UP

Review by Matthew Rodgers

Bored. Bored. Bored of repeating with every new PIXAR release the same raptures about how they continue to redefine the boundaries of computer generated animation, let alone the brilliance of their narrative storytelling. Predictably they’ve gone and done it again, but with UP they have lifted themselves to the apex of their art with the much lauded opening sequence of this inventive fable.

With scant dialogue peppered throughout a life encapsulating introductory montage that carries so much pathos, emotion, and unrivalled visual beauty it’s hard to recall a more absorbing and affecting sequence in film, let alone an animated one. It’s best to leave spoilerific specifics out in order to maintain the impact because it’s truly remarkable stuff.

The only downside to such an emotional high is that the rest of the story simply cannot match it. But that’s not to say that UP isn’t a wondrously original film from the moment a young Carl Fredrickson sits eyes agog (much like you will) in front of his favourite matinee movie, through to the climactic finale of his own.

Stubbornly avoiding the onset of a land development that threatens his small marital home, we find Carl Fredrickson about to take the journey he always dreamed of. The fact that it’s propelled by thousands of helium balloons tied to his house is the one of many wonderful touches dotted throughout Docter and Peterson’s brilliant script. Another is the revelation that a young boy scout has inadvertently stowed away on the pensioner’s porch and his drift towards retirement has become his own matinee adventure filled with prehistoric birds and high speed chases.

So, aside from the aforementioned preface, what makes this the film that all the other animation studios longingly gaze UP at?

As always the characterisations are incredibly detailed. Carl is curmudgeonly but through his back-story we know that he has a good heart so you are continually rooting for his luck to change, and as with WALL-E its some of his quieter moments that define him and provide the most resonance. There is a guaranteed lip quiverer of a scene during which he reminisces by thumbing through an old scrapbook, its simply heartbreaking but joyously uplifting in equal measure.

Of course a PIXAR film wouldn’t be the same without a double act of some sort. We’ve had Buzz and Woody, Marlin and Dory, Sully and Mike Wachowski, and now you can add to that list, Carl and his eager little bob-a-job of a sidekick, Russell.

The little fella is adorable with his naivety and mannerisms, his burgeoning relationship with Carl is straight from the familial template of the most successful so called “kids film”, think ET and the best from the Spielberg stable. The two of them both have a need for eachother beyond that of what’s required for narrative progression, there is a deep seeded emotional core to their bond that transcends the culture clash comedy you’d expect from the old man/young boy combination. Its intricate details like these that make PIXAR light years ahead of the pack.

From the talking dogs (not what you might think) to the impact of a soda bottle top badge, there is so much to recommend in UP that a lengthily review becomes somewhat redundant in trying to say that its simply the best animated feature since Ratatouille, and unquestionably one of the films of the year.