5/5 Stars

By Julian Martin

In:Site Reporter

The monster under your bed might be your best friend, rats can become master chefs and robots will fall in love – this is the wonderful and ridiculously cute world of Pixar. In its latest venture, Up, the animation company blends action, comedy and unexpectedly adult themes, to create what is so far the most enjoyable film of 2009.

From the film’s trailers, you would think that Up is simply the lighthearted tale of a cranky old man and a young boy on a magical journey around the world. Previews have promoted the film as being filled with enough bright colors and strange creatures to keep the story suitable only for fans of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hannah Montana. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Not only can Up connect with audiences of all ages, but it is also Pixar’s most mature film to date.

The film introduces audiences to Carl Fredricksen (Jeremy Leary), a shy eight-year-old boy fascinated by explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). After watching a film detailing the explorers’ exploits, Fredricksen runs into a fast-talking and adventurous girl named Ellie who dreams of one day venturing to South America. The two quickly bond over their mutual enthusiasm for Muntz.

The setting is then shifted with a series of flash-forwards showing how Carl and Ellie eventually fall in love, get married and grow old together. Told through a dialogue-less montage, the sequence is both beautiful and heartbreaking. However, the idyllic love story is shattered by Ellie’s eventual death.

The change from awkward and adorable childhood to old age (told over a mere 10 minutes) flowed together so well that I was completely unprepared for the effects of Fredricksen’s loss; for only the second time in my life a film had brought me to shed a few tears. The sentiment was echoed throughout the screening, and in a theater mostly filled with college students, even several fraternity members could be heard trying to stifle back unwanted sniffles.

Before audiences hopes for the uplifting comedy promised by the previews were dashed, the film moved on. After several years living alone, the 78-year-old Fredricksen (voiced as an adult by Edward Asner) is about to be evicted from his home. The old, and now irritable, loner decides on a wild attempt to escape. Tying billions of helium balloons to his house, he floats his home up and away. The destination of Carl’s seemingly impossible journey – South America. Fredricksen hopes to land and fulfill his wife’s failed dream of living atop a waterfall in a paradise-like forest.

Naturally Carl’s perfectly-laid plans are taken completely off-course. A local Wilderness Explorer (a.k.a. Boy Scout) named Russell (Jordan Nagai) ends up accidently attached to the house and turns Fredricksen’s quiet trip into a thrilling and hilarious adventure.

As moving as the prologue may seem, the film really takes off once Carl and Russell begin their flight. The film plays up the generation-gap between the two for a few laughs, but surprisingly, the awkward pair make the perfect Pixar duo. Each provides the companionship the other has been missing, and Carl becomes not only a friend, but a father-figure to Russell as well. Buzz and Woody have nothing on an introverted senior citizen and a hyperactive Boy Scout.

Nearly everything in Up also appears painstakingly detailed (several scenes inside Carl’s house stand out in particular). Pixar’s animators have once again one-upped themselves with a colorful; world rivaling the undersea adventures of Finding Nemo or the wastes of Wall-E.

Like the Shrek series, the film succeeds by combining jokes tailored for older audiences (with references from Star Wars to poker) with an imaginative narrative. The themes of love, loss and hope are carefully diffused for kids and disguised by talking dogs, balloon-propelled houses and even fifteen-foot rainbow-colored birds.

With brilliant animation and emotionally touching characters, Director Pete Docter has crafted that rare type of family film that can uplift audiences of all ages. Whether seven, 17 or 78, viewers will find something magical in Up.