Up

“Up” on the Highest Level
[spoiler-free review]
By Reymundo Salao

“Up” is everything great and wonderful in a family movie. Before I lay down my very brief and ultra-spoiler-free synopsis, I’d just want to say that this is clearly one of the best movies of this year. It is literally “Up” there in the top three of the best films of the year, and this is an opinion shared by almost all the critics and all the audiences that have actually watched this movie. The most romantic, the most funniest, and the most adventurous movie, all in one package. The storyline is rich, prolific and wonderfully heart-melting, the humor is spot-on rib-tickling, and the fun factor is high “up”.

Basically, the storyline is about an old guy named Carl Fredrickson, who decides to go on an adventure that he feels he has missed out when he was younger; in one particular place in South America. So, he has turned his home into a flying house powered by balloons, and flies to South America. Unknowingly, this Cub Scout kid named Russel tagged along for the journey, and together, they ended up in South America, where they face an exciting adventure with a giant bird, a talking dog, and a crazy old stranger who has his own diabolical plans. I actually don’t want to lay down a detailed synopsis for this movie because it has other things in it that are just pure delightful surprise for its audience. Not only that, this has a storyline full of heart, and is surely more than just what we see in the trailers. As much as possible, I don’t want to tell you what’s inside the box; you have to open the big delightful gift yourself.

This is clearly Disney Pixar’s best animated movie; high “Up” in the entertainment factor, and high “Up” in the storyline aspect as well. Not only is this energetic kid fun, but it is also, at the same time, Pixar’s most mature storyline. In case you hadn’t noticed, Pixar’s movies consistently have been true to the legacy of being real modern day fairy tales. If you thought Wall-E and The Incredibles were groundbreaking, wait till you see “Up”. The romantic aspect of this movie is just purely tear-jerkingly lovely. I don’t care if you are Rambo or Chuck Norris; there are parts of this movie which will melt your heart and water up your damn eyes.

I don’t care if you are as killjoy as a Mother Superior, the fun factor of this movie is energetically good. The characters are memorably witty, the dogs are the ones that are most hilarious. Everything in this movie works, from the music to the plot, to the voice talents, and to the progression of the storyline. This is one of those almost perfect (if not actually truly perfect) animated movies ever made. “Up” is gold standard great movie.