Up Review
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The last few decades have been hard on animation fans. We saw the demise of two-dimensional feature studios in exchange for mountains and mountains of ludicrously profitable, computer-animated crap only occasionally peppered with 90 minutes of brilliance. Those small but immeasurably impactful roadmarks of progression were, and continue to be, largely the work of Pixar. Up is no exception.
Is the film entertaining? Absolutely. Funny? Certainly! But those qualities pale in comparison to Up's most prominent trait. It is moving. I cried. No joke!
The story is simultaneously small and massive in scope. Pixar accomplishes this by juxtaposing grand plotlines with small but impactful character moments. As wonderful and dazzling as the story is, I walk away remembering the tenderness more than anything.
Up surpasses Wall-E in effectiveness and is the best animated film I’ve seen since Coraline. It has very few explosions. There is no obvious merchandisable character therein. And it is absolutely, without question, worth your time and the price of admission. Go see it!
Short Aside
I saw Up in 3-D last weekend at Cinetopia in one of their Living Room theaters. If you have a chance to see the film in 3-D, better yet in such a premium viewing experience, my advice is to do so.