this one.  A gem of an animated movie, and overall just a great movie.      

Up <---trailer (2009): ****/****