Children’s movies have long sheltered the little ones from a lot of ugly truths. Death for instance, if ever presented, is always glossed over and seen as an obstacle to conceal in the plot, rather than taken as an opportunity to talk about. Perhaps it’s the thought that kids simply won’t understand what they’re being presented with or maybe that parents simply want to protect their tykes from all that nasty, “real-life” business. Regardless the reasoning, kids’ entertainment, for the most part, is usually filled with fluffy, inconsequential drivel.
Then along comes Up. Pixar’s most recent entry takes a strong, mature stance on the topics of love and death and presents them to kids (and adults alike) in a complete, uncompromising film. By creating an emotionally engaging, yet still, warm and funny movie, Pixar has made what is easily its best movie to date.
Ed Asner voices Carl Fredricksen, an elderly balloon salesman whose wife had recently passed away. When a local construction project begins building around his house, Carl remains the lone holdout, connecting his house to the memories of his dear wife. When he becomes forced to leave and live in a nursing home, Carl instead opts to do something radical: tying thousands and thousands of balloons to his home and flying it away. Accompanied by Russell, a local “Wilderness Explorer” stowaway (read: Boy Scout), the unlikely duo set out to begin the adventure Carl and his wife had always wanted.
And the adventure we are taken along for is well worth the ride. Carl and Russell’s journey is fun and exciting, and most of all, original. Pixar has taken all its usual charm and creativity and found a perfect mix of a compelling story, engaging characters, sharply written humour, and refreshingly realistic themes. Never does the story lean too far in either direction – that is, never too sad to overshadow the humour, or too funny that it trivializes the emotional impact. The end result is a beautiful story that is sure to be a favourite of anyone who watches.
Up is the first movie I’ve given a 5-star rating. Thinking long and hard about the film and searching for any flaw that would warrant some sort of deduction, I came up empty. Perhaps animation might not be someone’s typical choice of style, but the animated medium allows for amazing visuals and lets Pixar do many things that are typically outside the realm of possibility. Ultimately, the final result is a film that is among the very few movies that I can classify simply as a perfect movie.
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