Up
From FilmFile
Taglines:
Contents |
Synopsis
From Disney Pixar comes UP, a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly-optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.
From the Academy Award-nominated director Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc."), Disney Pixar's UP invites you on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth. UP will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters.
Review
Once more Pixar far exceeded my expectations on the film, and leave me wondering exactly how they manage to deliver time after time. Their standard of animation is never less than top notch, with them truly raising the bar each and every time. But what makes a Pixar film stand out more than any others is the level of maturity of the whole thing.
You see, when Dreamworks or Fox aim their animated films at the whole family, they tend to do this by throwing in a sexual innuendo or two which will be above the heads of the kids but will make the parents chuckle. Look at the trailer for the new Ice Age film which suggests that Sid has just... erm.. fondled a bull to get milk! Yup, this is their way to aim at all ages, by being somewhat immature. Don't get me wrong, Shrek, Ice Age etc. are all enjoyable films, and sit in my DVD collection (aside from Shrek 3 which was tormentuous to sit through).
Now Pixar choose, instead, to drift into more serious and darker moments, or touching heatfelt segments that would sit well in a real-life drama. Take Finding Nemo's opening moments which sees a family destroyed by a lethal killer, leaving a single father with his only surviving son to raise alone. Or Wall-E's desperate longing for companionship driving him to act a little strange, and then the emotional turmoil towards the end when he and Eve are fighting to stay together. In UP, there is another darker, emotional start to the film with the introduction showing how a young boy, obsessed with adventuring, met the girl of his dreams, married, spent a wonderful life together, then she died and left him alone in their house. In that short introduction Pixar make us understand who the lead character is, and delve beyond his apparant grumpy extreior to see the person beneath. I, for one, was already welling up in tears at this first 10 minutes, and from that point I was hooked. The rest of the film was just as well written, with enough slapstick and adventure for the kids to latch onto, but the adults would already be grabbed by the characters and story.
UP is simply stunning in it's beauty and delivery. A well rounded lead character, and joyous comic support from his companion on his journey and the creatures they meet along the way all serve to make the film appeal to a wide audience. Throw in a crazed obsessive villain, and the elements are in place for an adventure to remember. The level of detail into every frame is superb, and if you get to see the 3D release the landscapes are beautiful and perfectly rendered, so detailed you want to stand up and jump right into them. What really stand out is the attention to detail of the whole thing. Even though the concept of a house flying by aid of lots of balloons is, perhaps, a ridiculous one, Pixar still try to stick to laws of physics and have the balloons slowly deflating and hanging limp as the film progresses. Even in flights of fantasy Pixar want you to believe it could actually happen.
The only drawback to any Pixar film is that the standards they set get higher and higher each time, and they deliver top marks each time, making you wonder if the older Pixar films are still worthy of their top rating. The studio are akin to Disney during the early years, with every film being an instant classic. I certainly hope they can keep the momentum going, but the sequel filled years ahead (Toy Story 3 next year, Cars 2 the year after) do have me doubting.
Trivia
- The first Pixar film since Finding Nemo (2003) not to be presented in the 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio.
- Very first animated film as well as the first 3D film ever to open the Cannes Film Festival.
- The first Pixar film to be given a PG rating since The Incredibles (2004).
- The term 'A113' is the number of the courtroom, and can be found on the gold sign Carl sits next too while waiting to be called (Courtroom A113). A113 is a frequent Pixar in-joke based on one of the room numbers for the animation program at Cal Arts.
- When Carl is watching television and is interrupted by Russel knocking at the door, he is watching a home shopping channel. This particular program has become a well known blooper video of a pitchman making a gaff in which he describes a picture of a horse, except the picture he is describing is actually that of a moth.
- Dug's 'point' pose, where his entire tail, back, and head is in a perfectly straight line, is an homage to the identical pose that Mickey's dog, Pluto, often makes.
- If Carl's house was approximately 1600 square feet, and the average house weighs between 60-100 pounds per square foot, it weighs 120,000 pounds. If the average helium balloon can carry .009 pounds (or 4.63 grams), it would take 12,658,392 balloons to lift his house off the ground. (20,622 balloons appear on the house when it first lifts off.)
- Pixar is known for sticking a few objects from previous films into their new features. In this case, you can spot the "Luxo ball" (yellow and blue with a red star), in a little girl's room while the house can be seen rising through the window in the background. This ball has appeared in many other Pixar films. Also, the Pizza Planet Truck from Toy Story (1995) is visible on the streets bellow the rising house towards the beginning of the movie, as well as in a parking lot in a scene towards the end.
- The first Pixar movie to show human blood. ('Finding Nemo (2003)' had a instance where the regal tang fish Dory had a scuffle with Marlin with a scuba mask which led to Dory having a bloody nose.)
- As per Pixar tradition, John Ratzenberger once again provides a voice in the movie, making him the only actor to do a voice in every Pixar film.
- All of the dogs except for Dug are named after letters of the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.).
External links
Comments
Want to comment on this review? Pop over to the forums and have your say
Add rating
Current user rating: 100% (1 votes)
