Looking
back at my gushing words for last year’s WALL-E, I feel slightly
sheepish. While I certainly enjoyed it, I realise that my joy at having
a Pixar film that was exponentially better than its two predecessors,
Cars and Ratatouille, overwhelmed my hesitation that WALL-E was actually
two films awkwardly jammed together. The first half, featuring the
adorable little robot alone on Earth but for his best pal, one Hal
Roach, and his courtship of the super high-tech Eve was so sublime that
it tempered the wildly uneven second half; a rather graceless PSA about
saving the planet and the evils of becoming morbidly obese. I’m glad I
have no such trepidation regarding the rave about to follow for Pixar’s
latest adventure, simply entitled Up.
Carl
Frederickson wasn’t always a cranky little old man. Quite contraire,
about 70 years ago, Carl was a chubby little boy with a vivid
imagination, dreaming of following in the adventurous footsteps of his
idol, the swashbuckling explorer, Charles Muntz. Carl’s neighbourhood
voyages lead him to meet a like-minded sprite named Ellie, whose
exuberance, pluck and daring are the complete opposite of her shy new
friend. Together they form their own Explorer’s Club based on their
shared love of Muntz and their plans to see the world as he did. Over
time, that bond becomes a far stronger one as the pair grows older and
marries. Carl and Ellie live a long happy life of domestic ups and
downs inside the little house they first met in as children. When Ellie
passes, Carl’s aspiration to see the world dies with her as their house
becomes a shrine to their life together. Instead of living out his days
in peace, Carl’s small corner of the world isn’t safe from greedy real
estate developers who want the land the house sits on and will stoop to
low means to get it. Carl is leery of every visitor, including the
cheerful, chatty 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer who turns up on his
doorstep. Russell is a little butterball of earnest boy scout values
and he won’t be deterred by Carl’s grouchy veneer from getting the
“assisting the elderly” badge he needs to pass to the next scouting
level. It’s only Russell’s bad timing that finds him on an unorthodox
trip to South America as Carl makes a final stance against the
developers by filling his entire house with helium balloons and quite
literally flying away. Carl remembers Ellie’s dearest wish as a little
girl and is determined to take their home to Paradise Falls, the last
known location of their shared idol, Charles Muntz. Using curtains and
shower rods as his masts and sails Carl flies himself, Russell, and his
house to the mysterious jungles of South America.
I was
reminded of the quote by Fausto Coppi: "Age and treachery will overcome
youth and skill." Carl is a crafty codger, who simply wants to be left
alone. His brief fantasies of hanging the exasperatingly energetic
Russell out of a window of the flying house are a hoot. The
well-meaning little boy has learned nothing in his Wilderness Explorer
guides that could prepare him for the grumpy old man. Yet, thrown
together by these amazing circumstances, the two find mutual ground to
need each other, even if Carl doesn’t know, or appreciate it yet. As
they make their way through the South American jungle, Carl finds
himself protecting not only the little boy, but an exotic, giant bird
Russell discovers and dubs Kevin, that is hunted by a pack of trained
dogs. One of the pack is a slobbering, friendly hound named Dug, who
really, really loves the two humans; we know this because Dug tells us
so. Equipped with a high-tech collar that can translate his doggy
thoughts into multiple languages, we are finally given insight into what
our canines think. Unfortunately, Dug’s colleagues aren’t quite as
lovable or distractible as he is and we soon find out who it is that has
been tracking the big goofy bird. Carl’s dilemma is to get the house to
Paradise Falls before all the balloons lose their lift and to try and
keep himself and eager, young Russell in one piece.
As it
is Pixar, we’ve come to expect a level of aesthetic brilliance with each
film and Up doesn’t disappoint. Who as a child hasn’t wished the
balloon they grasped in their hand couldn’t carry them away to some
far-off land? The initial flight of Carl’s house pulled by hundreds of
helium-filled balloons is a dream come to life, majestic and
breathtaking; each colourful sphere detailed and individual. The
square, squat renderings of Carl himself tells the audience so much
about the character before we seen him slowly sliding sideways down an
unreliable stair lift. Russell’s chubby roundness and Kevin’s abstract
pear-shaped design are complete contrasts to Carl, which made me think
of the Chuck Jones classic, The Dot and the Line, and how strict Carl
must learn to bend to cope with these two. Much care was taken with the
depiction of the lush South American jungle and the audience can
practically see dewdrops of condensation on the bright green leaves.
The house is lowered into a valley and Carl and Russell dodge towering
rock formations, making for some quite scary moments, particularly in
the 3D version. Kevin the snipe is a whimsical burst of bright,
riotous colour and its movements; the rubbery limbs, the bug-eyed head
that revolves 360 degrees, and the preternatural hiss whenever its
beloved Russell is threatened, capture the very alien-ness of this
funny, foreign creature. Carl’s high-flying dogfight against the
bird’s ruthless pursuers is thrilling and clever. Unlike Up’s
recent Pixar predecessors, there’s not a flat or badly paced moment in
the film.
Up
delivers a great message without pointing fingers or bashing you over
the head, never becoming anything less than incredibly entertaining.
Carl is an unlikely hero, but audiences will cheer for the
septuagenarian and his common-sense heroics. Director Pete Docter shows
us early on why Carl is so closed off to the rest of the world and how
much the loss of his dear Ellie meant to him. The first 10 minutes of
Up had me sobbing like a fool both times I’ve seen it and I’m sure it’ll
happen on the third and fourth times, as well. It is in the charming
trio of Russell, the sweetly precocious little boy, Kevin, the
slap-happy oversized parakeet, and the dizzy, devoted Dug, that we
understand Carl has met the match that even his reinforced walls of
sadness cannot stand up against. Thoroughly and consistently
delightful, Up is a wonderful story that strikes a perfect balance
between moving sentiment and rollicking fun.
Run to
this, kids. It’s amazing.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
May 28th
2009
PS:
Click here for our interview with Up
director Pete Docter (-
Who also gave us Mike, Sully and Boo from
Monsters, Inc. and wrote the Toy Story films) and producer
Jonas Rivera.
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