Up (2009)

Let me get this out of the way. The first 10 minutes of Up are the absolute best work the company has ever done. Period. Better than the celestial moondance between Wall-E and his Eve. Better than their classic short, Geri's Game, and better than the coral reefs of Nemo. It is utterly heartbreaking material, and in their recent style, most of it is silent. A montage of the married life of Carl and Ellie (her grown self doesn't even have a speaking part in the film), it is the most poignant and sincere romance that I think I've seen at the movies. It reminds me of Charlie Chaplin's romance in City Lights; I was sitting in the theater weeping.

Pixar has mastered a style of emotional gesture that is only capable through animation. The characters in Up are not realistic, but they move and respond within the emotional boundaries that we as human beings have a fundamental and instinctual understanding of. Notice the way Carl crosses his heart in the film; he does it many times. As a child, he does it very fast and honest, trying to keep up with Ellie. He moves faster than a human is actually capable of, but because it's animation, he moves with the rhythms of the human heart. It's stunning to see it, but it's hard to notice, because it feels so natural to us. Pay attention to it. It will come back throughout his life, and it will never be as fast and as pure as when he does it as a young boy.

The opening scene also continues Pixar's tradition of presenting adult material within the context of a kid's movie. There is a shot that may surprise some filmgoers. It takes place in a hospital, and I couldn't help but wonder what the kids were thinking as they saw that. How bold of them to do that, and it adds so much gravity to the opening montage. Also, the shot of them in the cornfield is heartbreaking. It's on an incline, with Carl at the top, and Ellie struggling towards him. No words, but we get the message.

After the opening scene ended (I've included the absolutely essential soundtrack by Michael Giacchino), I thought that the film just could not maintain that level of excellence. And while the film is good, it only recaptures the purity of the opening scene a few more times towards the end. THe rest of the movie is a romping, escapist, fairy tale that is plain fun. And funny. The movie has some great humor within it. Dug is very very funny, a lot better than the disappointing Bolt. However, I have to say that I was somewhat conflicted with the talking dog aspect of the movie. While I thought Dug was funny and inventive (they have started integrating the oddball techniques of Hayao Miyazaki), I thought that it took away from the poignancy of the story of a man on a quest. It didn't have the right hue as the rest of the story. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that the conflict of the movie almost felt superfluous. I didn't respond to Charles Muntz like I responded to Carl. I never once felt restless when Carl and Russell were on the screen, along with their animal associates.

But this is all being too harsh on the movie. I was so uplifted from Pixar's maturity with Wall-E last year, that I was taken aback when they went back down to the more playful level. This movie is outstanding, an absoulute joy. I'm so relieved that Hollywood is starting to go away from post-apocalypse. Up is as far away from Wall-E and Terminator and The Road and etc etc as you can get. And I'm thankful for that. It's only fault is that it's not as fully conceived towards one vision as Wall-E was; rather, it's a limitless barrage of colors and ideas and emotions that reaches strictly for the heart. It's a triumph of the spirit. Don't feel bad if you cry!