Up (2009)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Directors:

Pete Docter
Bob Peterson (co-director)

Writers:

Bob Peterson (screenplay) and
Pete Docter (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Plot:

By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.

Plot Keywords:

Stowaway | South America | Retirement Home | Talking Dog | Balloon

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Edward Asner	...	Carl Fredricksen (voice) (as Ed Asner)
Christopher Plummer	...	Charles Muntz (voice)
Jordan Nagai	...	Russell (voice)
Bob Peterson	...	Dug / Alpha (voice)
Delroy Lindo	...	Beta (voice)
Jerome Ranft	...	Gamma (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	Construction Foreman Tom (voice)
David Kaye	...	Newsreel Announcer (voice)
Elie Docter	...	Young Ellie (voice)
Jeremy Leary	...	Young Carl (voice)
Mickie McGowan	...	Police Officer Edith (voice)
Danny Mann	...	Construction Worker Steve (voice)
Donald Fullilove	...	Nurse George (voice)
Jess Harnell	...	Nurse AJ (voice)
Josh Cooley	...	Omega (voice)

Also Known As:

Helium (Philippines: English title) (review title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some peril and action.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital EX | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #45254) | South Korea:All | UK:U | Canada:G (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:PG | Ireland:G | Mexico:AA | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Finland:K-7 | Hong Kong:I | South Africa:PG | Japan:G | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:0 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/4 (dubbed version) | Portugal:M/6 (subtitled version) | Norway:7 | Australia:PG | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Taiwan:GP | Germany:o.Al. | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:7

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The first Pixar film since Finding Nemo (2003) not to be presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Mr. Fredricksen's cane always has four tennis balls on it even after he throws one or more of them to the dogs in multiple scenes. When Mr. Fredrickson throws the ball to Dug, Dug brings the ball back to him. However, when he throws it at the pack of dogs later on, he doesn't get it returned. Hence the reason why he only has three tennis balls in the following scenes.

Quotes:

Carl Fredricksen: This is crazy. I finally meet my childhood hero and he's trying to kill us. What a joke.
Dug: Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, "I forgot to store acorns for the winter and now I am dead." Ha! It is funny because the squirrel gets dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Coming to Homerica (#20.21)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Habanera

Pixar hits it out of the park, again

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to a special pre-release screening of Up at Pixar studios in Emeryville, organized by the San Francisco Film Society. After a hour-long reception in the atrium of their beautiful main building we went through some rigorous security (metal detectors!) and were treated to an hilarious short (Partly Cloudy) and Pixar's new high water mark, Up.

My favorites to date have definitely been Wall-E and the Incredibles, and Up is another slightly-left-of-center masterpiece. The emotional impact of the beautiful, wordless summation of Carl's life that opens the movie is the bass note that resonates through the whole film and is at least as affecting as the scene in Wall-E when he holds his own hands while watching Hello Dolly. The rest of the movie, of course, is breathtaking on just about every level, especially the tactile quality of all the characters and textures and the completely realized weather effects and action scenes. With no "new" technical milestones (fur in Monsters, Inc., water in Finding Nemo, realistic camera effects in Wall- E), the design is the main focus, from the hilariously stylized characters to the amazing setting of the tepui.

As the associate producer who participated in the Q&A following the movie pointed out, the past three Pixar movies have not been easy sells to their parent company Disney (they'll be back in familiar territory with Toy Story 3 and Cars 2), but Pixar's commitment to inventive, story-driven films continues to pay off here. All of the good press is true, and I can't wait to see it again. Thanks for staying true to yourselves Pixar!