Up (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Get up and go see 'Up', directed by Pete Docter & Bob Peterson. That is my advice to you on this fine May weekend. While 'Up' is a comedy adventure, the opening prologue is actually very sweet, & quite a bit sad. It's the story of Carl & Ellie, 2 misfit kids who find each other. They both love adventure; dreaming of lands far & wide. Before long, they marry, move into their little dream house, suffer the heartbreak of not being able to have children, but all the while, hoping to save enough $$ to take a trip to Paradise Falls in South America. Their adventure is put on hold, though, by life's circumstances. And after spending close to 70 yrs. together, Carl is soon the only one left standing. This is one of the best examples of an opening back story (to a movie) that I've seen in quite a long time.
Now that Ellie is gone, 78 yr. old Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting Paradise Falls himself. It was there that Carl & Ellie's childhood hero, Charles Muntz (a well-cast Christopher Plummer) disappeared back in the 1930's. Having once been a balloon salesman, Carl decides to tie thousands of helium-filled balloons through his chimney, blow 'em, up, & lift his house up to the sky! Unfortunately, a few minutes into flight, Carl realizes that there's an unexpected passenger clinging onto his front porch. This is Russell, a young wilderness explorer (not unlike Carl as a youngen) who is out for adventure, & came to Carl's door hoping to attain his last merit badge by 'helping an old person'. Carl begrudgingly takes him into the house as a stowaway. And so sets the stage for 70 min. of imagination, fantasy, adventure, new sights, new encounters, extreme highs & lows.
Older Carl starts out as a real grump. Russell starts out as an overeager optimist. But by the end, both show different sides of themselves (through slow expository scenes) & go through some subtle, but powerful transformations. And even though they are good characters, my personal faves were the inhabitants of Paradise Falls ... the talking dogs & Kevin. Kevin is an enormous, gorgeously-colored bird who 'caws' at just the right moments for comedic effect. And her own journey to get back home to her babies is touching. Dug the dog is a funny character. Hearing him talk (through a mechanism built-in to his dog collar), he says the kinds of things we'd expect a dog to say in any given situation (like breaking a conversation when spotting a squirrel, haha). I loved a character named Alpha dog because the mechanism inside his collar is broken; giving him a tiny, un-menacing, helium-like voice which ill-suits his scary physical presence.
'Up' is a beautifully-rendered movie; artistic & creative. It wipes the floor with most other animated films that come down the pike. It's the funniest Pixar film since Finding Nemo. Michael Giacchino's musical score is great. And the themes are strong (miscarriage, divorce). But it's not as visionary as some earlier Pixar works, such as Wall-E. And even though the movie is fantasy ... some of the plot points (including the hectic climax atop a flying dirigible) really stretched my suspension of disbelief. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 'Up'. It's one of the better films to come out this year. And though it didn't fully coalesce for me emotionally, I still think it's a great addition to the Pixar pantheon; providing exquisite animation, & a good movie-going experience. That's a definite.
Now that Ellie is gone, 78 yr. old Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting Paradise Falls himself. It was there that Carl & Ellie's childhood hero, Charles Muntz (a well-cast Christopher Plummer) disappeared back in the 1930's. Having once been a balloon salesman, Carl decides to tie thousands of helium-filled balloons through his chimney, blow 'em, up, & lift his house up to the sky! Unfortunately, a few minutes into flight, Carl realizes that there's an unexpected passenger clinging onto his front porch. This is Russell, a young wilderness explorer (not unlike Carl as a youngen) who is out for adventure, & came to Carl's door hoping to attain his last merit badge by 'helping an old person'. Carl begrudgingly takes him into the house as a stowaway. And so sets the stage for 70 min. of imagination, fantasy, adventure, new sights, new encounters, extreme highs & lows.
Older Carl starts out as a real grump. Russell starts out as an overeager optimist. But by the end, both show different sides of themselves (through slow expository scenes) & go through some subtle, but powerful transformations. And even though they are good characters, my personal faves were the inhabitants of Paradise Falls ... the talking dogs & Kevin. Kevin is an enormous, gorgeously-colored bird who 'caws' at just the right moments for comedic effect. And her own journey to get back home to her babies is touching. Dug the dog is a funny character. Hearing him talk (through a mechanism built-in to his dog collar), he says the kinds of things we'd expect a dog to say in any given situation (like breaking a conversation when spotting a squirrel, haha). I loved a character named Alpha dog because the mechanism inside his collar is broken; giving him a tiny, un-menacing, helium-like voice which ill-suits his scary physical presence.
'Up' is a beautifully-rendered movie; artistic & creative. It wipes the floor with most other animated films that come down the pike. It's the funniest Pixar film since Finding Nemo. Michael Giacchino's musical score is great. And the themes are strong (miscarriage, divorce). But it's not as visionary as some earlier Pixar works, such as Wall-E. And even though the movie is fantasy ... some of the plot points (including the hectic climax atop a flying dirigible) really stretched my suspension of disbelief. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed 'Up'. It's one of the better films to come out this year. And though it didn't fully coalesce for me emotionally, I still think it's a great addition to the Pixar pantheon; providing exquisite animation, & a good movie-going experience. That's a definite.