Film Review: Up

I'm lucky enough to live just across the bridge from Pixar Animation Studios, and double-lucky enough to have a boyfriend who finds enough success writing about video games to afford tickets to an early Up screening at Pixar. One could also read this as unlucky in that I'm a train ride away from an unattainable childhood dream, but I digress.

There was wine. And cheese. And vegetables and hummous and brownies and strawberries. I happily enjoyed these hors d'oeuvres in Cafe Luxo, surrounded by Up-inspired art, character statues, and industrial-yet-inviting architecture. Just outside, I could see a giant Luxo lamp. Eventually, our cameras and phones were collected by security, and we were ushered inside a screening room filled with incredibly comfortable seats. When the house lights finally dimmed, tiny ceiling lights created a night-sky effect, complete with shooting stars. These soon faded, and the movie began.

I'll get right to it: Up is fantastic. Packed with both poignant sentiments and slapstick comedy, Pixar's latest/finest elegantly balances heart and hilarity. While I knew Up would be visually stunning, I was struck by the emotional punch. I don't usually expect tears until the second act break or so, but Up had me going less than twenty minutes in--and then laughing five minutes after that. Nothing is sacrificed in this movie. Every aspect of filmmaking is nurtured, refined, and expertly executed. Animators, directors, writers, and everyone else in the world of cinema should consider the bar raised.

Up begins in hero Carl Fredricksen's boyhood. It's not long before he meets his spunky, future wife Ellie, and they bond over a shared thirst for adventure and love of star explorer Charles Muntz. Carl and Ellie get married, and they dream of a trip to Paradise Falls in South America. They live a happy life together, though never making it to Paradise Falls, and Ellie passes away. All of this happens in a montage under five minutes. If you felt anything during the "When She Loved Me" montage in Toy Story 2, this one will floor you. The sequence is beautifully shot, and it does more than wrench your heart: it immediately puts you behind Carl one-hundred percent. And this is absolutely key when the hero is an unlikely 78-year-old curmudgeon.

After Ellie's death, Carl seems to be simply waiting for his own. He preserves his home as a sort of monument to Ellie, and sometimes talks to her as though she'll remain within the walls as long as the house stands. When Carl is about to get evicted and taken to a retirement home, he ties hundreds of balloons to his house and floats away--an act we'd all like to do sometimes. But, of course, Carl has a stowaway: a bright-eyed and plump Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell. All he needs is his "Assisting the Elderly" badge to become a Senior Wilderness Explorer.

And then there's the adventure. Carl and Russell make it to South America where they find a rare and exotic bird they name Kevin, and aging Muntz, and Muntz' dog pack he's using to hunt down Kevin. I won't tell you too much, but I'll tell you this: You may need to reevaluate your opinion of talking dogs. In one of animation's cleverest plot devices, Muntz' dogs wear collars with computer voices that express their thoughts. You may be able to guess a few places this goes, but nonetheless: hilarious.

Up revels in visual humor, redefines adventure, and reminds us that the seemingly boring moments are the ones we remember most. I left the theater saying the same thing I say as I leave every new Pixar film: This is by far the best Pixar movie yet.

When I got back home, I immediately applied (again) for a position at Cafe Luxo.