UP

Two years ago, Pixar had to sell a movie about a rat who could cook. Last year it was a robot in a movie where there was no dialog for the first 30 minutes and this year they had to sell a movie where the lead was an 80 year old man. Yet, without fail, the movies make money and are critically successful, as well. Pixar has continually shown that if you tell a good story, the rest just falls into place.

Carl and Ellie meet as young children, who both share a passion for Charles Muntz, an adventurer who has been shamed. Ellie is a talkative, friendly girl, while Carl is a quiet, nerdy kid. The two grow up, get married and promise to go to Paradise Falls, where Muntz was last seen going. In a moving and gorgeous montage, we see the life of Ellie and Carl as they grow together. They buy a fixer upper house and turn it into a quaint, nice house. They work together and are genuinely happy together. Life gets in the way and the trip to Paradise Falls keeps getting pushed back and before they know it, they are a cute old couple, still very much in love. Carl remembers the promise he made to Ellie in their youth and buys plane tickets to South America, but Ellie gets sick and passes away. On his own, Carl is a sad man, unsure of what to do until he does something that is going to get him kicked out of his house. Over night he makes the rash decision to fly, in his house, to Paradise Falls. He fills his house with helium balloons and takes off. Unfortunately for him, a little wilderness scout named Russell was on his front porch when he took off and now Carl is forced to look over Russell. Russell needs to help an elderly person to get his last merit badge before moving on, so Russell wants to help Carl get his house to a specific spot on Paradise Falls. Along the way, Carl and Russell encounter a beautiful bird, a cute dog with a collar that allows him to vocalize and Carl's old hero Charles Muntz.

It is easy to get hung up on how amazing the animation from Pixar is, because it is breath taking. When Carl's house flies for the first time, everything looks so real. Now, Carl does not look real, with his Lego body and square head, but everything else about him feels real. The jungle looks like a real jungle and as my dad said "Sometimes I forgot I was watching a cartoon." Of course, calling Pixar animation a cartoon is like calling Daniel Day Lewis just an actor. The fact is Pixar has found something it does better than anyone and continues to do it better than anyone. Every detail is lush and every color pops off the screen. Russell and Carl are real people, they just happen to be animated. Pixar makes animated films for the general audience, but they typically do enough to make kids entertained as well. Let's be honest though, UP is not a kids film. UP is a movie about loss, sadness and how people deal with those issues and it may be difficult for young kids, but when it looks and feels so alive, the kids are going to enjoy the talking dogs and Kevin, the female bird who likes to swallow Carl's walker.

UP is more than just eye catching animation, though. UP tells a beautiful story with wonderful characters, great jokes and a melancholy sadness. Carl is a heart broken old man wondering how to live on after his wife passes and he lives this incredible adventure trying to fill the void. He worries that he was never able to give his wife the life she wanted and in the moment when he realizes he was wrong, I had tears, and that was not the only time I had tears. I have never seen a movie that made me tear up in the first ten minutes, but UP did that. It was not about the immense sadness of Ellie dying, but the immense love shared between the two. You can have your Edward Cullens and Bella Swans, give me Carl and Ellie. That is what real movie love is about and it only took them 10 minutes to tell it! That is exactly how you offer a recap of an entire life without once sacrificing an emotional connection from the crowd. How adorable were they when they were sitting in their chairs reading and holding hands?? When the house becomes the symbol of everything Carl feels for Ellie and in essence becomes Ellie, the movie takes on a whole new meaning. This is a man carrying all of his dreams and his happiness on his back trying to make things just perfect.

In trying to get that perfection, Carl realizes his life is not over and he remembers what it is like to care about someone and that someone is Russell. The roly poly child masks his own sadness in stories about being a wilderness guide and manages to make friends with everything he comes in contact with. Russell never annoyed me the way so many kids in movies do and his genuine innocence and desire to help make Russell a really nice counter part for Carl. When you throw in Kevin, a cute dodo bird thingy and Doug a cute dog who instantly connects to Carl and you have a wonderful crew of heroes. Doug, complete with lines like "I was hiding under your porch because I love you" made even me, who hates dogs, swoon. He is a cute pup who proves to not be such an outcast amongst the more dangerous dogs. Doug is the kind of loyal dog, dog owners love and the kind of dog that can make any human smile.

Not only does UP tell a great story with interesting characters and amazing animation, it offers genuine thrills as well. The climax, taking place on a giant blimp is wonderfully daring and features the kinds of things you want in a true adventure film. In fact, it is better than a lot of adventure films. Dogs flying airplanes should come off as corny to me, but in this movie I found it all utterly charming. There is an awesome fight involving a sword and Carl's walker, there are daring escapes, courageous rescues, people swinging from ladders in mid air, and a confrontation on the outside of the giant blimp as it flies through the air. There is literally something for everyone!

I feel comfortable saying that UP is, at this moment, my favorite movie of the year. Even with people hyping it up all weekend, I found myself surprised with just how great it was. It certainly ranks among the best Pixar has had to offer. Pixar is pushing what we believe animated movies are capable of doing and continuing to prove that a genuinely moving story is what matters most. UP is funny, heart racing, heart breaking, heart swelling and gorgeously directed and colored. It is the kind of movie that keep on giving and I imagine I will go back for seconds and thirds. I was moved to tears 3 times and not because of how sad it was but because of how sweet it was. If this movie does not move you, I question your humanity. Congratulations Pixar, you have truly done it again. I really thought anything right after Wall-E would be a let down, but I was wrong. Who knew a story about an 80 year old man in a floating house could be so awesome. Squirrel, indeed!

Final Grade: A+

P.S. The short film before UP is quite awesome as well. That cloud and bird combination is just too adorable.

P.P.S. I saw it 2D and am very glad for that. In case you did not know, 3D does diminish the colors and this movie is too vibrant for 3D glasses.