Up

For the past 5 weeks I have had the good fortune to be in America. From New York to Chicago, onto Los Angeles and back to New York. It was absolutely amazing and the best time I’ve had in my life however it was also exhausting. Fortunately I was able to find down time with my visits to the cinemas of time square. I took this opportunity to see Pixar’s latest, Up, a film not yet released here in the UK, so this was a perfect chance to see it before anyone else back home.

The film start out with a moving montage that tells the story of Carl Frederickson has he experiences all the peaks and troths that one must face throughout life. Following this the bulk of the film focuses on Carl as an elderly man forced to relocated from his own home to and old people’s home. Carl doesn’t like this and ties balloons to his house and flies off on a journey to fulfil his dreams of living in South America. However 8 yr old Russell accidently stows away on board his house and so begins the adventure.

Thankfully I can say that Pixar have yet again produced a well written, funny, heart warming tale that all audiences can enjoy. I think one of the key themes to this film is the strained relationship between Carl and Russell. Carl, who never had a son or daughter and is mourning the loss of his wife just wants to get away from everything. Russell on the other hand never had a father figure but sees it in Carl but has trouble being like by him due to his rather flamboyant nature.

A key theme in this film is age and how certain age groups are frowned upon in the modern society. Like Gran Torino earlier this year the film deals with how old age pensioners are looked down on by the rest of society and are assumed to be hopeless.

The humour in this film is also impressive, particularly the scenes involving talking dogs (dogs with collars that translate what they are thinking into word). These scenes account for many of the films belly laugh. One such incident involves a dog which is supposed to be sinister and evil but speaks in a very camp voice due to a malfunctioning voice translator.

Worth noting however is that this is the first Pixar film to be presented in 3D and unlike Bolt which I saw earlier this year the 3D adds a considerable dimension to the animation. The animation happens to absolutely stunning whether in 3D or not.

Overall Up is an impressive film. See it when it is released in the UK.

4 STARS