Up (2009)
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Up Movie Review
Up is a 2009 animated adventure drama film directed by Pete Docter. It is one of Pixar’s best and most emotional experiences.
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“Hey, let’s play a game.
It’s called “See Who Can Be Quiet the Longest”.
Cool! My mom loves that game!“
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The story is honestly immensely offbeat and original. It’s unlike anything else Pixar’s done before or after and thus it should be appreciated. How many times have any of us seen a grumpy, bitter old man as a protagonist in any movie, let alone an animated one? Pixar bravely led us down that path and thus they should be commended.
Up succeeds thoroughly in both adventure and drama genres. First, let’s talk about that opening sequence. It is one of the best and most famous beginnings in the history of cinema and it entirely deserves that status as it’s surely a work of art. Just like ‘WALL-E’ did a year ago, Up also begins in silent form which is great and thus that scene’s all the more tender.
We follow a couple as they go through childhood friends to sweethearts and then to eventual tragedies of losing a baby and eventually her death. The scene is perfectly composed in terms of score, animation and emotion, but also as a phenomenal catalyst for the rest of the film as we realize in a very short time why Carl turned out so bitter and cold. Truly fantastic, nuanced character development.
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Now, many would argue that the film stumbles later on in its adventurous department and although I can definitely see how some would think that, I still disagree. Yes, the beginning’s the better part, but still I adored its adventure as it’s so spirited, so charming and beautifully old-fashioned in its approach which I just loved.
The first meeting of the kid and the old man is so well done in a funny manner, I loved the introduction of the talking dogs and a mystical bird and they made the film quite endearing and the parts with the villain felt quite dangerous and fueled by good action sequences. And of course that ending where Carl congratulates Russell is just a perfect, emotionally rewarding conclusion to this highly sentimental film.
And yes, I do realize that Up is very sentimental, extremely sentimental actually, and that sometimes may be too obvious and even manipulative, but mostly I was fine with it as it was done subtly and throughout strong build up and characterization. I was most definitely moved a couple of times and especially in its first and final scene which are both so crucial and tender.
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Let’s talk about the characters now. The movie excels in that department as well. And again that’s why its emotion is very much earned. Carl Fredricksen is such a different for Pixar protagonist as he’s an old man who’s lost everything and now after losing his house, he flies it to Paradise Falls so he can fulfill his late wife’s lifelong dream. She is also a terrific character and their love is simply beautiful to witness, but his personality is so well established, his voice is great and I loved his journey and how he progressively became less bitter in a nuanced manner.
Russell is an annoying kid. However, that’s pretty much the intention of the film and it works incredibly well. The film gives us different characters than your usual animated protagonists and I admired Pixar for that a lot. He is definitely annoying and he talks too much, but the film makes jokes about that so well while also giving him an endearing personality and a mature backstory. The relationship between these two is beautifully established and ended up being quite powerful.
Charles F. Muntz is actually a pretty good villain, I have to say. He isn’t great as he’s your familiar villain who wants to kill a rare bird and thus instantly reminding me of Percival C. McLeach from ‘The Rescuers Down Under’. However, he’s still effective as he’s very competent and menacing and actually managed to almost win which was great for suspense.
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The film has only four somewhat major human characters which I loved as that simplistic approach led to better development and more drama in the film, but they do introduce some animals here and they all are wonderful. Dug the Golden Retriever is so funny with some of his lines and simply a wonderful, highly endearing dog. The rest of the dogs are also very funny and the choice to give them robotic voices was great as it led to a lot of humor which was quite clever as they so truthfully showcased dogs’ obsession with their masters as well as chasing. Kevin the bird is also a wonderful character and a great plot device. Very colorful and mystical.
Yes, Up features absolutely stunning animation. The film’s so well shot and I loved the inclusion of black-and-white photography in some sequences as that again led to that pleasing traditional feel to the film, reminding me of 1930s adventure movies. But the character design of Carl is phenomenal and very realistic and I really liked how Russell is Japanese American as well. The dogs and the bird look terrific too. But the highlights are the scenery, the natural landscapes and the house with balloons. They are all immensely colorful, but not garish. It’s rather incredibly pleasing to the eye and charming.
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The voice acting’s great and that score from Michael Giacchino is simply breathtaking and a further proof of how amazing he is as a composer. Up is phenomenally directed by Pete Docter who’s my favorite Pixar character as he directed ‘Monsters, Inc.’ and ‘Inside Out’ too. Amazing filmography right there. The film does the hero turning out to be a villain much better than ‘Coco’ which basically ripped this film off. The pacing is strong as well and the film flies by thanks to short runtime. The dialogue is sophisticated, the themes are quite mature and the humor is very good, although admittedly sparse. It truly is one of Pixar’s best along with ‘WALL-E’, ‘Ratatouille’ and ‘Monsters, Inc.’
With stunning, colorful animation, strong humor, good dialogue and mature themes, Up succeeds both as a spirited, traditional and charming adventure flick as well as a highly moving, serious drama. Its characters are different than your usual animated characters and the film is highly sentimental without ever feeling cheap, but rather earned. The highlights are that wonderful ending and of course its amazing, truly moving, poetic opening sequence which ranks as one of cinema’s best beginnings. Up definitely is amazing and admirably Pixar’s third consecutive masterpiece.
