Là-haut

Honestly, I found the DVD of this film in my house and decided to give it a watch as I had nothing better to do. Truth is I really should have made the time before.

Although I enjoy all the other Disney/pixar movies, I am at that teenage age where I mainly seek Violence, sex and gore. Thankfully my teenage boredom did me a big favour in helping what this fantastic masterpiece. This film was so fantastically deep, meaningful and moving beyond relief, as soon as I switched it off I rang my grandparents to tell them I love them.

It should be made necessary that everyone everywhere should see this film and I think the world would be a much better place - it really is that good.

100/10

Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) as a young quiet kid idolized explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) and his discovery of Paradise Falls. Ellie is much more animated and also a great fan of Muntz. Together they would marry and live their lives together until the day she dies. Now Carl is hounded by a property developer and forced to go to a retirement home. Instead he ties a sea of helium balloons to his home and float away to Paradise Falls. Wilderness Explorer scout Russell who's trying to get an Assisting the Elderly badge gets dragged along on the adventure.

The first part of this movie is a real tear jerker. When Carl and Ellie's lives flash through the years, all the heart breaks and all the love just jump off the screen. Then there is comedy as the journey to Paradise Falls starts. The movie gets very surreal with dog translators, and a very colorful bird. The villain is a bit too villainy. The story gets too serious at times. But it ends almost as emotionally as it starts. It is one of the best of Pixar.

This film is possibly one of the best animated films of all time as it tells an emotional moving story while being funny. As I said the emotion in this film is full of heart and even though I didn't cry it will make most people cry. The characters in this are perfect even if it is a small character like Ellie or big character like Carl everybody gets so much development even Charles Muntz the villain of the film is also given development, even more than some superhero films nowadays. Also this film has comedy some Pixar films now just want to make you cry but in the 2000s they had mix of sad and funny moments. So overall this film is as close to perfect as an animated film can get, it is has a mix of emotions it is funny and sad when it needs to be it has so much heart and the characters are perfect. This film in my opinion is the best Pixar film.

Viewed at the Festival de Cannes 2009

The opening film of this year's festival, and the first animated film ever to have this honour, Up is truly a film for all ages. The story of the adventures of an old man and a young boy, a flying house tethered to countless balloons, a long-lost (and mad) explorer, a giant bird called Kevin and assorted 'talking' dogs gets funnier and more exciting as it goes along.

This isn't slapstick humour, although there are some lovely visual gags, but deeper, more thoughtful. At times Up is even touching and poignant.

Visually, this is a treat and while I was sceptical about the use of 3D to begin with, it is built into the story so seamlessly that it really is worth the effort to seek it out. At the same time, I can't help feeling the 2D version could be even better because the 3D glasses had the effect of dimming the picture. The use of colour in the film is especially noteworthy, with various palettes used according to mood, character and phase of the story. Character voicing and music are also spot on.

I have no connection with Pixar, Disney or the film whatsoever, even if this review reads like a puff piece. The fact is, Up is an incredible piece of cinema, was a big hit with a very demanding press audience, and is worthy of your time and money.

Anyone who says animated films cannot amuse and entertain, while at the same time delivering any kind of emotion, does not know what they are talking about.

Up is so good I can now forgive Pixar for Cars!

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to a special pre-release screening of Up at Pixar studios in Emeryville, organized by the San Francisco Film Society. After a hour-long reception in the atrium of their beautiful main building we went through some rigorous security (metal detectors!) and were treated to an hilarious short (Partly Cloudy) and Pixar's new high water mark, Up.

My favorites to date have definitely been Wall-E and the Incredibles, and Up is another slightly-left-of-center masterpiece. The emotional impact of the beautiful, wordless summation of Carl's life that opens the movie is the bass note that resonates through the whole film and is at least as affecting as the scene in Wall-E when he holds his own hands while watching Hello Dolly. The rest of the movie, of course, is breathtaking on just about every level, especially the tactile quality of all the characters and textures and the completely realized weather effects and action scenes. With no "new" technical milestones (fur in Monsters, Inc., water in Finding Nemo, realistic camera effects in Wall- E), the design is the main focus, from the hilariously stylized characters to the amazing setting of the tepui.

As the associate producer who participated in the Q&A following the movie pointed out, the past three Pixar movies have not been easy sells to their parent company Disney (they'll be back in familiar territory with Toy Story 3 and Cars 2), but Pixar's commitment to inventive, story-driven films continues to pay off here. All of the good press is true, and I can't wait to see it again. Thanks for staying true to yourselves Pixar!