Up (Docter & Peterson, 2009)

[fizz]

Good news for you guys...the film is being released on RealD 3D at Festival City. The preview screening I attended was at a normal screen, though more than one person has commented how in this case Real 3D is inconsequential to the film experience, because the movie itself is a treat.


My early review:

Up
Docter & Peterson | USA | 2009
96 min



Despite Pixar’s pristine cinematic reputation, Up surprised me. It is Pixar’s most touching, heartwarming film. It is saccharine, to a point. Where most films have a heart and a head, rarely both, Up also has humour, depth and gasp, something dark lurking underneath.

If you’ve seen the previews, then you probably know that Up is about a grumpy old man, Carl, his balloon-aided flying house and Russell, a kid he befriends. They go on an adventure, spurred by Carl’s desire to reach what is known as Paradise Falls, an impossibly exotic South American destination that he once yearned to visit with a wife no longer with him. In the films main highlight, a truly tender, inspired flashback sequence, we see the love between Carl and Elie (his wife) grow from when they first meet. The segment is in near silence (a technique perfected by Pixar with last year’s masterpiece Wall-E), juxtaposed with short vignettes of a wonderful life, full of love and care. I don’t know how Pixar do it, but this encapsulates the films drive – the nagging realization of a dream unfulfilled when someone is no longer with you. As dry as this may sound, the film never loses sight of the fact that it is an animated cartoon and children will be in attendance, and all of these somber moments are sprinkled with wit, though it’s not really on par with some of Pixar’s finest offerings.

Up’s colourful palette puts to shame the Wachowski brothers infamous, empty, candy floss misfire Speed Racer and is a reminder that even in animation, no one element of film making is less important than the other. I have deliberately tried to avoid the inevitable question that every Pixar aficionado asks with each new release. Is this better than their last effort? (Not really, blame Wall-E but don’t hold it against him!) Have they raised the bar for animation, storytelling and the ability to perfectly package an entertainer as something more, something profound (Yes!). Yet these questions are quickly becoming irrelevant because each Pixar film is in itself a labour of love, uniquely so.

Perhaps what pleases the most is how universal something so entirely unsellable and mundane turns out. This is after all the story of a geriatric and his humane, adventurous friendship with an Asian American kid, with talking dogs, who don’t really talk the way dogs have always done in cartoons. The animation is expectantly fantastic, with the image of Carl in his balloon-home maneuvering through skyscrapers and eventually leaving them behind becoming a metaphor of finding a deep rooted purpose in a material world. The script is virtuous and full of rich context – all throughout the screening I attended children could be heard asking meaningful questions about death, mortality and helium filled balloons, but also giggling and laughing when appropriate, and holding their breath during the many spirited thrill sequences. We’ve always had the concept of family films – parents and their children going to the movies. Up gives grandparents the chance of also tagging along.

Rating: 4/5

[shariqq]

Presto was hillarios. I loved For The Birds the most until now for the ones I've seen before a movie. But overall, Pixar's short Geri's Game is by far the best of the short ones (IMO).

Expect my comments on UP by Thursday - I'm catching the midnight show tomorrow... in 3D!

OOO
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OO
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(I couldn't help but bring these balloons back)

[fizz]

Shariq, those are wonderful!

[ak]

Up has made $68.2million for its three-day (Fri-Sun) weekend.

It is Pixar's third-highest opener after The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. Di$ney is very pleased with the results and considers it "Pixar's most emotional film thus far."

[shariqq]

Presto is brilliant. One of the best shorts. The one before Up is also pretty good and I'm starting to notice something - some elements from the short become minor elements in the feature.

They didn't show any short before the screening I saw - I caught the Wednesday night midnight show in RealD 3D. Also, upon checking, IMDb has this in the trivia pages of Up: "The first Pixar film not to feature a short film in front of the feature."

[fizz]

The short was called Partly Cloudy about a stork who gets the worst assignments of baby delivery from a cloud. Like Up itself, it was more mushy than most Pixar shorts I've seen, but hilarious (and it sort of connected to Up from the baby angle). I'm sure it will be on youtube or elsewhere soon enough.

I guess that's one of the disadvantages of seeing Up on 3D. The short isn't 3D (while the main feature is) so they can't be on the same reel, hence its exclusion.

[shariqq]

Oh - I get the connections with the movie (some of them atleast). Wish we had seen it on the big screen.

[kaytee]

Very disappointing effort, maybe I was expecting more from it but it just didn't work for me. The movie had very little laugh out loud moments and was too sentimental for it's own good.

 The only thing good about the movie was the Partly Cloudy short which was funny and had a decent message.

[ayaa1977]

Very disappointing effort, maybe I was expecting more from it but it just didn't work for me. The movie had very little laugh out loud moments and was too sentimental for it's own good.

 The only thing good about the movie was the Partly Cloudy short which was funny and had a decent message.

To tell you the truth it is refreshing to hear the dissenting voice, just like Mad's about Chop Shop. However, your voice I am sure won't be heard too because everyone else is currently busy "orally pleasing Pete Doctor and the folks at Pixar. Don't get me wrong I would have been one of them too had I stayed in Dubai and watched "UP.   

[ak]

Don't worry about what others think. Watch the movie and make up your own damn mind!

[ayaa1977]

Ok AK, you don't have to yell

[sandeep]

Amazing movie... had a lot of laugh out loud moments, emotion packed moments, wild imagination moments and overall entertaining moments...

The challenge to make this story a)animated b) funny was the true test, which it did with ease... toss in

(spoilers ahead) dogs with collars that vocalise their words and emotions, an exotic bird thought impossible to exist, an eccentric recluse adventurer and a house steered by helium balloons all the way to Paradise falls in South America, and you have yourself another winning recipe by Pixar.

With subtle messages about relationship, companionship, loyalty and old age, (the first 3 are usually party of most animated movies), this unusual package shows the true genius of writing, animation and creativity that makes Pixar.

4/5

p.s. watch it in 3D at Grand Festival City, awesome experience and comfortable glasses

[animatedude]

the most meh Pixar movie since...Cars.with this and the announcement of Cars 2 and Monsters Inc.2 it could be the beginning of an early end for Pixar.don't get me wrong,it's good but it's not as good as previous Pixar movies,not even close.

old ppl,getting old and movies about old ppl are so depressing for me,i think i would be more interested in Down,which i assume would be about that couple living together happily all those years...

[ayaa1977]

What else can I say about Pixar’s Up that hasn’t been said already? Pixar, the studio, the envy of all, and the crown jewel of Disney. They redefined the Disney brand, revived that old entity, and made it hip and relevant once again. Not only that, they actually shamed and in a way encouraged the others to better their product, which is a great outcome all around.

Everyone of you by now have seen this film I presume, cause if you didn’t then shame on you, so I am not going to waste time on describing it, instead I am gonna tell you how I felt about it:  it was a riveting experience. The first ten minutes of this film was so magical to me, and featured the best montage I have ever seen on film, ever! and by the end of it I fought hard to prevent myself of sobbing in public. Not tearing up, it was all out break down. I haven’t felt that before watching a film, that how powerful it was. I really how can one call himself or herself a human if one is not moved by that slice of Carl and Ellie’s life together. It was not a filmmaker trick to make you feel this way; it was rather a well earned moment. Then the film shifts gear and the adventure begin, and the film turned into a great escapade with a great story and great deal of laughter. It is a film that made me feel like a kid again, and I enjoyed it very much. It is by far my favorite film of this year and I give it 4.5/5.