Pixar's Up: Live it Up

The Good: Warm Vocal Performances, Visually Emotional, Fantastic Animation, Touching

The Bad: Unnecessarily Sad and Frantic at Times

Bottom Line: Don't let the animation fool you. This film has a lot to say and you'll leave it with a sense of an excitement and ready to conquer anything.

There’s something charming about the Pixar franchise. It’s difficult to put your finger on it, but from Cars to Finding Nemo, their films are beautiful. Yes, they’re cartoons, but in many ways, these animated featurettes are more relevant to the human condition than live action films.  And Up is no exception. With an exciting plot complemented by fantastic direction, it’s as if Pixar can deliver nothing short of a masterpiece.

Directed by Pete Docter, who also directed Monster’s Inc, wrote Toy Story and WALL-E, the story begins in the 1940s with the story of Carl and Ellie, two children who dream of becoming explorers. While Carl (Edward Asner) is shy and Ellie (Elizabeth Docter) is a loud tomboy, both wish to follow in the footsteps of the archetypal aviator and adventurer of their time, Charles Muntz (Christoper Plummer). Almost like Charles Lindbergh, newsreels chronicle Muntz as a man who flies to faraway places in his gigantic blimp and brings back exotic creatures. When one of his discoveries, however, is accused of being a fake, Muntz is publicly humiliated and returns to Paradise Falls in South America. Though he travels there to prove his critics wrong, that's the last we ever hear from Muntz--at least for the time being.

Meanwhile, the film fast forwards a few decades, guiding us through Carl and Ellie’s life in its most memorable sequence: a silent montage. Reminiscent of the Chaplin era of silent films, Docter gives a snapshot of the couple's life together. We see them get married, renovate the dilapidated house of their childhood, and save for their own adventure to the utopian Paradise Falls. Their plans, however, are stalled by the very problems that seem to threaten all our dreams: home repairs, car troubles, and medical bills. With Carl’s modest income as a balloon salesman, their trip never comes to fruition nor is the couple able to bare children. Regardless of these setbacks, the couple remains happy and grows old together, but Ellie tragically falls sick and passes away. Now alone, we can identify with Carl’s pain as he forges on with his everyday routine. He's grown accustomed to Ellie's presence and as he eats breakfast, cleans, and returns home from work, he misses her presence and seems to loose interest in life. We see this in his face as it grows more emotionless day after day and Carl shuts himself off from the world completely, only to fall into the stereotype of an old man holed up in his house.

This is where the movie really takes flight. In present day, Carl’s house is in the middle of an urban development project and when the city threatens to send him to a nursing home, Carl uses his expertise to attach thousands of balloons to his house. When eviction day arrives, Carl, in a delightfully cheerful act, releases the balloons and launches his house into the air. Headed for the famed Paradise Falls, he finds an unexpected companion in the form of chubby Wilderness Explorer, Russell (Jordan Nagai), who happened to be on Carl's porch when he took off. Together, the unlikely duo—who share a relationship similar to Dennis and Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace—head to South America.

Along the way, they encounter problems with the creaky, old house and even hit a fierce storm, but when the weather clears, they discover Paradise Falls is just across the ravine. Anchoring the house by tying a garden hose to their backs, Carl and Russell have a chance encounter with the legendary Charles Muntz. Now an aged explorer, Muntz commands a pack of loyal, talking canines and entertains the duo as they head towards their final destination. The adventure that ensues includes air battles, chase scenes, and yes—even a sword fight. Young or old, every minute of this movie is enjoyable for viewers of any age and in spite of its happy ending, the plot remains refreshingly original.

But as in all Pixar films, what really makes the movie great are its characters, which are magnificent both in terms of meaning and animation. In fact, one of the things I love best about this franchise is that the characters look how they feel. Carl, with his square, hunched frame, looks as though he’s been stuck in a crawlspace for years and his droopy face is indicative of his lack of interest in everyday life. Russell, a bit pudgy, plays the role of a nuisance wonderfully and with such energy. And finally Charles Muntz, is an aged Harrison Ford with a mustache, indicative of the adventurous mold from which he’s been cut. The animation, then, combined with the warm vocal performances works to entertain us at our core.

It’s touching how much we feel for these characters, especially our hero Carl. And the statement of the movie—life is an adventure, so live it up—is about as good a message as we can hope to receive when we’re in the dumps. In all honesty, the movie hits all the right buttons and it's a film everyone can enjoy.