| Audience: | Kindergarten - 3rd Grade |
| MPAA Rating: | Rated PG for some peril and action |
| Profanity: | None |
| Nudity/Sex: | A little potty humor |
| Alcohol/Drugs: | None |
| Violence/Scariness: | Characters in peril, brief images of slightly bloody wounds, dogs with scary teeth, fire, chases, very sad death, references to infertility and parental estrangement |
| Diversity Issues: | Diverse characters |
| Movie Release Date: | May 29, 2009 |
| DVD Release Date: | November 11, 2009 |
Pixar movies are beautiful to look at, but what takes your breath away is the story. They don't rely on fairy tales or best-selling books with pre-sold stories and characters we are already attached to. And, as if challenging themselves to make it even harder, they take on increasingly unlikely protagonists -- a gourmet rat, an almost-wordless robot, and now a cranky old man, and somehow they make us fall in love with them.
In some ways, this is the oldest and most enduring of tales, the story of a journey. And this is one that started a long time ago. A brief prologue introduces us to Carl and Ellie, a boy and girl who dream of adventure. They pledge to follow their hero, explorer Charles Muntz, to see Paradise Falls in South America.
Then they grow up and get married and life intervenes. He sells balloons and she works with birds. They save for their trip but keep having to use the money for un-adventuresome expenses like repairing the roof. Then Ellie dies, and Carl (voice of Ed Asner) is left alone. Developers are closing in on his little house. He just can't bear to lose anything more. And so he takes the one thing he has and the one thing he knows and ties so many balloons to his house that it lifts, yes, up into the sky, so he can follow Muntz to Paradise Falls at last.
But he does not realize he has an inadvertent stowaway. Russell (voice of Jordan Nagai), a pudgy, trusting, and irrepressibly cheerful little Wilderness Adventure scout who needs to assist an elderly person so that he can get a badge. They arrive in South America and as they pull the house, still aloft, toward Paradise Falls, they meet an exotic bird, talking dogs, and several kinds of danger, and have to rethink some of what they thought they knew and some of what they thought was most important to them.
The visuals are splendid, making subtle but powerful use of the 3D technology to make some scenes feel spacious and some claustrophobic. Carl and his world are all rectangles, Russell all curves. The Tabletop Mountains-inspired landscapes are stunning and the balloons are buoyant marvels, thousands of them, each moving separately but affecting all of the others, the shiny crayon dots of pure color amid the dusty rock and the earth tones of Carl's wrinkles, gray hair, and old clothes. The other glowing colors on screen are the iridescent feathers of the bird, inspired by the monal pheasant.
There are a couple of logical and chronological inconsistencies that are distracting. But the dogs, with special collars that allow them to give voice to the canine purity of their feelings, are utterly charming -- and there is a clever twist to keep the scariest one from being too scary. Another pleasure of the film comes from the way the precision of the graphic design is matched by some welcome and very human messiness in the story. Everything is not resolved too neatly but everything is resolved with a tenderness and spirit that is like helium for the heart.
Parents should know that this film includes characters in danger, including a child. Peril and violence include scary dogs with big teeth, falling, swords, guns, darts, brief images of wounds. There is a sad death and a reference to infertility. While most Pixar movies are rated G, this one is rated PG and so parents should be cautious about taking younger children.
Family discussion: What would be in your adventure book? How did Carl and Russell change their minds about what they thought they wanted?
If you like this, try: other Pixar classics like "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life" and classic adventure films like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." And be sure to read my interview with director and co-screenwriter Pete Docter.
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Movie Mom, my dad and i just went to see Up for Father's Day. I'm fourteen, yet I still found myself laughing at the alpha dog and crying when Ellie died. We both loved it; my dad said it was the best fathers' day present he'd ever had:) I love all the Pixar movies, this is by far the most beautiful visually. (and the most original for sure) I still can't decide whether this one is going to take 1st on my list, (currently taken by monsters, inc.) I'm still deciding. I'm definitely going to buy this one, glad to see you liked it as much as me(: Thanks for the reviews,
-Allyson
What a wonderful comment, Allyson! I am thrilled that you and your father loved the movie and so grateful to you for sharing your reaction. Happy Father's Day to your dad and please keep writing to let me know what you think about the movies you see.
You are absolutely right about younger kids not being prepared for this. I took my girls (3 1/2 and almost 5) and we had to leave about 20 minutes before the film's end. My eldest got scared during multiple scenes while my youngest was upset and crying throughout the movie (even with scenes that I didn't find scary). If preschooler kids are sensitive, this is not the movie for them. (BTW, they did OK last summer with Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who, Wall*E)
The thing about a really GOOD story is that even if it has holes large enough to fly a dirigible through, people only remember it was a really GOOD story (another example is the Wizard of OZ). The artists and animators at PIXAR are indeed some of the best in the biz. But no one comes close to the writers' ability to tell a story that is carried by the artwork, and not the other way around.
This movie is a sure thing for our church's movie matinees next summer.
Nell,
I was especially struck by your comment interpreting the movement the balloons. It was indeed one of the most amazing parts of the movie. If you don't mind, I may adapt it (with credit to you) when discussing the way a church (or any community) works together. Great commentary, like great scripting, ignites and incites all sorts of thoughts. Thank you.
Thanks, jestrfyl, and you are welcome to use any thoughts I write about any time. I'm honored!
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