Reviews of Up

Up review

Posted : 5 days, 14 hours ago on 9 December 2009 08:03 (A review of Up)

Up is a film that I had high hopes for especially because I am a massive Pixar fan. When I first saw the trailer and read the plot of Up, I didn't think that it would be very good but when I did see it, it turned out to be another Pixar masterpiece! The story sounded quite thoughtless and dumb to start with but I surprised myself and was really surprised at how emotional this film really was. Up is a very fun film to watch regarding the adventure, the comedy and the action within it. I love the message the film sends out in this film. One thing that Up did do like WALL-E did and that was it took around 20 minutes for the house to start going into the sky when it is 96 minutes long. Yes, I realise that WALL-E didn't go into outer space until like 39-40 minutes but the WALL-E character was such a focus that resembled E.T. all over again. The thing that this film did have was the hilarious humour. Up is a lot funnier than Cars, Ratatouille and WALL-E which makes it Pixar's funniest film since The Incredibles. Up is more child-friendly than WALL-E and Ratatouille. It is another magical film from Pixar which never seems to cease.


Carl Fredricksen is a typical old man who is stubborn and very grumpy. The film starts with the story of Carl as a young child and young man which tells the story of his life and how he ended up with the house and the passion of travelling to South America. One day, he has thousands of balloons attached to the fire of his house which lifts the whole house up into the air. The way Carl was with the house especially when they were in South America was like Carl was treating the house of him and his late wife was like a prized possession and something he can't live without. Wilderness Explorer Russell is a very kind yet overly optimistic and quite irritating young boy who accidentally ends up being stowed away on the trip when paying Carl a second visit. Russell is a character who reminds me a lot of Chowder in Monster House; a typical fat boy who makes me laugh a lot in a both hilarious and annoying sort of way. The dog in this film was really hilarious who has a collar that makes him talk normal English. At first when all the dogs came into it, I thought "why are dogs in South America and where did they come from?" but as the story carries on I thought "Ahh, I realise now." The tropical bird was really cool as well who made me laugh a lot especially with when he was throwing Russell around and playing games with him and teasing Carl. Russell called it Kevin even though he found out just afterwards Kevin is in fact a female. Carl is the most unusually looking human Pixar character yet. Carl is based on Spencer Tracy.


Pete Docter is another brilliant Pixar director but doesn't do them as good as Andrew Stanton and especially Brad Bird. Pete Docter brings us another brilliant film that expresses what adventure really is about just like what Monsters, Inc. does but in its own way. It is another Pixar film that teaches about a person achieving their ambitions and their goals. Ratatouille was like this as well. This film is directed very differently compared to other Pixar films but Pete Docter was the right person to direct this film because he has made it so unusual like he did with Monsters, Inc.


Up is another really amazing Pixar film that I really enjoyed watching. It isn't as good as Pixars such as Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles or Monsters, Inc. but better than WALL-E, Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Cars. It is hard to decided this year between Up and Coraline as my Best Animated Picture 2009 winner because they're both so brilliant and are two of the best films of 2009. Personally, I think that Up is Pixar's most extraordinary film yet but is another film that they should be proud of! Here we go for Toy Story 3!

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Pixar makes a steady film that looses some steam

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 26 October 2009 09:28 (A review of Up)

Ehh, well, it's better than Wall-E as a whole. The transition from our world to a realm of fiction is far smoother than in the aforementioned film, as it comes naturally and fluidly. The viewer hardly notices a transition at all when our main character goes up into the air. If anything this movie works as solid proof of why Pixar should only make short films, as the initial twenty minutes outdo the entire last hour of this movie. They're charming, original and most certainly very touching. Then after that it becomes your average fun to watch romp in the jungle with funny sidekicks and bizarre events. It isn't a bad film at this point but the charm is simply gone, only to return in brief dialogue or individual shots here and there. It's a shame that after all these years the company still struggles to keep the strings in their hands after the adorable set-up for the story. Still, as I've said, it is enjoyable even at it's worst. The voice acting is terrific and the annoying little kid is actually never that annoying. Up looses some of it's charm after an eventful and beautiful opening, but you know I don't think most people will be that shocked by it or even think of it as an incident too bad.

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The only way is UP baby.

Posted : 1 month, 3 weeks ago on 18 October 2009 01:03 (A review of Up)

''I don't want your help, I want you safe.''

By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.

Edward Asner: Carl Fredricksen

Certainly it is rather obvious that Pixar has become the most dependable studio out there for producing reliable films that don't simply continue to raise the standards in animation but also at the same time set a level of excellence in story, plot and raising spirits. Up represents another change in style, as significant as Wall-E's shift to photorealism, intricate camera effects and darker themes. Up effectively blends moments of tragedy with almost at times, jolly humour, while showing that their understanding of story structure and pacing becomes more enlightened upon every new project.

Up is about a 70-something ex-balloon salesman who fulfills a lifelong dream of adventure by tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying away to South America. This trip, inspired by his adventure- loving wife who dies before their dream is realized, is forced when property developers attempt a compulsory purchase on his house and try to move him to a retirement home (Up in a way has similarities with Gran Torino, addressing age and retirement homes). The problem arises in the form of a rather talkative 8 year old Wildness Explorer stowed away on the property when it begins it's ascent. Their adventure focuses on the characters they meet along the way, while our hero Carl is still trying to drag his house to the dream destination upon the top of a waterfall paradise.

The opening shows the life of Carl, growing from an young boy, meeting his adventuring-loving girlfriend, their marriage and her death just before their adventure starts - it's an incredibly emotional 5-minute intro that is light on dialogue yet heavy on visuals, and caused a great stir in emotion for me. This sequence in particular was certainly reminiscent of voice free parts of Wall-E which deliver their plot punches without exposition or the need for endless sequences that would take twice as long in live action. But this approach doesn't leave the younger audience behind either, and for such a dark start, all I could see in the audience were kids and adults alike glued to the screen.
I won't give away any more plot details since the film doesn't open for another three weeks, but every scene and character trait is meticulously plotted so that nothing seems too ridiculous or contrived, even for such a fantastic journey. The graphic stylization is also fresh, in the same way that The Incredibles had a very distinct and authentic look. All of this serves to elevate the humour and there are some particularly funny scenes, helped by the way the characters are quickly and believably established.

This is the second time I've been to Pixar to see a pre-release of a movie and I felt a little scared before seeing this one, wondering if their run of first-class work may have grinded to a halt. On the surface, I didn't really think a story about an elderly chap in a flying house could live up to my favourite film classic Wall-E, yet although the films are as different as they can be, Up is as gripping and entertaining as any Pixar film before it.
Overall, Up and the little short film included with it, about clouds, are certainly brush strokes of genius. A must see not just for children but for adults too, Up is an exceptional story of life, friendship and the unimportance of materialism. Whether it be a house or a helmet, you can't take them with you, when your time is up.

''Thanks for the adventure. Now go have one of your own.''

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Another step Up for Pixar

Posted : 1 month, 4 weeks ago on 17 October 2009 09:50 (A review of Up)

"Adventure is out there!"

In the past, Pixar have tackled talking cars, washed-up superheroes, a rat who cooks and a mute garbage robot in a post-apocalyptic environment. For Up, the revered animation pioneers deliver something unexpected: a melancholy action-adventure concerning a 78-year-old widower and an obese young boy. No doubt on paper this idea seemed impetuous, but the Pixar squad have hit the pay dirt once again; scoring over $400 million at the worldwide box office and garnering the sort of acclaim that Michael Bay and McG could only dream of for the idiotic blockbusters they create. For their 10th motion picture, Pixar have weaved together a strange and shrewd amalgam of comedy and heart-rending pathos in the form of a visually dazzling, high-flying marvel of an adventure.

At the centre of Up is aging, bespectacled curmudgeon Carl Fredricksen (Asner). Reeling from the death of his beloved wife Ellie, Carl is caught in a mournful stasis; maintaining his curmudgeonly senior citizen lifestyle while an encroaching development threatens his comfortable old house. When Carl is forced to move into a retirement home, he senses the opportunity to pursue the life of adventure that his wife had always dreamed of. Attaching hundreds of balloons to his house to lift it off the ground, Carl travels in the direction of South Africa in the hope of landing near the jungle stomping grounds of his boyhood hero - adventurer Charles Muntz (Plummer). Inconveniently, however, he has a stowaway onboard: pudgy, devout boy scout Russell (Nagal) who hopes Carl can help with the achievement of his "Assisting the Elderly" badge.

Up is vehemently an old man/young kid "buddy film" transplanted effectively into the animation format - on that note, it's practically James and the Giant Peach meets Gran Torino. Chief among the film's myriad pleasures is watching this unlikely inter-generational friendship take root. It's even more satisfying to watch the relationship blossom given its unpromising and highly amusing beginning. The vocal work is top-notch right across the board. Instead of seeking big names to fill roles purely for the novelty value, Pixar found the right voices. Edward Asner and Christopher Plummer are not unknowns, but neither are they A-list stars. They're perfect for their respective characters of Carl and Muntz, and viewers are not left with the afterimages of their real-life features burned onto the animated characters.

The brilliance of Pixar is their ability to say more in five wordless minutes than most other films can say in ten pages of dialogue. Pixar understands that this is a visual medium, and the team strongly believe in the old adage that a picture says a thousand words. From an emotional standpoint, the greatest thing about Up is its prologue - running at approximately 10 minutes, it's a masterpiece of economy and could stand on its own as a self-contained short. It tells the story of Carl and Ellie, whose childhood meeting (when they were both adventure-spirited kids) is charm personified. The episode that follows has a certain grace that's seldom seen in a motion picture - it's an emotionally resonant, beautiful montage that exquisitely captures the couple's young love, marriage, hopes, dreams and heartbreaks. But Ellie eventually dies and Carl is left alone in a house rich with memories where every floorboard is imbued with Ellie's presence. It brings a tear to the eye. Furthermore, this is all communicated brilliantly and mutely by the filmmakers who utilise the gift of elegant animation and well-lubed character expressions to lend the audience a glimpse into Carl's stubborn psychology. Through this, a viewer gets to know everything there is to know about Carl... We understand him, and feel with him. His decision to abandon the world and float away seems sensible and right. All the central characters are brilliantly developed; Pixar understands that the action set-pieces are far more nail-biting with likeable characters entangled in the perilous situations.

Every frame of Up is meticulously constructed to the finest detail, with every behaviour (be it dog or human) carefully observed and replicated. The film is constructed with all the required narrative elements in place, yet the functionality is rarely obvious. There's a villain in the film, as well as conflict, but that's all external. At surface level, Up is the story of an elderly man and his boy scout sidekick wandering through exotic jungles and fighting dastardly air pirates. But in truth, this is the story of Carl coming to grips with the loss of his beloved wife and struggling to find a way to move on. The rest is just window dressing. See, above all else, those who constructed the movie never forgot that entertainment is job one. The film itself is therefore a piece of entertainment which can also be appreciated for what it carries underneath its surface.

As always, the animation in Up (a marvellous blend of realism and caricature) is breathtaking - especially in 3-D, which is the best way to experience the movie. Pixar have become so excellent at what they do, it's almost no longer a requirement to stop and marvel their artistic efforts. The filmmakers' attention to detail borders on pathological, from the way Carl's beard subtly grows as the days roll by to the vivid candy colours of the beautiful mound of balloons. There are a number of images here that would be considered amazing in any film (animated or live-action). On top of all this, the stunning visual world is set to a wonderful musical score. Composer Michael Giacchino recalls the lushly orchestrated compositions of cinema's golden age; providing ebullient pieces of music perfectly suited to Carl and Russell's lofty adventure.

One thing's for sure: Up is very touching, but it's also hilarious. There are sequences included here with the inventiveness of a Charlie Chaplin comedy, not to mention an abundance of clever laugh lines with nary a pop-culture reference in sight. One of the greatest pleasures of Up is a bunch of talking dogs. Anyone who has ever spent time with a dog will find infinite pleasures in the spot-on approximations of what might be going through a lovable, slobbery mutt's mind at any given moment. It's comedy gold. Granted, some of the characters feel more like the product of a DreamWorks animation film, but they're grounded with a glorious Pixar sensibility (for instance, if this was a DreamWorks movie, the talking dogs would all carry iPhones and the giant bird would be voiced by Eddie Murphy). In a way, Up does succumb to screenwriting clichés towards the opening of its third act; hatching a break-up-to-make-up scenario that feels alien to the material. Yet this is only a small objection within a film of boundless beauty and gorgeous cartoon buoyancy.

A motion picture like Up makes it clear that Pixar has moved beyond the point where they need to pander children. Unlike DreamWorks, Pixar allows sophisticated themes and ideas to seep into their movies and they don't feel the need to oversimplify everything. That's not to say Pixar creates family unfriendly art films - Up includes plenty of jokes that kid will get, and its appeal is boundless. To describe the pleasures afforded by Up is ultimately an exercise in futility because it wins you over in so many ways - alternating between solid belly laughs to cliffhanger thrills to gorgeous imagery - that one is simply left wondering what they're smoking over at Pixar studios and why more filmmakers aren't smoking the same thing.

8.9/10

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Up

Posted : 5 months, 3 weeks ago on 23 June 2009 10:41 (A review of Up)

As usual the Pixar brand delivers an exeptional piece of work. A sort of rollercoaster ride of highs and lows that tug away at the heart strings and, at times, leaves a tear in the eye. The story revolves around an explorer who has never had the time or funds to explore. Upon reaching his senior years and seeing the world around him change so radically he no longer feels to be a part of it. He decides enough is enough and sets of on the journey of a lifetime, with a few taggers along he surely didn't expect. Well worth a watch, and great fun.

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Here Snipe, Clap Clap Clap...

Posted : 6 months, 2 weeks ago on 30 May 2009 02:36 (A review of Up)

Finally this movie is out in theatres, after much promotion and anticipation from most of my friends as the next great pixar movie that disney put out. Agreed, this is the best animated movie i have seen since Bolt; there was only one thing that cast me away from it. A very sad movie, not the kind of sad i would have thought either; a journey gone wrong and the duo must find they're way home, not that at all. A very upsetting opening showing a young Carl Fredrickson falling in love with Ellie, his female counterpart who had the same taste as him for adventure. Knowing she is not in the main plot, something bad has to happen as the years go by and they spend time together; leading to the current times of Mr. Fredrickson; all alone. Joining him on his trip he vowed (crossed his heart) to make to Pleasant falls was little russel, a wilderness scout trying to earn his "helping the elderly" badge and found himself on the old man's porch as it lifted from the ground on thousands of helium filled balloons. Dont get the wrong impression that the film is purely sad, im just not into those type of movies. When the funny parts kicked in, they really hit hard to the entire audience on all levels; kids and older viewers too. The constant sturggles and battles faced in this movie remind me the most of the film "The Incredibles", being the antagonist was someone Mr. Fredrickson much looked up to and actually was his reason for craving adventure as a younger man and child. in that sense, the script was flipped between the two opposing forces, but the rivalry found its way onto the screen and didn't disappoint. i reccomend seeing it in 3D, some parts wouldent make sense with the 2D format, but either way you see the film, it'll be an "Adventure".

Russell: [from trailer] Good afternoon. Are you in need of any assistance today, sir?
Carl Fredricksen: No.
Russell: I could help you cross the street.
Carl Fredricksen: No.
Russell: I could help you cross your yard?
Carl Fredricksen: No.
Russell: I could help you cross...
Carl Fredricksen: No!
[closes the door on Russell's foot]
Russell: Ow.

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