Over a week ago, I made one of my rare trips to the movie theater for one of my annual devotionals to Pixar. Yes, folks, I have officially seen every single Pixar film at the show and within a week of its release. I, no doubt, have an overt bias toward this production company, but let's face it. Pixar's worst film (which for me is Cars right now) is still ahead of the curve and better than 90% of the films out there. Not to mention the fact that the originator of CGI entertainment still remains original, while all of the copycats have languished in the mediocrity of imitiation.
Up is Pixar's tenth feature and a strange hybrid of the studio's most original, and yet, most cliched story concept to date (some might peg that brand on Wall-E, but I beg to differ). The first act treats us to the introduction of Carl Fredericksen and how he came to meet his future wife and soulmate, Ellie. As childhood friends and sweethearts, they shared a love of adventure and dreamt of exploring South America and the legendary Paradise Falls. They held onto this dream throughout their marriage and adulthood, through highs such as the purchase of their fixer-upper of a home (once an abandoned dilapidation they made their imaginary zeppelin) and lows, such as their inability to have children. Through it all, they remained devoted, until Ellie succumbs to old age and illness. Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) is left alone but for his promise to his now deceased wife that he would seek their adventure and find Paradise Falls. The trouble is, Carl is something of a curmudgeon and unfortunately has one of those houses located smack within what looks to be a newly rezoned commercial development project. When the construction foreman (voiced by Pixar's good luck charm, Cliff, I mean, John Ratzenberger), who tries to encourage Carl to move on, receives a blow to his noggin from an otherwise frustrated Carl, thereby causing a judge to court-order him into a retirement home, Carl takes action. As seen in all of the previews, he transforms his home into one giant zeppelin of his own, lifted by thousands of colorful helium balloons. He has two problems, however. Young and precocious nature scout Russell, who has been bothering Mr. Fredricksen in the name of a few good-deed patches, stows away on his airborne front porch. What's worse, Carl encounters a bit of turbulence and, courtesy of Russell, lands on the wrong side of the chasm containing the famed Paradise Falls. Thus, Carl and Russell take his now floating house (not unlike a land speeder in Star Wars) by the reins and drag it through tangled jungle, only to encounter strange birds, talking dogs, Carl's childhood hero turned lunatic hunter (voiced by Christopher Plummer), and more adventure than a man of advancing age bargained for.
I read this article earlier this week, which was hot-linked to the imdb's home page. The article can be found here:
http://www.overthinkingit.com/2009/06/03/pixars-up-paradise-lost-at-paradise-falls/
Well, it's really more of a blog post, but it's theme contemplates how Up and Milton's poem Paradise Lost share some noteworthy similarities. I wonder if these similarities were purposeful or subconscious on the part of the writers.
What the article most expertly discusses is how Up is a lot deeper and more grounded than its whimsical colorful balloons suggest. In many ways, this fable is an allegory for growing pains, particularly with regard to growing old. It's an affirmation of life and love and camraderie, and the story is told in a frightfully inventive way, with humor and heartwrenching sadness. The silent movie giving the viewer the glimpse of Carl and Ellie's life together was so touching, it elicited many a vocal "aw" from the crowd with which I saw this film. The talking dogs, particularly the malfunctioning translator on the Doberman named Alpha were hilarious. The voice acting by Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer was pitch-perfect, and their animated likenesses (which were nothing like their real likenesses) were textured and engaging.
The animation, as always, is superb in this film. Each brightly hued balloon looks almost real, so much so, it's almost as if you can smell that balloony smell. The depictions of the South American jungle were as lush and exotic as I would imagine the real thing to be. Pixar's expertise in creating a world, an animated one no less, in which the viewer can completely suspend disbelief is unmatched, and Up proves to be another example of that truth.
This film, however, is not Pixar's best. In fact, I'm thinking it rates in the lower five for me. It comes down to the fact that while some of the film was artfully and classically rendered, giving it that shade of originality that is practically Pixar's trademark, there were elements of the film that detracted from its potential of being another masterpiece. The Russell kid was annoying. He all at once provided something of an antagonistic force and an appropriate contrast of youth, energy, and innocence compared to Carl's elderly cynicism and grief, but his purpose aside, the voice actor got on my nerves. Not all of the talking dogs were funny. The one that ends up following them around was too close to the dog in classic cartoons that frequently asked, "Can I play with the ball, George?" What was that dog's name? Well, this dog was a direct descendant of the other dog. The plausibility of a floating or flying house aside, I could not understand how an elderly man who needs a cane to walk and a snot-nosed kid alone could drag a sturdy two-story, even if gravity wasn't its primary concern. Also, the frenetic second act seemed disjointed in comparison to the simple and understated first act; then again, I know the studio tries to reach the child members of its audience as much as the adults, and the second act caters most to a younger crowd. The short attached to the film was also not Pixar's best, but that's the other great part about seeing Pixar films in the theater: one gets to see the bonus short film to be later included in the DVD extras.
Still, I enjoyed Up. Like all Pixar films, it entertained me; it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me puzzle. I think Up merits an 8.5 on the patented ratings scale. It's on my like/love boundary and falls between very good/minor flaws and perfectly entertaining. I consider many of the detractions I cited above as nitpicks, but I also still loved the film enough, possibly per my Pixar bias, to give it that rank. It also naturally passes the test. I would not hesitate to maintain my otherwise complete Pixar collection with its latest entry. In any event, Up makes the spirit soar and is worth every penny and second of its 96 minute running time. Word of caution, however: the 3-D feature is nice but really nothing to get excited about. If you see it at the theater, save two bucks and resign yourself to two-dimensional viewing. You're not otherwise missing much but an uncomfortable hour and a half with overpriced plastic spectacles.