2009 08 03 - Movie Up ( Movie Review by IS magazine )

Movie review by IS magazine

(USA) Directed by Peter Docter and Bob Peterson. Voiced by Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer and Jordan Nagaai. Opens Aug 6.

While not quite as visually mind blowing as Wall-E or even Finding Nemo, Pixar’s 10th feature film is nevertheless its most heartfelt to date. Like all great movie-making entities, Pixar constantly strives to break new mould, and this time around, it ventures down quite a dark path—dissecting death, sacrifice, love and the brevity of life.

So, yes, don’t be misled by the fulgent colors or the fantastical frames of an airborne house; for Up deals with very adult themes. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be entertained; in fact you’ll have a whale of a good time.

Carl Fredricksen is a snarling septuagenarian, whose world is literally collapsing around him. His neighborhood is being steamrolled by greedy developers out to snatch the last remaining piece of property on the block—Fredrickson’s charming old house. But the wily guy hatches a magical plan on the day of his eviction and duly evades the baddies’ slimy clutches, heading skyward and off to an adventure of a lifetime.

For after years on the backburner, Fredricksen has finally decided to live out his lifelong dream of seeing the rugged beauty of South America. But just when everything seemed hunky dory a few thousand feet in the sky, there’s a knock on the door. Who could it be? Well, Russell, of course. Russell the do-gooder Boy Scout who Fredricksen had earlier shooed away; why would a proud curmudgeon need help crossing the road?

But Russell is a persistent sort with a heart of gold who needs a “Help the Elderly” badge, and thus won’t take no for an answer. After quite the bumpy ride, the pair land in South America where they embark on a dizzying adventure with a pack of talking dogs, a rare bird named Kevin and the obligatory evil villain.
We shall not coo about Pixar’s technical excellence; it’s a given. The vivid images, the warm textures, the diligent attention to detail and the 3-D is all something that we now take for granted. One should instead celebrate this film for its message: that of striving for one’s dreams, never giving up or giving in to bullies, and that the notion of a generational gap is merely that—a gap, not a chasm.
Despite the fantasy and all the otherworldly adventures, Up is rooted in realism; that life is full of ups and downs and not a bed of roses. The fact that it’s layered in such a way so that little kids will enjoy the ride without getting too upset while big cynical kids like us will get its underlying message, is where the real genius of this film lies.—4 stars Ramesh William