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REVIEW-A-PALOOZA |
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Reviewers:
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Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski & Larry
"Bocepheus" Evans |
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Directors:
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Pete Docter & Bob Peterson |
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Writers:
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Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen, Bob Peterson |
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Starring the Voices of: |
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Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer |
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Rating:
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PG
for some peril and action |
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BO: "The humor is broad enough
so that you don’t have to explain the jokes to your kids and can laugh at them
as well." |
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JR:
"Pixar has become, not just the studio that produces the finest animated
films of this era, but a studio that film after film is creating great cinema."
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 Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski
(****
stars out of 4) |
Again. Another year. Another Pixar film. Another review that begins by saying
that the latest offering from the premiere purveyors of excellence is the best
movie of the year thus far. It’s no longer a novelty how Pixar keeps making
great movies. “Up” is their tenth feature film, and by now we must admit that
their perfect-thousand batting average is no longer a pleasant surprise. It’s an
expected gold standard.
What is a surprise - a wonderful, lovely, splendid surprise - is how the studio
is taking chances with their storytelling. After a string of films that used
premises you could also get from other studios (albeit with much, much greater
results; imagine DreamWorks handling a talking toys movie), Pixar’s top players
are now stretching their imaginations in unexpected directions, pulling us along
for the ride with adventures featuring rodent chefs and Broadway-loving robots
and now, with “Up,” a 78-year-old retired balloon salesman who flies his house
to South America.
It’s a breathtaking sight. Even if you’ve seen the commercials, you’ll still
find a gentle awe in watching Carl Frederickson (voiced by Ed Asner) float away
in his house, above the city that outgrew him, through the clouds, toward his
childhood dream. As flights of fancy go, this one’s a pip.
Before he flies away, though, we must know why he’s going. The film - directed
by Peter Docter (who directed “Monster’s Inc.” and co-wrote “WALL-E”),
co-directed by Bob Peterson (he co-wrote “Finding Nemo”), and scripted by both -
opens with Carl as a quiet kid obsessed with grand adventure, especially the
newsreel exploits of national hero Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). Young
Carl comes across chatty Ellie (Elie Docter), who also dreams of one day flying
off to the mysterious Paradise Falls, where Muntz said he once found strange
prehistoric beasts.
The prologue isn’t just quickie backstory; it’s key in showing us how shy, quiet
Carl found escape - and someone to love. What follows is a heartbreaking montage
- a Chaplinesque masterpiece of wordless, economic storytelling - of Carl and
Ellie growing old together, sharing their dream of Paradise Falls but always
having to back away from it whenever real life struck, all those medical bills
and home repairs and making do with the small things. Peterson refuses to shy
away from grown-up drama, and the tragedies of the Fredricksens’ lives will
resonate more with parents than with their kids (but who said cartoons are just
for the kids? An animated film with a scene depicting a devastating miscarriage
is a first). The marvel is in how quickly the film grabs us, and how little it
does to tell us everything we need to know. Carl dreams of escape now not just
to fulfill his own childhood dream, but to remain connected to his now-departed
Ellie. Now is the time for him to fulfill his promise to her. It’s sweeter and
kinder and more emotional than any other studio could make it.
And then comes the adventure, and the comedy, as Carl makes his great escape.
The first trouble they encounter is with Russell (Jordan Nagai), the wilderness
scout who found himself stuck under the porch during liftoff; it creates a
terrific odd couple comedy duo, the motormouth kid and the grumpy old man. The
second bit of trouble is when they land off course and must make the rest of the
trek on foot; I think of the two hiking along, tethered to a floating house, and
oh, how I smile. The third element is the giant bird and the talking dog.
The talking dog is Dug, voiced by Peterson in a way I’d like to think all dogs
would talk if they could. He’s happy and friendly and not too bright, and how
can you resist a mutt that says “I have just met you and I love you!”? That, in
eight short words, is a dog.
Dug is one of a pack of dogs fitted with a translator collar, an invention of...
well, that would be telling, now, wouldn’t it? Needless to say, Dug is our
guide, taking us from the very funny, very smart second act to the very
thrilling, very smart third act, build entirely around old school adventure, the
kind with jungles and blimps and men of daring-do, with Carl doing must of the
daring, much to his surprise but not ours.
It is, it should go without saying, all beautifully animated and lushly
produced. But anyone can do beautiful and lush. What makes “Up” so very special
is how it insists on tying everything into character. This may be a movie that
climaxes with a fight atop a zeppelin, but every move the story takes is in the
service of Carl and Russell as authentic people. (Yes, you can have flying
houses and talking dogs and still tell a story about authentic people.)
Russell’s home life isn’t too great; the kid needs a Carl in his life. Carl,
meanwhile, needs to learn that his dreams might not have been as dashed as he
thought, that his adventure may have simply taken a different road, but first,
can he let go of his regrets? And what of... ah, but again, that would be
telling.
It’s all a fantastic experience the way only Pixar could make it, a touching,
intelligent story punctuated with gentle whimsy and bold excitement, a sort of
all-in-one adventure. It is, of course, gorgeously animated and expertly
produced, but the heart of the matter is the story, which is the reason they
invented words like “delight.” The studio’s tenth project is as utterly
captivating as its first. And second. And third. And fourth...
Pixar has become, not just the studio that produces the finest animated films of
this era, but a studio that film after film is creating great cinema.
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 Movie Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
(****
stars out of 4)
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The fine folks at Pixar
have done it again with the entertaining and sometimes
poignant tale in Up. The main character of the animated film
is balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who is voiced by Lou
Grant himself Ed Asner. Carl is a widower trying to get over
the death of his wife Ellie (voiced by Doctor’s wife). We
meet the two as kids who are fans of famous explorer Charles
Muntz, who is voiced by Christopher Plummer. Ellie is
excitable and animated while Carl is quiet and reserved so
the duo are perfectly matched. The relationship between the
two is shown in a marvelous silent segment that leaves us
with Carl alone in his house surrounded by massive
development. His quiet existence is almost gone and suddenly
there is a knock on his door by Russell (Nagai), a scout
trying to gain his last merit badge by helping the elderly.
Russell is persistent and extremely eager so Carl gives him
a task. Soon after something horrible happens and Carl’s
life as he knows it is about to change and in a bravura
sequence it does. He has attached hundreds of helium
balloons to his house and at the right moment he sets the
house free to search for adventure only to discover-Russell
on his porch begging to be let in.
Once the two are safe in the house we learn that Carl wants
to do something that he and Ellie had always planned-finish
the expedition of Muntz, who has left in shame to find
something he claims exists but cannot really prove. The two
eventually find what they are looking for and in doing so
also find a strange, large and colorful bird that Russell
names Kevin. Kevin is goofy enough looking to entertain kids
and his interaction between the humans who are suddenly in
his midst is charming as well as entertaining. The fun gets
even sillier when the trio encounter Dug (voiced by
co-director Peterson), a dog who can also talk since his
master has given him a collar that allows him to
communicate. Dug and the rest of his canine friends (one
voiced by Delroy Lindo) have been sent out to find Kevin by
his master, the now elderly Muntz.
Eventually the group encounters Muntz and from there the
film turns a bit more serious since from the looks of him
Muntz isn’t exactly a nice guy. Plummer’s voice goes from
silky smooth to dripping venom during the course of dinner
and Asner does a fine job with his voice showing us that he
understands that his idol isn’t the person he expected. From
this point on the film follows the standard adventure format
that results in a happy ending all around.
Up is basically a kid’s film but has enough in it to appeal
to adults as well. The humor is broad enough so that you
don’t have to explain the jokes to your kids and can laugh
at them as well. During the course of the film we see a man
confront his own mortality while another seeks to redeem
himself from being called a fraud. The ending of the film is
perfect save for one note involving Russell that is set up
but never happens. The credits sequence is very well done
and at the end of the film you look forward to seeing what
the folks at Pixar are going to dazzle us with next.
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UP © Pixar/Walt Disney
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2009 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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FINDING NEMO
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"Pixar has done it again, and, in the process, managed to salvage Disney's
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