UP Review

Pixar know how to pull it off.

Up is another in their long line of awesome animated movies, movies that drip sheer class and quality from the opening scene. You can keep your pale imitations – tropical fish running a car wash? If it isn’t a Pixar movie I don’t want to know.

Continuing the more mature outlook that coloured Wall-E, Up shows that if cartoons are just for kids then they can learn something on the way. The opening section describes the life of Carl and Ellie, in a smartly realised colection of key moments. Showing the growth of the pair and the strength of their releationship.

The film begins shortly after Ellie’s loss and Carl’s regret that they never achieved the one great adventure they had always promised each other. That’s when things turn fantastical and in true Pixar fashion excitement, adventure and laughs quickly follow.

Carl’s adventure is spectacular in its launch and takes him across continents to find new friends and bring him face to face with a lifelong hero. Carl is pretty sprightly for a septugenarian Mr Magoo lookalike, rest assured that’s as far as the similarity stretches.

Supporting characters  are fun, with Russell the over enthusisatic Wilderness Scout bringing buckets of comic relief.

There is plenty to enjoy and admire in Up, the quality of these movies just gets better and better and fans may be warmed to the advance notice of Toy Story 3 being on the horizon, but I can’t help wonder if we have moved on too far for Woody and Buzz.

Take some kids as an excuse and go be entertained.

Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
Cast Includes: Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Edward Asner
Genre: Animated Action Adventure
Run time: 96 minutes
Rating: G – General