You've got to let go if you want to fly UP. ^_^
Went and saw Pixar's "UP" today with AD Jr. and Mr. AD. What a wonderful movie experience!
At first, seeing the preview clips of an old man, a chubby Asian scout boy, a dog with a special collar that enables him to speak, and a house with thousands of colorful balloons didn't really appeal to me that much. But after some reviews and the fact that my daughter picked this over what Mr. AD and I originally hoped that she'd tag along("Star Trek"), we decided to go see "UP".
What a delight this turned out to be! The grumpy old man is a lot easier to relate to and love than you would expect from just seeing the picture, and the seemingly over-the-top story of a flying house is tactfully grounded with sweet and tender emotional storytelling that brings so much humanity to the old man's character. A lovable jungle creature and the talking dog add delightful comedy, and all that flying action neatly pack up this movie as a "coming of age" and a "love story". This is the kind of movie that Disney really needed to slap its name onto (for quite a few years now) in order to hang onto the glory of the past the company once enjoyed. And of course, it's Pixar that did the job. It is directed and co-written by Pete Doctor, who directed "Monsters, Inc." many years ago. They were smart enough to find a new talent for the voice of the scout boy, Russel, rather than opting for the time-tested-and-repeatedly-proven-failures of using a well-known celebrity voice. The rest of the cast's voices match the characters nicely, not being distracting by their recognizability. (Another note-worthy detail: The Asian boy is actually voiced by an Asian boy. ^_^)
Japanese fans of Miyazaki films always flock to see new films by Studio Ghibli because of the company's well-established reputation that their movies have something to offer, not only to children, but the accompanying adults. And grownup audience without small children would gladly go and see the films. Many animated movies coming out of US often lack this quality -- they still tend to make "animated" movies for what they consider the primary target -- kids. "UP", however, might be better enjoyed by the more mature audience for its love story between Carl, the old man, and his wife, Ellie. The tenderness of their love is what anchors this movie throughout and gives its depth of emotion. At one point in the movie, it did bring tears to my eyes in a most inspiring, positive way. Children will certainly get their fun out of this movie with the young boy's adventure, cute creatures, flying, battling evil, etc. It's a movie a whole family with multiple generations can enjoy. Take the grandparents with you, because Carl, the old man, really is the star of the movie.
