Up

Pixar has had an amazing track record for movies ever since "Toy Story" in 1995. They always seem to put out unbelievable movies that are a blend of fantastic animation, smart writing and plot development, and an all-star cast. Pixar movies have something for just about every type of person. And "Up", like the 9 animated films before it does not dissapoint. Throughout the duration of the film several different sets of emotions are explored and the main character, voiced perfectly by Edward Asner, becomes very developed as the movie progresses.



"Up" is about an elderly balloon salesman, Carl Fredricksen (Asner). The first 10 minutes of the film plays out like a silent movie and goes through Carl's early life and his marriage to his wife, Ellie. This may be the best part of the entire movie. Visually it is stunning and is scored is beautiful and fits the tone so well. The Fredricksen's both were interested in exploring, having been inspired by Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) when they were younger. They dreamed of visiting Paradise Falls in South America. However, before this dream became a reality Ellie dies. Carl wants to visit Paradise Falls in Ellie's memory. He goes about doing this by attaching millions of balloons to his house. As he is floating away he finds out that a Wilderness Explorer, Russell (Jordan Nagai) has ended up on his front porch. The two start out on their adventure to get to Paradise Falls. I won't go into anymore details about the plot, don't want to unintentionally spoil anything...



Carl and Russell are polar opposites and the two characters develop as they spend more time together in Carl's house. At first Carl is bitter and is annoyed by Russell tagging along on the trip. As time goes by and he learns about Russells homelife and such he begins to like him more and becomes concerned with his safety and such. Edward Asner is the perfect actorfor the role of Carl. He is experienced at doing comedy and he's got the voice for a grumpy old man. Jordan Nagai, in his first acting endeavor has the perfect voice for a innocent young kid.



The animation is also great, althought not quite the same level as last year's, "Wall-E". The colors are vibrant and the films marks the first time a Pixar movie has been made in 3-D. The 3-D adds a depth to each frame of the movie and is not gimmicky, like 3-D used to be with random things being thrown at the audience. However, although the 3-D is good and the technology has improved "Up" is best when seen in normal 2-D. 3-D tends to dim the color slightly in the movie.



"Pixar" has been making great animated movie for over decade now. Their movies are the perfect blend of funny and serious. "Up" continues in that same vein. From the opening montage to the heartwarming ending to all the humor and adventure in between it is simply the best movie of the summer, possibly of the entire year. So often animated films are dismissed as simply being kids fare, but that is not at all the case with "Up". The lines are well written, the cinematography and direction is impressive and the plot develops as the film goes on. 4 stars...its that good...nothing this summer has even come close to this kind of quality

-Joseph Sbrilli