Friday’s Featured Film – 6/11/10
New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.
Up
The people at Pixar Animation Studios continue to amaze me. In a world where most people assume ‘animated’ to be code for ‘kiddie,’ Pixar has continued year after year to put out movies that are not just great animated films, but great films period. Ever since they burst onto the scene with their groundbreaking 1995 hit Toy Story, the studio has continued to release example after example of stellar work. Even the films of the theirs that I enjoyed the least (Cars, Ratatouille) have been tremendously enjoyable, while their best work (Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.) has risen to the level of flat-out classic. Even considering that with an almost-two-year-old in the house I’ve now seen them more times than I can count, they haven’t lost one bit of their charm for me. A couple weeks ago, we finally had the chance to see the latest Pixar entry, Up. The trailers for Up never really grabbed my attention, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it. Knowing Pixar, I should have known better. In fact, Up is beautiful movie that sits near the top of the Pixar canon in terms of quality.
The movie introduces us to a boy named Carl (Jeremy Leary) who dreams of adventure and idolizes the famous explorer Charles F. Muntz (Christopher Plummer). Carl meets a girl named Elle (Elizabeth Docter) who shares his yearning to explore, vowing one day to move her “clubhouse” (an abandoned house in the neighborhood) to faraway Paradise Falls in South America. We watch as Carl and Ellie eventually get married, renovate the old house, and grow old together – a happy life, but one that never saw them have the adventures they dreamed of as kids. After Elle passes away, Carl (voiced as an old man by Edward Asner) lives alone in their house, refusing to sell the property to the developers of the urban sprawl that has sprung up around it. When a court order threatens to send him to a retirement home, however, he decides to fulfill Elle’s lifelong dream by attaching thousands of helium balloons to the house and flying it to Paradise Falls – unknowingly taking an eager young boy scout (Jordan Nagai) along for the ride.
Perhaps more than any other film to date, Up demonstrates the incredible storytelling ability of the Pixar team. In our day and age, the idea that an animated movie with an 80-year-old man and an overeager boy scout as the main characters would be successful seems like a long shot. However, Pixar delivered a deeply moving human story that amassed over $230 million in domestic receipts and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The story and direction of Pete Docter (who previously took the same role on Monsters, Inc.) is pitch-perfect, and Carl is one of the most engaging and relatable characters I’ve ever seen in an animated film. The montage that shows us Carl and Ellie’s life together is one of the most beautiful pieces of film I’ve seen in a while, and from that moment on I knew that Up was going to be a special ride. Up showcases the beauty of marriage like few films do, and presents a compelling picture of love that is light years deeper than most of what gets peddled under the guise of that word. It’s also quite charming, with a group of dogs equipped with collars that enable them to speak being in particular a very clever gem. Michael Giacchino provides (whose name Lost fans will instantly recognize) a beautiful score that was well deserving of its Oscar win. All these elements combine to make Up a film that earns its place in the vaunted Pixar lineup, and in my opinion it belongs near the top. Whether you’re single or married, childless or a parent, 8 or 80, this is a movie you simply must see. – **** (out of 4)
Up is rated PG for some peril and action.
