With their first few movies, especially Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, John Lasseter and crew seemed to be just making movies for kids, mostly preoccupied with the task of selling the potential of all-CGI animated movies to an industry that was skeptical at the time, including Disney. Now, since they obviously no longer have to prove themselves, Pixar not only makes movies that kids can enjoy, but movies that adults can relate to as well. Films such as The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E are definite proof of this, providing us with stories of characters that are well developed and likeable dealing with extraordinary situations amidst colorful, almost photo-realistic backgrounds and relatable, strong themes.
Up, Pixar’s newest creation, written and directed by Pixar veterans Pete Docter and Bob Peterson and produced by WALL-E director Andrew Stanton, is no exception.
The protagonist is a short, square-headed and largely subdued 78 year old man named Carl Fredericksen (Ed Asner). He spent most of his younger years married to his life-loving, adventure hungry childhood sweetheart Ellie (Elie Docter). Ellie and Carl had amazing dreams of traveling to the jungles of South America and having all kinds of adventures. Unfortunately, life and its pitfalls get in the way, and Ellie passes away before she gets the chance to leave the town they grew up in, leaving poor Carl alone in a world that is constantly changing.
Determined to carry on in her spirit, the now elderly Carl comes up with a plan to honor her memory. He attaches thousands of balloons to his house, transforming it into a makeshift airship of sorts, and sets a course for Paradise Falls, where he plans to live out the rest of his days. What he doesn’t count on, however, is a young wilderness explorer stowaway named Russell (newcomer Jordan Nagai), who inadvertently tags on for the adventure. Carl isn’t too keen on Russell at first, but after getting to know him they form a bond, one that transcends generations. From that point on, a series of unexpected distractions, including an endangered bird named Kevin and a crazed and disgraced adventurer named Charles Mintz (Christopher Plummer), provide Carl and Russell with plenty of adventure. Possibly more than they can handle, at least at first.
Here, Carl and Ellie share a lovely afternoon together. Still courtesy of the Swiss site OutNow.ch, and of Pixar/Disney. You can view more stills there.
As is the case with all of Pixar’s movies, the effort and development time put in to the animation and visual effects is astounding. It’s easy to see that their animation staff really has a thing for texture mapping. Carl’s suit looks and moves like fabric. The water looks and splashes like actual water. The pill bottles on Carl’s nightstand are translucent, and you can actually see all the pills inside them. The setting and backgrounds are also simply breathtaking. Modeled after the sights of actual South American waterfalls and rainforests, each scene is truly a testament to the great amount of attention that the animators at Pixar pay to detail.
Also worth noting is the terriffic musical score done by composer Michael Giacchino. This track here stands among the best in the whole film.
Visual style, however, isn’t all this movie has. Considering the subject matter, this can be seen as an especially brave movie for Pixar to make, especially since it’s marketed as a family movie. It is admirable how the movie deals with subjects ranging from growing old, dealing with personal loss, and not running away from your problems in an entirely true-to-life and responsible way without talking down to the kids in the audience, and letting these themes influence the story and plot without making them too obvious or bogging down other aspects of the film. Some could argue that themes like that are hard for kids to pick up on, but this story seems to make them understandable enough.
And man, what an incredible story it is. The first ten minutes are so painful to watch, only because of how somber and brutally honest they are, but it’s worth watching the rest of the film to get to the extremely uplifting conclusion.
Carl and Russell face down a stone sculpture in the heart of the South American jungle in this piece of concept art done by animator Lou Romano. You can see some more fun concept art at his blog here.
Of course, the characters help move things along nicely. One thing that’s really respectable about the way Pixar casts their movies is that they always choose people who really have their hearts invested in the roles they’re picked for. It almost never sounds like any of them are phoning it in, or providing star power as a crutch for the movie to lean on. It’s not my intention to bash Dreamworks, but in Pixar’s movies, it always seems like the voice actors are, well, acting more. For example, when Tim Allen voices Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story movies, he really sounds like Buzz Lightyear. He really gets into the role. Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy voices Donkey in the Shrek movies, and he does a fairly entertaining performance, but for the most part he just sounds like Eddie Murphy the donkey.
The voice actors in this movie, despite not being extremely huge names, show a lot of dedication, which is something a lot of people have come to expect from the cast of a Pixar movie. Ed Asner takes the concept of a quiet and reserved fellow turned lovable curmudgeon and really runs with it. Nagai’s Russell makes the perfect, energetic and upbeat counterpoint to Carl’s grouchiness, and the bond they create later between them is made extra special because of this.
The most memorable characters, by far, have to be two supporting characters. The first one is Dug (Bob Petersen), a golden retriever who wears a collar that can convert his thoughts into words, and Kevin, the endangered bird. Dug has such great chemistry with the two main characters, and spouts lines that make great comic relief for everyone, especially dog owners in the audience (“I hid under your porch because I love you!” This line is even better in context). Kevin, on the other hand, has some very lively mannerisms. It’s easy to tell that the animators had fun with him.
Pictured here from left to right: Kevin, Russell, Dug, and Carl. Still courtesy of Pixar/Disney.
With the successful reputation that Pixar has, it seems almost shocking that Disney’s corporate execs and wall street aficionados alike were worried about the film’s marketability. While I’m not sure how many action figures and lunchboxes the film will sell, I can say with confidence that it is a film that adults will love, and kids will remember even when they become adults themselves. It’s a little too early to say where this one ranks among Disney/Pixar’s movies, but it is definitely in my top three.
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