Up

Review by Jason Donner

 

I once read on a T-Shirt or a Hallmark Card – one of those things that contains cute but mostly useless philosophies on birthdays, anniversaries, and what-not – that life is not about the moments that we have breath, but rather about the moments that take our breath away. If any statement can best be used to summarize the theme of Up, the latest movie from Pixar, it is that simple and eloquent statement and, believe me, there are a lot of moments in Up that just took my breath away.

Up is all about Carl Fredricksen, an old geezer played by Ed Asner who is somewhat famous for playing old geezers. Carl’s life is summarized in the first ten minutes of the movie when, as a boy, he yearns for adventure but meets the love of his life instead. They marry, grow old together, and dream of going off on a trip to a waterfall in South America but, as it often does, life keeps getting in the way. Soon, time simply runs out and, in what is probably the most heartbreaking montages in recent memory and the first of two times this blasted movie made me cry, Carl is left a widower and all alone.

Facing foreclosure on the house that he and his wife lived in, Carl does the sensible and completely logical thing: he inflates thousands of balloons to fly him and his house to South America where he plans to live out his days, next to the waterfall he and his wife dreamed of and amongst the trappings and belongings of the one he has lost. Trouble, however, soon appears in the form of an unexpected sidekick: a cub scout trying to earn a merit badge by assisting the elderly. This is the first of several monkey wrenches into Carl’s completely sane plan.

Oh, what can I say? Up is a brilliant, emotional, and moving movie that never feels fake or contrived. The characters are up to the usual Pixar brand of quality as deliciously likeable folk and the sights and sounds are a wonder to behold. Watching this movie, you can tell that you are witnessing something wonderful and timeless unfolding before your eyes.

How timeless? Remember how I mentioned that this movie made me cry twice? The first was out of sadness – the second was out of joy at the imagery and appropriateness of the final scene. When a movie has the ability to turn a gigantic and imposing man such as myself into a blubbering mass of protoplasm, it’s something special.

This wonderful unassuming movie is a testament to everything a good story can do. It’s heartbreaking one moment, uproariously funny the next and then soaking in drama before you know it. Up tackles issues and themes and even live action movies seem afraid to broach upon and seeing it in 3-D only heightens the experience. Yes, I myself was skeptical of the 3-D showings, but within a few moments, my mind was forever changed.

Up is one of those rare movies that, after you watch it, you actually feel privileged and honored that someone would create a film like this. There are really not enough positive adjectives in a thesaurus to fully explain my appreciation for this work of art.

Life is truly about the moments that take our breath away and the cautionary tale of Up is that if you remain stuck in the past, they will pass you by. For goodness sake, don’t let this movie pass you by too.