Pixar has made some of the most brilliant movies in the last few years, and in my opinion "Up" is the best of them all. I fell in love after I finished watching this movie for the first time in theaters, that I decided to see it a second time. That's something I never do. I only see a movie once in the theater and usually wait until it comes to home video, but I just had to see "Up" a second time. It was and still is a perfect movie. Everything in this movie is great and I still love it.
The film opens up with a boy named Carl and a girl named Ellie having a passion for adventure, both being a fan of the famed explorer Charles Muntz. They later form a bond and through a five-minute segment, we see they're married life told only through visuals and music. After Ellie dies, Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) becomes a stubborn grump who is refusing to leave his house which is now in the middle of a construction zone. After being forced to move into a retirement home after injuring a construction worker, Carl takes thousands of balloons, ties them to his house and flies his house to Paradise Falls. However, he isn't alone. A wilderness explorer named Russel becomes an accidental stowaway. He is trying to get his final merit badge which involves assisting the elderly. So, when they get to Paradise Falls, they are both accidentally thrown out of the house and are now forced to pull it to the waterfall. Along the way theme across some colorful and funny characters including a bird named Kevin and a dog with a collar translator named Dug (the latter performed by director Pete Docter and the latter by co-director Bob Peterson).
I don't know where to begin with this film, but I might as well give my thoughts on the story. It's so crazy, but it works. Everything feels perfect in how events are told and nothing seems particularly dull or boring. It keeps you invested all the time. The characters are all memorable. You can probably remember most lines they say, and they all have likable personalities. You really enjoy all of these characters and you laugh at most the lines they say in the film. The animation has also held up well. It looks colorful and energized still and every detail still feels genuine. Another great thing about the movie is the music by Michael Giacchino. His score, in my opinion, is one of the best in animation. Particularly the music featured in the first ten minutes of the film, it's soothing and upbeat at the right moments and definitely deserved the Academy Award.
"Up" is the perfect example of a family film. It has all the emotions, all the laughs, and all the beauty you expect in an animated movie. That's something that you don't see every day in an animated film. Considering how animated movies nowadays are mainly seen as "kids stuff", which really annoys me, I can make the slim argument that most people love "Up". It's a straight-up wonderful flick, one of the best-animated movies probably ever made in my opinion and I certainly have plans on seeing the movie again in the future.
