Up!
I got a chance to watch UP earlier this week. Which is Pixars 10th film, the first being Toy Story which coincidently has a teaser trailer the newest in the much loved series, Toy Story 3 attached before the movie starts. Up is actually the first film presented in Disney’s Digital 3-D. The whole movie was computer generated giving it that extra crispiness (you can actually see the thread on some of the characters clothing.)
Just like other Pixar movie you are treated to an animated short film. This one is titled Partly Cloudy. Just like other ones it was pretty funny, but at the same time kind of sad, but I did enjoy it.
Up originally premiere by opening the 2009 Cannes Film Festival which made it the first ever animated film to do so.
Up tells you the story of Carl Fredricksen a retired 78-year-old balloon seller. When Carl was a child, he met and eventually married a girl named Ellie who grew up in a small midwestern town. Ellie always dreamed of visiting South America, but they grew old together, and she died before she got a chance. Now, when developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie. To accomplish this, he uses 10,000 balloons to make the house fly—but unwittingly takes a chubby eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell with him. The two opposites match up for thrilling adventures as they encounter wild terrain, unexpected foes, and all the terrifying creatures that wait in the Venezuelan jungle.
It’s really a “coming of age" tale and an "unfinished love story", with Carl still dealing with the loss of his wife
Writing for this movie started back in 2004 by Thomas McCarthy, Ronnie Del Carmen, Pete Doctes and Bob Peterson. They created Carl’s character to closely resemble Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau. The script was done by 2005, which is when the research began to make the scenes more realistic. Since the last part of the movie is based in Venezuela, they actually went down there to make sure what they put on film will look more like the real thing.
The cast of UP are Edward Asner (best known for the Mary Tyler Moore Show) as Carl, who I think did an amazing job. Jordan Nagai as Russell (he was the wilderness kid who stowed away on Carls flying house. Bob Peterson as Dug, the dog who talks with the help of collar that translates his thoughts into English (his scenes were really funny.) Christopher Plummer (Inside Man, Sound of Music) as Charles F Muntz, he was the adventurer that Carl admired as a child. This was directed by Pete Doctes who also had directed a previous Pixar film, Monsters Inc, and Bob Peterson who co-directed.
I really enjoyed this film, I don’t think it’s the best Pixar movie ever made but it is near the top. Since it is in 3D I think it makes it more enjoyable.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I really liked the story and how they presented it. This movie makes want to see the next Pixar movie which is going to be Toy Story 3 (releasing in June 18, 2010.)