Megan is 4 years old, and she has now been to 4 movies in the theater, three of which were made by Pixar, and, in my opinion, are some of the finest examples of cinema produced in my lifetime --
Ratatouille,
Wall - E, and this weekend,
Up.
I remember a winter day back in 1995 when I headed down to the theater with my parents to see a new kind of movie about toys. The hook was that it used computer animation rather than traditional hand-drawn images, but it turned out that the good people at Pixar used this new technology in the way it should be used -- as a way to advance the story, not as an end in and of itself. 14 years and 10 incredible films later, Pixar has consistently (with the possible exception of
Cars) avoided the pitfalls of pop culture and hip references, potty humor and sexual innnuendo that all of the other CGI contenders rely on to keep the parents in their seats with the kids. By putting the story first, Pixar's uncompromising approach has produced films which appeal to people of all ages. They're not really animated stories, so much as stories told using animation, and this is their success.
Despite this track record, I have to admit to some trepidation when it came time to see
Up this weekend. Kim and Henry went to wander around the mall, and Megan and I stepped on the toes of a half a row of people as we tiptoed in just as the previews were ending. In contrast to the 2 years of advertisements that seemed to precede the release of
Finding Nemo (I swear they had previews for that show before I left on my mission, and it wasn't released in theaters until I came home), I had only seen a couple of
trailers for
Up, and they weren't that appealing. An old man with balloons tied to his house? How is that a plot? Every time I saw it, my mind wandered to that
episode of the A-Team where Murdoch escapes from prison by flying away in a lawn chair strapped with balloons.
I shouldn't have worried. Especially with it's last few films, Pixar has been raising the bar with each successive release, creating new visual styles, delving into complex topics and creating works of art rather than mere blockbusters.
Up is no exception.
Nevermind the criticism from some about the "silent" beginning to
Wall-E last year,
Up unflinchingly spends the first portion of the movie with a long montage depicting nearly the entire life of our protagonist, Carl, as he ages from a child to an old man. Despite the lack of dialogue, I'll eat my movie critic hat if I hear from my mother that she was bored during this section of the movie (as she claims to have been in
Wall-E). In fact, I guarantee that she cries at least once while watching Carl and his childhood sweetheart Ellie get married, experience the vicissitudes of life and grow old together, as this is easily the most stirring rumination on love that I can recall ever seeing in the theater. Through the convention of the montage, the audience itself falls in love with Carl's wife, even though we actually spend very little time with Ellie and hear only snippets of conversations. This allows us to understand Carl and his motivation throughout the rest of the film, without merely viewing him as an ol' coot.
And speaking of being an ol' coot, Carl actually bloodies someone and gets realistically injured several times in beginning of the movie. To my recollection, this is the first time Pixar has animated blood from a person (although Dory technically gets a bloody nose in
Finding Nemo, setting off the sharks), and it hit me with exactly the thought they intended -- the consequences of this adventure are real. This means that later in the film when peril portends, it carries more of a punch because this isn't just Tom and Jerry stuff. People can, and do, die.
I won't reveal much of the plot, because discovering it as it unfolded was one of the main joys from the film. I had no idea what they would do with what seemed like a one-trick premise, and that continued to be true (in a good way) for more than half of the running time. It wasn't until finally the villain was revealed that
Up settled into anything like a conventional kind of story, and even then it was consistently fresh, even as it paid homage to a dozen other movies, a practice which I also enjoyed immensely from
Wall-E.
One of the highlights from the film, and forgive me if this is a spoiler of sorts, comes from the talking dogs, who get some of the best lines of dialogue. Pixar uncannily captures the canine perspective, and despite the ludicrousness of the conceit, the reality of the portrayal allowed me to accept the idea that this is what dogs would actually say, if given the chance. And we're not particularly abused with farcical humor stemming from this story point, even if I kept expecting it (what else have Disney and Dreamworks drilled into me, except that talking animals are miniature obnoxious people?) Pixar instead chose to use the dogs to further develop one of the main themes of the movie -- uncompromising love. This is accomplished so deftly that when Doug whimpers out his unforgettable profession of adoration on Carl's porch, I had an actual chin-crinkling, tear spurting moment, from dialogue delivered by a dog.
The visuals are arresting, the music spot on, the characters fully fleshed out and interesting, and the story is original. Since Pixar continues to rake in the money with this approach, my hope is that more and more film makers will follow suit, discarding the garbage that passes for mainstream entertainment and aspiring to more.
Needless to say, I enjoyed
Up. Go see it. Go take your kids to it, but also take your spouse, your friends or your dates, because honestly, everyone will enjoy this film.
P.S. A side note on the 3D nature of the film: Making movies in 3D is Hollywood's attempt to foil pirating, by creating a version of the film that cannot simply be captured with a handicam, shared online and enjoyed on your TV or computer. I choose not to support their efforts, because this approach has a few less than desirable consquences:
1 - Planning for a movie to be shown in 3D inevitably leads to crafting shots that were intended to "jump out" at the audience. In such a time-bound medium, where most stories and characters are already woefully underdeveloped, I have no wish to add the additional requirement that directors incorporate "surprise" shots into every other scene. In my opinion, this will lead to even more shallow, ridiculous movies, designed only to entertain for the moment, but teach no lessons and leave no impressions.
2 - Because of the aforementioned shots, the film will be designed to be seen in 3D, not 2D. This means that the version that the filmmaker intended will not be the version you rent or purchase on DVD (remember - it's designed not to be viewed on your TV or computer.) The 3D experience and all of the effort that go into it will have a life of a single viewing at the theater, and you will never be able to revisit that version of the film again.
3 - Even though 3D adds very little to the actual movie going experience, and it is really meant to save revenue for Hollywood by preventing pirating, the cost for it is being passed on to you, the movie goer. For Megan and I to watch
Up in 3D, it would have cost an additional $6, taking the total to $25 for a child and an adult to view a film for one hour and 36 minutes. Hollywood, can you figure out why people are pirating movies? Especially when the majority of movies that people see in theaters are a disappointment?
So if you feel like joining me in my anti-3D crusade, don't pay the extra money to see
Up in 3D. It was fantastically entertaining without it, and there was never a moment when I felt like the film was missing something. Like a pie in the face. Or
an asteroid.
P.P.S. Since I know many of you are only here to see my kids, here you go -- two minutes of never before seen Henry-footage. I love how he doesn't seem to like this game, but he'll play it with me anyway:
Trouble
