Away We Go

5/5

Pixar's last movie Up tells the wonderful story of Carl (voiced by Edward Asner) who has lived his whole life deeply in love with Ellie (who is only voiced as a young girl by Elie Docter). After her passing, he decides to go on the adventure that they had dreamed about their entire lives. He is accompanied by an uninvited guest, a young boy scout named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), who through his innocence and devotion wins Carl's heart despite Carl's coldness and forced solitude. Together they embark upon a fantastical journey to South America, along the way meeting talking dogs and a huge bird named Kevin.

Up contains it all, action, adventure, humor and tender hearted moments. After an initial introduction of Carl and Ellie as children we are given a movie montage of their lives together, with nearly no spoken words. It is so compelling and well shot that it carries power through the rest of the movie. The action/adventure scenes are well shot and just tense enough to satisfy one's appetite while not overwhelming any younger viewers. All of the characters are given opportunity to deliver some cleverly written and witty remarks that keep them the movie's atmosphere light hearted and grounded.

I saw the movie in 3D and did not get what I expected from the 3D elements of the movie. Most 3D movies throw their 3D fists in your face (quite literally at times), but Up doesn't do this. Instead the 3D is used to enhance an already beautifully crafted world. There are moments where things jump out of the screen, but the overwhelming majority of the movie's 3D is simply to give a sense of depth and scope. Though the characters in Up are not intended to look "real", the rest of the movie gets pretty close. The lighting and texture of objects, both in the foreground and background are wonderfully brought to life. Everything in the movie has a great amount of detail, it seemed as if I could have reached out and felt the individual fronds on a fern or the stubble on Carl's chin or even run my fingers through Doug's (one of the talking dogs) hair.

Pros:
A wonderfully crafted world, populated with delightful characters that have depth and honesty. Completely different take on what a 3D movie is and still massively appealing on this front. Simple, yet deep, character driven story that captures our attention and our hearts. The voice talent is well delivered from every character both big and small.

Cons:
None

Bottom Line:
Pixar cannot fail. Quite simply put Pixar's newest movie "Up" is brilliant. It is funny, adventurous and sentimental. It accomplishes everything it intends to and more. A delightful movie for the whole family. If you haven't jumped on the 3D bandwagon yet, here's your invitation. Not unnecessarily throwing objects in your face the 3D helps take an already beautiful movie to the next level.