Up

Directed By: Pete Docter (Co-Directed By Bob Peterson)

Written By: Bob Peterson and Pete Docter

Starring: (The Voices Of) Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, and Bob Peterson

Original Music: Michael Giacchino

Rated: PG for some peril and action.

    The first images of Up are an unlikely homage to what seems like a strange reference point for the latest Pixar adventures. A news crawl grabs the attention of a young child sitting in a movie theater, and although the story is different, its hard not to recall the opening news reel in Citizen Kane. By the point Up launches into an early montage covering almost 70 years, Welles’ techniques are not only realized by the latest animated adventure, this one brought to life by Pete Docter (director of Monsters Inc.) and Bob Peterson (screenwriter of Finding Nemo), but like the film’s main motif, soar above and beyond.

    Up is the tenth feature from Pixar Studios, which has again and again pulled together an amazing feature. Like the studio’s previous feature WALL-E, Up flawlessly combines young adventures together with mature themes in a beautifully realized world. It also has possibly the studio’s most unique hero—the 78-year-old Carl Frederickson. Short and plump, with a clown-sized nose, square glasses, and armed with only a walker with tennis balls, Carl looks ready for TV instead of adventures. But part of Mr. Docter’s and Mr. Peterson’s motto for the film—everyone can be an adventurer, no matter what they do—is what crafts Carl into a dazzling story.

    Before Carl can even grow up though, he is that young boy sitting in movie theater, watching his hero, the explorer Christopher Muntz (part Charles Lindburgh and part Darwin), take on the adventures of a life-time. But he’s not alone in his quest, and soon meets Ellie, a young girl with Carl’s same heart. Before the two can part off for South America, love strikes and Mr. Peterson and Mr. Docter give us a montage of their lives—love is abound, but it seems adventures is always on hold, finally dashed as Ellie’s heart gives out. And this is only the first ten minutes, and won’t be the first time tears start coming out.

    Carl sits alone in his home, wrapped up by his possessions as the world seems to grow up behind him. When finally forced to leave his home, he decides that adventure is finally time, but won’t leave Ellie behind. Using his tools as a balloon salesman, Carl takes his home along for the ride, tied up to a massive amount of balloons that floats above the sky in a beautiful fashion. The images of Carl’s house dominate the posters and press materials for the film, but even when it is finally revealed, its hard not to be swept up over the wonders of such a contraption.

    As Carl gets to South America, planning to move his home to where Ellie and him always planned, he gets wrapped up in a new adventure, with a numbers of characters, including a small 8-year-old boy who thinks in terms of adventures but has never been on one. Russell, plump and always shouting, puts detours in Carl’s dream, but along with talking dogs, giant birds, and beautiful terrain, Carl soon learns the real meaning of adventure.

    If Up lacks the technical genius of WALL-E (the camera is more traditional, the animation less complex), it certainly makes up for it in sheer emotion. The story set out by Mr. Docter and Mr. Peterson opens with ambitions and then uses the conventional adventure story for some unconventional themes. The two are willing to challenge some traditions, while using the formula to make something completely new. At one point, the story and some of the smaller notes of the characters may seem a little uninspired, but its hard to feel spiteful with the true emotion that comes out of the adventure. There are simply so many times where Mr. Peterson and Mr. Docter know how to tug the strings of the heart and get the eyeballs watery, and never does it seemed forced.  Their creativity seems limitless, and simply their images beautiful. The film is full of color, and it seems like a wondrous symbol for Carl’s love of adventure (I saw the film in its traditional 2D version; From the notes I’ve read, the 3D version is grand because the effects are subtle and not-overused, but apparently the glasses mean the picture is simply not as bright; I would personally thus recommend the traditional version if you can find it because of this limitation, since the wondrous colors are so breathtaking).

    Up is beautiful, and that is simply the best compliment I can give it.