Up is an animated comedy adventure film by Pixar Animation about a cranky old man and his adventure to South America with a boy scout. The film was released on May 29, 2009 in USA and is scheduled for release on October 9, 2009 in the UK.
SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Russell, Carl Fredricksen, Dug, Alpha in "Up"
Like most Pixar movies, the movie starts with a short film — in this instance, Partly Cloudy is the name of the short film. The movie Up begins with Carl Fredricksen as an 8-year-old boy who is timid despite his love for famed explorer named Charles Muntz. When he meets an eccentric girl named Ellie who shares the same interests as him, Ellie welcomes Carl to her club and gives him a badge which happens to be a soda cap. Ellie expresses her desire to move her clubhouse to Paradise Falls in South America and she makes Carl to promise her that.
As they grow older, Ellie and Carl get married and work as a zookeeper and a toy balloon vendor respectively. Not able to have children, Ellie and Carl save up for a trip to Paradise Falls but due to other financial obligations, their savings keep fading. When Ellie passes away due to old age, Carl becomes bitter. Carl is forced to move as the city has grown around his house but he refuses and when he accidentally hits a construction worker, the court orders Carl to move into a retirement home. Carl comes up with a scheme of his own as he attaches 10,000 helium balloons to his house to lift it up. Up above in the sky, when Carl tries to sit down on his armchair, he finds Russell, a Wilderness Explorer knocking at his door. Russell is trying to earn his final merit badge for “Assisting the Elderly” and has been hiding in his porch after Carl sends him for a snipe hunt on the previous day.
And so it begins, the adventure of a lifetime. Carl and Russell meets many colorful characters including a giant bird which Russell names Kevin and Dug, a dog whom can speak with a translating collar. They finally meet a 92-year-old Charles Muntz who stays in South America to find a giant bird to clear his reputation after being called fraud. The giant bird Charles is looking for happens to be Kevin, Russell’s newfound pet. When Carl realizes Charles will hunt down anyone relentless just to capture the bird, they escape from Charles airship.
Like most of Pixar Animation movies, Up is funny and touching. The film builds around a strong and never-give-up will of Ellie which later on transfers to Carl and from there, Carl turns out to be heroic when he saves Russell and the giant bird while granting Ellie her wish. It turns out Ellie has furnished her Adventure Book with photographs of her and Carl together since their wedding days with a message on the last page telling Carl to have a new adventure of his own.
Overall, Up is a yet another brilliant and adventurous animated film from Pixar. I’m sure it touches many hearts and will touch many more.
My ratings: 9 out of 10.
Popularity: 1%
