Reviewed by Kate Rodger
Disney Pixar does it again for the House of Mouse, dishing up a lovely story in delicious animation for kids and their grown-ups, and just in time for the school holidays.
Up opened the Cannes Film Festival this year, the first animated movie ever to do so. It released in Europe and the US shortly after and to excellent reviews (running at an impressive 97 percent on rottentomatoes.com as we went to print). Now Kiwi audiences get to see what all the fuss is about.
What Pixar does so supremely well, as we saw with their very first hit Toy Story, and later with Finding Nemo and Wall-E, is tell stories. Their stories are original, they’re fresh, and they cross the age barrier to please just about everyone. Up is no exception.
In this story, Carl Fredricksen is a grumpy old man, living all alone in his old house, surrounded by memories, and surrounded by construction sites. There are high-rises going up all around him, but he just won’t budge.
He wasn’t always this grumpy, not when his wife Ellie was still alive. They had plans for all sorts of exciting adventures, to travel the world, and follow in the footsteps of their childhood hero, a famous explorer called Charles Muntz.
So with the help of some helium balloons, Carl and his house escape the big city, and take flight for far-off shores. What he doesn’t realise, is that his neighbour, young Russell the Boy Scout, will be coming along for the ride.
Up is the story of their adventures.
At the heart of this film is Carl and Ellie’s love story, making it an emotional journey for adults, while still managing to be a rollicking good adventure for the kids. Not an easy balance to achieve, but achieve it Pixar does.
Wall-E enchanted me far more than I could have imagined an animated movie could, and was an instant 5 star watch for me. Up is not too far behind. Try and see it in 3D if you can.
Four and half stars.
Up
:: Directors: Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson
:: Starring: Christopher Plummer, Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai
:: Running Time: 104 mins
:: Rating: PG - Some scenes may scare very young children
:: Release Date: September 10, 2009
:: Trailer: Click here
