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Pixar Animation Studios has tackled talking bugs, washed-up superheroes, a rat who can cook, and a mute garbage robot in a post-apocalyptic environment, among many other premises. For their 10th motion picture, 2009's Up, the esteemed studio delivers something unexpected: an emotionally resonant action-adventure about a 78-year-old widower, an obese young boy, and a talking canine. Despite looking like an uninviting concept on paper, the Pixar squad pulled off the impossible once again, garnering over $700 million at the worldwide box office and garnering the sort of acclaim that Michael Bay and McG could only dream of. A distinctive and masterful amalgam of comedy, action, and heart-rending pathos, Up again demonstrates why Pixar are the best in the business at what they do, and shows that even the most simplistic story ideas can translate to a masterpiece in the hands of the right creative team.
At the centre of Up is aging, bespectacled curmudgeon Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), who tragically loses his beloved wife, Ellie, after decades of blissful marriage. Carl is unable to emotionally cope with the loss, maintaining his cynical senior citizen lifestyle while property developers threaten his house. When Carl is deemed a public menace and a court orders him into an assisted living facility, he senses his last opportunity to keep his promise to Ellie and pursue a life of adventure. Carl attaches thousands of balloons to his house, allowing it to lift off the ground and into the sky, and he promptly begins flying in the direction of Paradise Falls in South America. As children, Carl and Ellie both idolised an adventurer named Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who was renowned for his expeditions to Paradise Falls. Unfortunately for Carl, he has a stowaway in the form of a Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagal), who hopes to earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge by helping Carl however he can. As they begin to traverse Paradise Falls, Carl and Russell meet an eager golden retriever named Dug, whose electronic collar can translate his thoughts into English.
Written by Bob Peterson (Finding Nemo) and director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Up is an old man/young kid "buddy film" brought to life through animation - on that note, it is essentially James and the Giant Peach meets Gran Torino. Chief among the film's myriad pleasures is watching this unlikely intergenerational friendship take root, particularly considering its shaky and highly amusing beginning. The vocal performances are top-notch across the board - instead of well-known stars to boost the box office, Up features lesser-known performers who perfectly suit their respective roles. Asner and Plummer are not unknowns, but they are not A-list actors, either.
Pixar's brilliance lies in their ability to say more in ten wordless minutes than most other films can say in twenty pages of dialogue. Up's exceptional prologue brilliantly demonstrates this trait - the brisk sequence is a masterpiece of economy and could stand 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
