In Theaters: Up, Up and Away

Pixar’s latest masterpiece is 2009’s best movie yet.

Up
Directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson
Starring Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai
*****

Pixar has always set the bar high for itself and, like many of the studio’s devoted fans, I’m always worried that they’ll make a movie where their ambitions exceed their grasp.  The wildly overrated Ratatouille was that kind of film for me and, as much as I loved last year’s Wall-E, I have to admit to some disappointment that Pixar didn’t carry the concept as far as they could have—namely by cutting the tertiary human characters out of the story entirely.  In the case of the studio’s latest venture, Up, all of the early images and trailers that I saw left me baffled as to what the movie would actually be about.  Some old guy attaches a bunch of balloons to his house and flies into the sky?  Was the studio responsible for such modern cartoon classics as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles really making an animated version of Danny Deckchair?  How could this possibly be a good movie?

Boy oh boy, how wrong I was.  Up isn’t just a good movie—it’s a glorious movie, certainly the best to come along so far this year and one of Pixar’s greatest achievements to date.  And having now seen the film, I also understand why the studio resisted showing us what happens after the film’s septuagenarian star Carl Fredricksen (voiced by TV legend Edward Asner) straps those balloons to his two-story home and lifts off into the wild blue yonder.  At its core, Up is an old-fashioned adventure story like the ones printed in now-defunct pulp magazines with titles like Marvel Tales and a big part of the appeal of those narratives is never knowing what’s coming around the next bend at our hero.  Given that, I’m going to follow Pixar’s example and not breath a word about Carl’s exploits.  Everyone deserves to experience his adventure with him, discovering things as he does instead of always being one step ahead.

However, I can reveal why Up is more—much more—than just a spirited pulp fiction throwback like the Indiana Jones movies.  In a beautiful and brilliantly executed 15-minute prologue, co-directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson (who also wrote the screenplay) guide us through the nearly 80-year adventure Carl experienced before he embarked on his current aerial escapade.  As a kid, he was fascinated by explorers  particularly the dashing Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who vanished into the jungles of South America in pursuit of a rare creature.  Heading home from an afternoon matinee at the local movie theater, Carl meets fellow adventure enthusiast Ellie, a young girl with big dreams and a fearless spirit.  That chance encounter leads to a decades-long love story, as Carl and Ellie grow up, marry and experience life’s many pleasures and disappointments together until her untimely death.  Told without dialogue, this single sequence provides an entire movie’s worth of laughs and tears.  It also lends the fantastical events that follow a hefty dramatic and emotional weight.  After Ellie’s death, Carl withdraws from the world, closing himself off to the very possibility of adventure.  Even when he takes off into the sky, he’s not looking to start anew—he’s preparing for his final act.

If I’m making Up sound almost unbearably sad—particularly for an animated feature—that’s because, at times, it is.  But it’s a good kind of sad, a sadness that feels honest and true instead of forced on the audience by plot machinations.  It’s also balanced by scenes of hysterical comedy and eye-popping action, including a climactic chase set atop…no wait, I’ve said too much already.  Carl may not be looking for an adventure, but adventure finds him in a big way and forces him to move forward instead of standing still.  And that’s why Up is such a marvel.  Only Pixar could take a simple adventure story and turn it into a profound statement about life’s infinite possibilities.

Verdict: See It