Up

Director: Pete Docter (interview)
Screenwriters: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy
Starring: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft, John Ratzenberger
Running time: 102 mins
Certificate: U

Up is the latest movie from the animation maestros at Pixar and is the studio's first in 3D. While it may not be an instant classic like predecessor WALL-E, it possesses that patented Pixar charm and a wonderfully adventurous heart. It tightly follows the animation house's formula for success, roaming effortlessly between extremes - it unravels with simplicity yet is thematically sophisticated, it's both sad and joyous, and will strike home with its young target audience and grown-ups.

Up opens in a movie theatre, where 8-year-old Carl Fredrickson (Asner) is witnessing newsreel footage of explorer Charles Muntz (a devilish Christopher Plummer). Fascinated by the jungles of the mythical Paradise Falls, Carl sets his sights on replicating Muntz's adventures in South America. He soon meets neighbour Ellie, who shares similar lofty dreams, and the pair fall in love and get married. Their 70-year union plays out in Up's heartbreaking introductory montage. The pair share a deep mutual adoration, but their relationship ends up as one with hopes unfulfilled and regret for Carl. After an altercation with a construction worker, Carl, now a widowed grump in the Walter Matthau mould, is told he must spend his twilight years in a retirement home. In one last act of rebellion, he ties hundreds of helium-filled balloons to his house and, with a stowaway in the shape of 8-year-old boy scout Russell (Nagai), lifts off on an adventure to remember.

The film's 3D is eye-popping and convincing, with director Pete Docter using a lush colour palette for the tropical surroundings and its weird and wonderful inhabitants. In the depths of South America, we encounter a colourful giant bird (quickly dubbed Kevin by Russell before he realises the creature is a girl) and an army of ferocious dogs with translator collars to turn their barks into simplified English. One hound, Dug, breaks away from his pack and teams up with Carl, Russell and Kevin, unleashing such dogisms as "I have just met you, and I love you" and "I will chase the ball and bring it back to you". Putting a fresh spin on the talking dog, a concept that deflates so many CG animated features, is something you feel only Pixar could do.

Docter and co-writers Bob Peterson and Thomas McCarthy have crafted an uplifting and inspiring story about love, grief and and an old man yearning to feel alive again. It's the most Spielbergian offering from Pixar yet: Russell has all the wide-eyed wonder we've become accustomed to from the ET helmer, while Carl is the crotchety old coot we all fear becoming. With its pulpy and fantastical plot, postcard-perfect scenery and cranky leading man, Up is in certain ways the film the last Indiana Jones could have been. From its tearjerker of an opening act (as stunning as WALL-E's if not quite as sustained), to the giddy escapist adventure, to Carl's salvation, this is another buoyant and life-affirming Pixar yarn. How do they keep on doing it?


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