Up Introduction Introduction


Release Year: 2009

Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family

Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Writer: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Stars: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer


How would you describe the adventure of a lifetime? 

Skydiving over the Sahara? Cruising around the globe on a Jay-Z’s yacht? Eating Taco Bell?

For Up’s cantankerous Carl Fredricksen (voiced to crusty perfection by Ed Asner) the most mind-blowing journey is just venturing off his front porch. After a construction company threatens to snatch up his home, Carl rigs it up with a buh-zillion balloons and sets sail for South America. Aided by an enthusiastic stowaway scout named Russell, Carl battles talking dogs and a crazy old explorer, but his greatest discovery while trekking through the jungle is the power of his dusty old heart.

Cue: awww.

Released on May 29, 2009, Up is the tenth feature film from Pixar, the animation studio that brought you Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Inside Out. These guys and gals know a thing or two about mixing hilarity and heartbreak into a fun and frothy cartoon cocktail. Produced for 175 million bucks, Up soared away with a cool $731.5 million worldwide—and a basket full of shiny awards, including the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Score, and the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

The adventure comedy was also a hit with critics. "Rarely has any film, let alone an animated one powered by the logic of dream and fantasy, been able to move so successfully—and so effortlessly—through so many different kinds of cinematic territory," writes Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan in his review of the film (source). Co-directors and co-writers Pete Docter and Bob Peterson strike just the right chord with Up: it packs enough laughs to keep your little sister rolling in the aisle, enough emotion to tickle the heartstrings of your curmudgeonly Uncle Ralph, and enough visual innovation drop your jaw right into your Jujubes.

Just don't forget the tissues.

 

Why Should I Care?

Quick: how many animated movies can you name that star a senior citizen?

What’s that? You got nothing? Bupkis? Zero? Zilch? Zip? Don’t worry. It was kind of a trick question. Plus, we wanted to show off all of the rad synonyms that we know for “nothing.”

Here’s the deal: Up is a unique entry in the pantheon of cartoon flicks—not just because it features a grumpy old man who wields his cane like a samurai sword, but also because it’s a buddy comedy that pairs its grizzly protagonist, Carl, with a plucky young wilderness scout named Russell who’s nearly seventy years his junior. The old man mentor and fresh-faced kid combo has been done to death in live-action films. But in animation? Not so much.

Carl and Russell’s unlikely friendship is just part of Up’s generation-spanning appeal. It’s a comedy, for sure, but there’s also a healthy dose of tragedy mixed into its recipe for laughter. “Up is as psychologically realist as any adult drama starring flesh-and-bone actors,” explains Slate’s Dana Stevens (source). “The question of whether, and how, this motley cohort will reach their destination has as much dramatic value as the question of who will get on the plane at the end of Casablanca.”

In other words, Up keeps it real. Like real real.

Up isn’t your typical animated movie. It opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, for crying out loud—a spot generally reserved for very grown-up, very French flicks. Up’s narrative sees the conventions of the animation and adventure-comedy genres and says, “That’s cool, but we think we’re going to go a different way, ‘mkay?” Then its sophisticated story attaches a million balloons to your heartstrings and tugs your ticker up, up, and away.