Up
D: Pete Docter
Disney/Pixar (Jonas Rivera)
US 2009
96 mins
Animated
W: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson & Thomas
McCarthy
Mus: Michael Giacchino
voices of: Ed Asner (Carl Fredrickson), Christopher Plummer
(Charles F. Muntz), Jordan Nagai (Russell), Bob Peterson (Dug), Pete Docter (Kevin)
Up could easily be judged on its opening scene alone, a quaint
love story with minimalistic dialogue which proves the power of music in the movies as it allows Michael Giacchino's wonderful score to tell the tale in place of words. A couple meet in
childhood, marry and grow old together, unable to have children, the wife passes in old age, leaving the husband alone, miserable and determined to travel to the places he promised to take his
wife when she was still alive.
On the verge of losing his home due to a building project
repossessing the land, our hero of the film launches enough helium balloons to allow his house to leave its foundations and take flight. He also has an unexpected companion in the form of a young
Boy Scout who comes along for the ride as they journey to the mountains of Venezuela where they encounter an evil villain, talking dogs and a rare bird named Kevin.
Like the majority of Pixar's output, Up bridges the gap
between youth and adulthood and brings another film able to appeal to both. In fact, like youth, it's probably wasted on the young, particularly with its tear-jerking opening which is amongst the
most beautiful love stories ever dedicated to film.
Popular not just with audiences, critics adored it too,
especially during the awards season, when the Oscars deemed it a Best Picture nominee. Only the second animated film to earn such an accolade (after 1991's Beauty & The Beast).
8/10
