Review: Up

Grade: A+

Pixar's tenth feature movie Up is about a man, Carl Fredricksen (Voiced by Ed Asner) who dreamed of being an adventurer when growing up. He marries a woman who truly has a passion for adventure. They both share a dream of someday traveling to South America just like their childhood hero, Charles Muntz. Life happens and they unfortunately never do make it. Carl, who was a balloon salesmen, now lives by himself in his house. A construction company is building a complex around his house but he refuses to sell his house and move to a retirement community until a mishap one day that lands him in court and they force him into the retirement home. Instead of going quietly to live out the rest of his days, Carl ties 10,000 balloons to his house and decides to essentially sail off to South America in his house. He finds a stowaway boy, Russell, who decides to assist Carl on his journey. Along the way to Carl's dream retirement location they encounter a talking dog and even Carl's childhood hero, who has become obsessed with finding a rare bird that has become friends with Russell.

This movie is so beautifully done. It is a wonderful story about growing old, remembering the little things in life and making your own adventures. Carl sees a younger version of himself in Russell and begins to connect with the boy. He has lived a long life with his wife and is very lonely but misses her greatly and regrets never taking the big adventures with her that he promised that he would only to have it brought to his attention by Russell that his whole life with her was a series of adventures. Russell is a young boy in search of a father figure who finds friendship in the old man. It is an extremely touching story that will fill your heart with joy. It is also a very funny movie. When the characters encounter Dug, a dog with a special collar on that voices his thoughts. Dug is an eccentric dog that gets distracted easily and isn't very good at his job. He befriends the duo and helps them out with their adventure and helps fight off Charles Muntz. Dug and the other dogs with the special collars really steal most of the scenes they are in.

Pixar hits again with their animation. The first part of the movie shows Carl as a child when he meets his future wife and they pretend to be great adventurers. After that there is a montage of him and his wife getting married and growing old together. With no words Pixar knows how o perfectly tell a story with just body language and emotion. It is probably the most touching part of the movie. The people at Pixar are some of the greatest, if not best, story tellers in Hollywood today. Their movies just get better and better. I can't wait to see what they come up with after they separate from Disney after the release of Toy Story 3 next June. The academy might as well just hand over the Oscar for this movie right now because I am willing to guarantee that no other animated movie this year will come close to Up. In fact, Up is so good that at this point it should be a nominee for best picture, not just animated.

This movie is great for children and adults alike. Pixar does a great job making movies that everybody can enjoy. On top of that Up delivers a great message for everybody to walk away with. It teaches that it is the small things in life that matters and that life is the greatest adventure of all. I suggest everybody go out and see this movie as soon as possible, it is simply amazing top notch entertainment.

Great line: "I was hiding under your porch because I love you."

Quick Warning: This is mostly for die hard Pixar fans. While the 3D version of the movie is awesome and well worth it, they do not play the Pixar Animated Short before the 3D version.