UP

The better a movie is the harder I find it to write about with out gushing and sounding like I’m trying to sell something. I have no problem doing that here. Go see this movie. Do anything you can to see it on the big screen and then reserve a copy at Wal-Mart before it’s released. This is by far Pixars biggest accomplishment to date, putting together a masterful work of art on so many levels. I laughed, I almost cried, and I forgot about everything in life beside what was going on in the theatre. That’s what great movies do to you.

The scenario could not have been more perfect. A few seats next to me I had a 5 or 6 year old girl accompanied by her father while in front of me I had an elderly couple holding hands. The little girl didn’t stop asking her father questions, adorable questions, which I could hardly ignore. The elderly couple in front of me must have exchanged a hundred or more loving glances at each other. It really set the mood.

Up is about Carl, an elderly man who sets out on an amazing journing he’s been waiting his whole life to take. After his wife Ellie passes away and on the verge of being condemned to an old folks home he anchors thousands of helium filled balloons to his house and takes flight. 

Carl really loved Ellie, the kind of love that can’t be described with words. Fortunately Pixar didn’t try to describe their love with words but with a montage sequence that knocked my socks off. It was as loving and heartfelt as any live action montage I have ever seen. When the little girl next to me turned to her father and whispered “Daddy, what happened” as Carl stood alone in a funeral home I had a hard time keeping it together. 

Up, well, it was almost….real. I usually have a hard time suspending my disbelief for a cartoon but this wasn’t just any old cartoon. Up will stand the test of time and become a classic, I'm sure of it. A great story, wonderful animation, and talking dogs...how could you go wrong?

My Vote: Go see it now, but not in 3-D.