Up (2009)

Photo source: Associazione Italo Americana del Friuli Venezia Giulia

Directed by	Rob Minkoff
Starring	Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Allison Janney
Music by	Matthew Margeson

Short Story:
When Carl Fredricksen was a little boy, he idolized famous explorer Charles F. Muntz. Unfortunately, Muntz is accused of presenting false evidence about the skeleton of a giant exotic bird he claims to have discovered at Paradise Falls, and leaves the public eye, vows not to return until he captures one alive.

Time passes, Carl meets Ellie, a Muntz fan who's dream is to have a house overlooking Paradise Falls. They practically grow up together, get married and decide to save money for a trip to the Falls, but life always intervenes in the way of things to buy, to fix, etc. A now elderly Carl finally arranges for the trip, but Ellie gets cancer and passes away before they have the chance to realize their dream.

Enters Russell, a young Wilderness Explorer who tries to collect the last out of a collection of merit badges in the hope that his divorced parents will come to his badge award ceremony. He knocks on Carl's door and offers him help of any kind so that he can earn his final merit badge, the one for assisting the elderly. Carl is not particularly forthcoming, but when he is ordered to move to a retirement home, he flies away in his home by using thousands of helium balloons and inadvertently takes Russell along. They get to Paradise Falls, find the giant bird and name it Kevin, befriend a talking dog, a Golden Retriever named Dug and get to meet Muntz. The problem is, Muntz is still looking for the giant bird and when he figures out that Kevin must be the creature that eluded him all those years only to befriend Carl and Russell, he becomes very hostile.

Carl and Russell's unlikely duo go through a series of life-threatening adventures during which Carl's house is destroyed, but not before he finds Ellie's childhood scrapbook. It turns out that while Carl's been living in regret for not giving Ellie the adventurous life they've always wanted, she filled out the scrapbook with pictures of their married life and left him a note saying “Thanks for the adventure- Now go have a new one.” More adventures ensue, Carl manages to rescue Kevin (now Muntz's prisoner), takes over Muntz's dirigible and flies it back to the city where he presents Russell with his final badge.

Verdict:
LOVE this movie! Up is the first animated and 3D movie to open the Cannes Film Festival. It was extremely well received at the box office, and it remains one of the best Pixar movies to date. It is just the right mix of thriller, adventure, love, humor - everything, really. The characters are genuine, well-formed, the dialogues full of heart and the story itself is one that most of us can relate to. An absolute must see, feel-good movie.


Favourite quotes:

Russell: Good afternoon. Are you in need of any assistance today, sir?
Carl: No.
Russell: I could help you cross the street.
Carl: No.
Russell: I could help you cross your yard.
Carl>: No.
Russell: I could help you cross your porch.
Carl: No!
[closes the door on Russell's foot]
Russell: Ow.

Carl: You'd better get up, Russell. Or else, the tigers will come and eat you.
Russell: There are no Tigers in South America. Zoology.

Carl: [Having arrived above Paradise Falls in South America, miles from where they took off] Don't worry, I'll get you down, find a Bus Stop.
[cuts off the strings to some of the balloons, allowing the house to descend down]
Russell: Whoa, that's s gonna be like a billion transfers to get back to my house...