Up
Up
2009
Starring: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, and Bob Peterson
Written by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, and Thomas McCarthy
Directed by: Pete Docter and Bob Peterson
A true home run of a film by any stretch of imagination. To make a film so truthful, so genuine, so warm and touching, and then have it be animated? Pixar is truly the best of the best when it comes to animation simply because they know that it is the story and the characters more than it is any flashy cartoons that make a truly good movie.
And Up is one of their very best so that’s saying something.
The story is of one man’s journey. We see Carl as a boy meet the love of his life, Ellie, as they both pretend to be great explorers like their idol, Charles Munce. We see them grow old together always promising to one day get to Paradise Falls and live there but never being quite able to. It’s a childhood dream that can never come true due to reality. Finally, Ellie passes away leaving Carl quite alone.
His isolation is well depicted and even unsubtle as you see that all around his house construction is going on. John Ratzenberger makes his usual Pixar appearance as a construction worker who tries to get Carl to sell his house to the man and move into a retirement community.
It is then that the boy in Carl is reborn and he decides that he will get to Paradise Falls. By attaching a million baloons to his chimney he makes his house fly away and head towards South America. He unwittingly takes a young boy named Russell who stowed away as he was trying to “assist the elderly” for a merit badge in his local Wilderness Explorers.
What happens then is the most innocent of adventures.
We meet colorful characters like old Charles Munce, obsessed with finding a live speciman of a rare bird. We meet the rare bird, dubbed Kevin by Russell. We meet Charles’ dogs with collars that allow them to speak English.
And we learn the heart of a man. After a long harrowing journey when he gets to Paradise Falls, he realizes what is important is not the childhood dream, but living the life he has. I can’t really do it justice. You have to watch to feel.
It is truly a brilliant piece of work that touches on so many levels. A true home run.