REVIEW: UP (U)

UP (U)
Voice cast: Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger
Director: Pete Docter
Running Time: 1hr 30mins
Out Now

Just when you thought they couldn’t take the genre any further, Disney/Pixar take it into orbit – quite literally – with Up.
The winning combination continue to be the masters of their computer-animated domain by producing another intelligent original tale – that isn’t just a joy to look at, but heartwarming to match.
After the excellent adult-orientated – but ultimately possibly too high-brow for younger children – offerings of Ratatouille and Wall-E, Pixar manages to cater for all age groups with a more kid-friendly run-time of around ninety minutes.
Again, no major A-list star names are used in the voice cast, as Up chronicles the life of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Emmy-award winning American TV stalwart Ed Asner) – who aims to fulfill his late wife’s ambition of moving to South America’s idyllic Paradise Falls after her recent death.
Rather than being forced into a retirement home, he attaches hundred of balloons to his beloved house and takes to the skies – but unfortunately, young lovable do-gooder scout Russell (Jordan Nagai), inadvertently gets carried along for the ride.
The duo then get embroiled into all kinds of mischief – primarily at the hands of dastardly alienated explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) – as grumpy Fredricksen shakes off the pain of sorrow and finds himself again, with sporadic lump in the throat heart-rending moments thrown in.
Despite it being a cleverly-crafted story, Up doesn’t have the notable adult jokes and supporting cast ingenuity of previous Pixar outings – and the sub-plot isn’t quite as exciting as it could have been.
But that merely condemns it to the still exceptional ‘Very Good’ category with the likes of Cars and Finding Nemo, instead of ‘Classic’ status with the genre-defining Toy Story 1 & 2, The Incredibles and Wall-E – which just shows how good Disney/Pixar really are.
That means Up still rises high above all non-Pixar animations, and complete with luscious visuals (and it’s also in 3D) it’s the best of its ilk this year.

ESP RATING: 4/5

Gavin Miller