Here’s what I love about Pixar: Most of the entertainment industry is capable of making a great kids movie, which adults can watch and enjoy too. Pixar makes great adult movie, which kids can watch and enjoy too.
In this case Pixar apparently decided to wrestle with some pretty adult topics – some problems in real life that are painful and hard to get through. Not wanting to spoil anything, in general terms they talk about loss, priorities in life, making the best of bad situations and dealing with rejection. Since they put in so many real-life issues, they put them in the context of a wild fantasy adventure, which is brilliant and typical Disney philosophy. Sometimes to tell the truth about life you have to lie like crazy.
And here’s my warning about watching this movie: most people will cry. Personally, I started crying at the very start and didn’t stop for the entire thing. I thought this was just me being sappy until about half-way through I heard a sob beside me and looked over to find my husband bawling as silently as he could. *Then* I thought it was just us being a sappy couple until I realized that the guy to my left (who I didn’t know from Adam) was doing the same thing.
I’m warning here because the movie isn’t marketed as a “crying” movie. If you’ve seen a trailer, chances are good that you can already tell me what the saddest thing that happens in the movie is. Yes, that’s it. The reason it doesn’t seem that sad in the trailer is because they don’t show you the whole story…which they certainly do in the movie.
That said, the movie is not sad. Yes, I know what I just said, and I stand by that statement. You will probably cry, but the movie isn’t sad, or at least, that’s not the point of the movie. It’s called UP for more reasons than one here.
So what is the movie? It’s sweet. It’s beautiful. It’s also hilarious. Every second you have in between sobs will be filled with hysterical laughter. Pixar did a great job of throwing crazy jokes in every spot they could fit them in, and it works really well.
Every single person I talked to about UP, without exception so far, has told me the following: “I wasn’t really interested, but then I saw Dug on the trailer, so now I *have* to see it.” This opinion of Dug does not change after seeing the movie. He really is that awesome. Even more so if you’ve ever owned a Golden Retriever. But he’s not the only comic character in there, and almost everyone gets some seriously funny screen time.
The story is lovely, the characters are great, and the picture itself is really beautiful. If you can, I recommend the 3d version whole-heartedly – the technology has improved to the point that after the first few seconds I forgot I was wearing glasses and just fell naturally into this amazing world. Absolutely worth the extra 2-3 bucks.
Now I love Pixar anyway and tend to enjoy their movies, but there’s a reason the press demanded to see more of this film when they were only shown half during post-production. It really is that good. 5 stars. Go buy the ticket; this one is better than a rental.