UP

Director: Peter Docter & Bob Peterson
Stars: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo
Year: 2009
Rating: PG

From childhood, Carl Fredricksen (voiced, as an adult, by Edward Asner) was fascinated with adventure. His hero, explorer Charles Muntz, was a world-renowned hero until accused of faking one of his most important finds; long ago, the man left to prove himself legit and was never heard from again. This does nothing to deter young Carl, however - who is even more thrilled when he meets a girl his age named Ellie who is just as much a Muntz fan (maybe even more so) than he is.

The first ten minutes or so of Up chronicle the meeting, romance, marriage and lifetime together of Carl and Ellie - up until Ellie's death, which is where the film opens. Today, Carl is an irascible old man, a retired balloon salesman who still has plenty of fight in him; he refuses to bow to the corporation that wants to buy his and Ellie's modest home, even as major construction goes on around him, and is extremely protective when it comes to trying to preserve his past and the memories that come with them. When an incident stemming from that sense of over-protectiveness threatens to put Carl into a nursing home for good, to save losing his home Carl does the one thing he knows how to do: take the house with him.

See, Ellie had a dream she'd never fully realized before her death. All she wanted to do, as a child, was to relocate to Paradise Falls in South America. The Fredricksens had, in fact, tried to save their money over the years for such a trip - but something else always came up (flat tire, damaged roof, etc.) that the funds were needed for, instead.

So with little else to lose, Carl decides to make Ellie's dream come true at last - by filling hundreds and hundreds of colorful balloons with helium and using them to literally sail his house to South America. And when the guys from Shady Oaks nursing home show up the next morning, it's just in time to see Carl AND his house take off for good.

Once Carl is high enough, he settles back in his favorite chair to relax - only to hear a knock on the front door. A bit confused (after all, the house is floating pretty high) as to who could be at his door, Carl opens it to find a young, chubby Wilderness Explorer scout named Russell, who got caught when the house took off while trying to win his Elderly Assistance badge by helping Carl. Like it or not (and he doesn't), Carl knows Russell is along for the ride - and from here on in, not too much can be said about the plot without potentially ruining the film for someone who hasn't seen it.

But that said, Up is quite possibly the best, most full-realized film to come out of Pixar. Carl is wonderfully eccentric and cranky, but as a character never falls into stereotype or for one moment is unbelievable. Ditto Russell, the little boy who only wants to do good and win the affection and attention of his father. Even a dog named Dug, that the two world travelers meet up with who can talk, is hilarious and fully believable as a dog - even though he can talk (by a method that is made realistic enough in the film so that viewers will have no trouble suspending their disbelief about it)! Up is one of those films that is exciting, funny as heck, beautiful to look at, and with enough emotional impact to both break and mend your heart. Unexpected twists and turns of plot that you don't see coming make the film a joy to watch until the end, and through it all you will root 150% for Carl and Russell (and yes, even Dug!) to see their challenges through to the end. A lovely, life-affirming and very funny film, Up is Pixar (and life) at its best. ***** - Reel Must-See