Every so often a film comes along that reminds us why we cherish the medium so much in the first place.
UP, Disney/Pixar's tenth film, does just that.
UP (2009)
Directed by MONSTERS, INC. helmer Pete Docter, UP tells the tale of the irascible 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Ed Asner), a former balloon salesman, who when faced with eviction to a rest home, ties thousands of balloons to his house for a voyage to South America to honor the childhood dream of his now deceased wife Ellie. When Russell, an eager and persistent "wilderness scout" is inadvertently brought along for the ride, a wild and adventurous trek breaks out as Carl and Russel, along with a rare bird Kevin and a (sort of) talking dog Dug, team up as the old man searches for the place that he and his wife fantasized over since youth.
UP succeeds in the same manner that every Pixar film - with maybe the exception of CARS - did before it. Highlighted by a moving montage showing the evolution of Carl and Ellie's relationship - from the high of pregnancy to the low of miscarriage; from courtship, marriage, and the crafting of their house from scratch to coming to grips with the death of his wife - UP makes no qualms going into territory that most animated films wouldn't dare. UP takes its viewers on a cavalcade of emotions; it's ardent and lugubrious, but also starkly blithe and intrepid, leaving a fully-rounded and realized flick that hits on all notes.
The audacity and lack of regard for conventions is what makes Pixar's output, UP most notably, so rewarding, especially when the seemingly invincible production house comes out on the other end sparkling each and every time. Last time Pixar did it with a film with virtually no human dialogue, just plain old adorable robot infatuation. This time it's the beauty of love, the disconsolate nature of death, the bleak reality of growing old, and the rounding of a character arc for a man that realizes sometimes you just have to let go. It's stuff that comes from a magical partnership between Walt Disney and his company and an animation studio that is consistently re-writing (or just ignoring altogether) the rulebook.
Though the film loses a little steam in its final act, the consummate beauty of the first act, as well as the sparkling humor and rip-roaring adventure of the second, makes UP not only a beautifully realized film, but also a film that will almost assuredly bring Pixar their fifth Best Animated Feature trophy next year at the Oscars.
UP will make you laugh. UP will make you cry. And above all, UP manifests what it is that kindles our love for watching movies.
With the release of UP this weekend comes the teaser trailer for TOY STORY 3. Keeping with Pixar tradition, the trailer is a teaser in every sense of the word, but since TOY STORY is near-and-dear to my heart and one of the definitive movies of my childhood, I feel obliged to share this glorious, nostalgia-inducing video with all of you:
June 18, 2010. Can't wait! :)
