Up Review

John Campea 110 Comments

Thanks for checking out our Up review. If you’d like to see the video version of our Up review you can view it at the bottom of the post.

It’s no secret that I love Pixar films. However, some people will, from time to time, accuse me of only loving Pixar films BECAUSE they’re made by Pixar. They’re missing the point. It’s actually the other way around. The reality is I love Pixar because their films are so good. Time and time again they release movies with humor, entertainment and a level of story telling that isn’t often matched.

So along comes “Up”. Like Ratatouille and Wall-E, I didn’t really see anything special about the trailers or the marketing for the film. But I’ve learned with Pixar films to not really put too much stock in the trailers or basic concept laid out in the official synopsis because their movies always end up being so much more. So how does Up measure up? Does it meet the regular Pixar standard of excellence?

No it doesn’t. It EXCEEDS it in every possible way imaginable and more. This is a perfect movie.

THE GENERAL IDEA

The synopsis for Up reads something like this: “By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.”

THE GOOD

The opening of this movie is nothing short of magical. It shows us Carl (the main character) as a young boy who loves and dreams of adventure. He meets a young girl who shares his imagination and the movie then, mostly without dialog, goes on to tell the story of how they fell in love, married and shared a wonderful life together, a life where the two always dreamed of going on an adventure, an adventure they never got to share due to his wife passing away. I just can not put into words how beautifully this entire part of the story was told. So touching, so real, so happy and so sad. You FELT the joy Carl felt, and the down in the deepest part of your soul you feel his loss. It was magical. I know I’ve used that word in this review already… well get used to it because it’s going to be used a lot more.

The film is HILARIOUS. Perhaps the funniest film Pixar has ever done, and every single character in the movie adds to the humor. Carl (voiced by Edward Asner) is more the straight man whose “grumpy old man” routine never shuts out his soft side, Dug the dog (voiced by the guy who actually wrote the screenplay co-directed the movie, Bob Peterson) is GOLD every single solitary time he talks. I’m not kidding. Whenever Dug had a line, it was sure to make you howl with laughter. Kevin the bird didn’t have a single line of dialog in the entire film… and yet was hysterical. Even the villains were side-splitting.

One of the most difficult things for an animated film to accomplish is to make the audience feel a sense of wonder because we know that with animation you can make anything… and it’s no big deal. But I’m telling you, when the house takes off and starts to float through the city you really feel it. On top of that you honestly buy into the adventure that Carl and Russell (the young boy scout who inadvertently ends up tagging along for the ride) embark on. It’s so much pure fun.

I don’t want to get into spoiler territory here, so I want to be careful with my words. The final act of the movie is triggered by Carl realizing a lesson that is departed wife Ellie left behind for him. The realization is so moving and touching, yet bold and jarring. It makes you want to break down and cry (which a lot of people in my theater did) and yet jump into action with Carl at the same time. I’m never much one for the “moral” of the story in movies… but this one was special. No, more than special… it was magical (there’s that word again).

Sweet heavens even the way the movie did its closing credits was the most creative and original way I’ve ever seen them done. Brilliant!

I’ve always made this assertion, and seeing up only reinforces it: Pixar does not make kid movies. They make movies that are kid friendly. There is a huge difference. I saw Up with an audience made entirely up of adults who laughed, cried, gasped, squealed and cheered together without a single child… but kids will love it too.

THE BAD

The movie ended. That’s about it.

OVERALL

Up is perfect. I have no other way to put it. Thoroughly entertaining, extremely touching, brilliantly animated, hilariously funny, excitingly adventurous and flawlessly told. Somehow Pixar has topped themselves again. This is (in my personal opinion) the best film they’ve ever made, easily the best film of the year so far, and perhaps the best film of the last 2-3 years altogether. So I have no choice here… for only the fourth time in my career as a film blogger (in my 7th year now) I’m going to give a movie a perfect score. Overall I give Up a perfect 10 out of 10.

YOU CAN SEE THE VIDEO VERSION OF OUR UP REVIEW BELOW:

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110 thoughts on “Up Review”

  1. After watching UP a couple times and WALL-E many times… I have to disagree. WALL-E is the superior movie.

    That’s not to take ANYTHING away from UP, which should be among the best picture candidates this year IMO.

    But UP makes me feel for the characters.

    WALL-E makes me feel for humanity.

  2. I though wall-e was their best until I saw UP. Absolutely amazing movie. I agree with the 10 out of 10.

    I laughed my ass off at the dogs pouring champagne, that was one of the funniest moments from pixar so far :)

  3. Seriously, I have no idea what movie you all are talking about. Did we even see the same movie? Up, right? I was so disappointed. We actually got up and walked out of the theatre AND heard children crying and telling their parents they were scared and sad. The depressing start of the movie depicting the life of the old man and his beloved Ellie (who DIED)was indeed touching, but not exactly what I was expecting from the trailers. I was expecting a humorous, funny movie about a little boy and an old man who fly away on an adventure in a house carried by balloons. Instead, we got death, a bloodied worker who knocked over the man’s mailbox, packs of snarling, vicious dogs surrounding the little boy and old man, the nasty dog biting the leg of the mother bird so that it couldn’t walk back to its young, AND as if all that wasn’t depressing, sad, and scary enough, there was the sweet, cute little house BURNING “Up”! At this point we decided to leave. I have never been so disappointed in a movie, especially Pixar. I have always loved their movies, but this one was a disaster in my opinion.

    1. well if you has stayed, you would have found the ultimate lesson. the movie isnt out to entertain ONLY kids. its a kid friendly movie, but in the end its out to tell a good story and be a good movie. it had no flaws, and if it scared some kids, well thats not pixar’s fault. and the “vicious” dogs had high pitched, comical voices. the movie was a good movie,

  4. Well, I don’t often like PiXAR but I hear this was by the same director a Monster Inc (which I loved) so I’ve got high hopes. This review basically confirmes everything I’ve been thinking so I’m gonna try and watch it this coming weekend.

  5. Just got back from my second viewing (having seen it for the first time this past Friday), and I have to say that I agree with your review completely, John. This is, if there is such a thing, a perfect movie.

    These past 12 months have been terrific for animation in general, if you ask me. For as long as I can remember, my favorite film of all time had been The Nightmare Before Christmas. Last summer, though, the #1 spot had been taken by Wall-E (which I don’t think I fully appreciated until either my third or fourth viewing). Then, last November, another film – one that I initially thought was going to be mediocre at best – came along and topped Andrew Stanton’s masterpiece: Bolt (which I know I’m in the minority on).

    “Ok, there won’t be a film that’ll match the quality of those two for awhile” were my thoughts, and then, back in February, came Coraline. This film, like Bolt, caught me by surprise (though, unlike Disney Animation’s latest, I was pretty excited to see Coraline to begin with), and had me going back to the theatre half a dozen times. With that said, it’s already going to be really tough deciding what my favorite movie of the year is, with Up being another film that managed to make its way into my top 5 favorite films list.

  6. Well, having just seen it this afternoon in the cinema in the mall where the Phoenix Coyotes will NOT be playing in the foreseeable future (or at any point, actually), I thought I’d chime in with my two notes’ worth of subjective observations.

    As an admitted non-fan of animated films, I thought it was quality entertainment. Poignancy, punchy lines, good gags…nice exploration of character…

    …and most of all, confirmed my expectations that if it was successful, as every Pixar film tends to be, the bedrock on which it constructed itself was going to be STORY.

    Which leads to the two questions I’d like to throw out to John (and everyone else):

    1) Why do you suppose that, whereas Pixar gets it so right, ‘mainstream’ cinema –consistently– gets it so wrong? What lessons can just about everyone else (and I’m talking about non-animation here, not Pixar’s cel-generated competitors) learn from these guys?

    2) Do you think, if this film had been live-action, executed in precisely the same ways, that you would have been so glowing in your review?

    One-word Review: ‘Nice’.

    Score: 8.5/10

  8. Wall-E was such a let down, with many flaws and terrible message. I had my doubts about this film and yes….Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson have been re-worked again…however this is a great film and Pixar has made UP for Wall-E to be sure. ( no pun intended)

  9. ITS HARD BEING A TEEN IN A REDECK TOWN. EVERYPONE LOOKS DOWN ON PIXAR LIKES ITS A KID’S ONLY COMPANY. BUT I KNOW BETTER. THE MOVIE WAS AMAZING I DIDNT EVEN FEEL JIPPED FOR HAVING TO PAY MORE TO GO SEE IT. IT WAS FLAWLESS IN EVERY WAY.

    AND THEN I GO TELL MY FRIENDS THAT ITS BETTER THEN STAR TREK, OR WATCHMEN AND THEY JUST GIVE ME THIS LOOK LIKE IM STUPID.

    ONE DAY THEY WILL SEE.

  13. I loved Up. I thought… it began and ended perfectly. The storyline at the beginning was one of the greatest uses of little dialogue i have ever seen, and when his wife was on her hospital bed and he showed her the adventure book i could not help but find a tear in my eye. Damn, that was good. That being said, everybody raved about the talking dogs, and on the whole that didnt do it for me. I liked Doug but some of the other dog humor was a bit outta my style. I was also kinda dissapointed there wasnt more animation of the actual jungle, albeit great animation throughout. BUT… overall absolutely awesome rediculous movie. it ended beuatifully really tying together the various subplots. one of my top 3 pixar movies. best movie imo of 2009 so far.

  15. Damn what a great friggin movie. There were so many funny and very touching parts in this movie. I cried when Carl kissed Ellie’s picture. My mom still does that to my deceased fathers pic. Dug was very funny in the picture. The 3d was amazing. Definitely the best pic this year so far for me.

  16. I almost cried…or so that’s the story i’m going with, lol. But the early weekend estimates have it number one with 62.3 I believe, dang, I was 5.4 million off. Oh yeah that short film in there was great

  17. great review john…i had planned on checkin this movie out , but your review got me excited, so me and my girl went this afternoon..

    PHENOMENAL….somehow better then i had expected, evan with all the hype.

    i had a couple questions for you though..

    1) What did you think of that short film about the clouds and storks??—>i didnt expect it, but loved it.

    2) why dont more movies like Transformers and such get released in 3d?—->that was my first 3d movie and loved it!

    oh, and that toy story 3 trailer had me geeked.

  18. Yeah it is a shame, it should be nominated because I think it’s the best of the year so far. Didn’t mean to make you cry with my question lol, but no doubt, no questions asked this will slam dunk the Best Animated slot

  20. And that opening passage is very similar to WALL-E, telling you everything visually. God, I want to work for Pixar so much. It must feel damn good to walk into that building every day, knowing that you’re actually making quality stuff like this. I was legitimately moved by this movie. WOW. What a beautiful film.

    1. Yeah i was captivated the minute the opening credits rolled. So Kristina was it better than Wall-e in your opinion. Btw i think it deserves a best pic nod

    2. I can’t say this is better than Wall-E with just one viewing. I need to see it again before I can make that call, but it’s really damn close. I think I relate to this one more since I saw a lot of my grandmother in Carl. My grandpa died a few years ago, and she still talks to him just like Carl talks to Ellie. She even kisses his picture just like Carl does in this movie, and that REALLY broke my heart. I’ve seen her do that tons of times, so when Carl did it I just lost it and sobbed on my friend’s shoulder. Somebody at Pixar must have spent time with elderly people who have lost their spouse, because they nailed it in this movie. I cannot imagine knowing someone for that long, loving them so deeply, and then just losing them like that. It’s devastating, and my grandma hasn’t been the same since. I’m seriously crying right now just typing this.

      To answer your other thought, no other animated film will ever be nommed for Best Picture. EVER. The Academy was ashamed of itself for nomming Beauty and the Beast, so they made the seperate animation category to prevent that from happening again. Damn shame, since this is the best movie of the year so far. There’s more emotion in that brief moment of Carl touching Ellie’s handprint on the mailbox than any tearjerker chick flick I’ve ever seen.

    3. yea they felt they had to nominate it, thats why they made best animated category. the fact that there was no best animated category when toy story 1 & 2 came out is bullshit

  21. I have never cried so consistently throughout a film than I did with Up. I was in tears ten minutes in and the hits kept on comin’. What a glorious movie. Everything, from the dogs to Kevin the bird, it was just BEAUTIFUL.

    Even the fucking short film nearly had me in tears. Jeez, I was a MESS by the time the credits rolled on Up. SEE THIS MOVIE.

  22. What was the lesson that Carl realized from Ellie. I just got back from watching it and I could tell that he learned something but I can’t figure out what it was.

    1. I think it was, cause remember the “go have your own adventure” note? I think it was to continue the dream they had together. IDK, that part was kind of confusing, fantastic work of art UP was

  25. Great review John. Just from seeing the ads and trailers I thought this movie was going to be really funny alone and have been totally into seeing it for a long time now. But after seeing your review, I want to see it even 10 times more now. From the sound of it Up has everything I want in a Pixar movie, awesome Incredibles action aside of coarse. I just can’t wait.

    Up and Transformers 2, WOOT, what a SUMMER!!! >_<

  28. Man, great review but an even greater movie! So emotional. My fiance’ was saying the whole time how sad, but then she would be laughing like crazy right afterwards. So, so good! Best movie I’ve seen this year by far.

  29. a 10? oh well.. it is your blog after all.. in my opinion, highly overrated.. felt like it was dragging in some parts.. wasn’t as good as i thought.. and had some details that were quite stupid (like the dogs in the small airplanes.. I mean come on!.. not even close to other pixar movies.. i guess once you drink pixar’s kool-aid this is what you get

  30. I think calling it a perfect movie is a massive stretch. The problem with Pixar is its disciples are so reverent that level-headed consideration flies out the window.

    I liked this film very much, mind you. But even my two favorite Pixar films, “Finding Nemo” and “Ratatouille,” I wouldn’t consider “perfect” films. And yet they are films to me first, animated films second. The storytelling power in those two efforts is so powerful.

    But perfect? I think Pixar’s biggest enemy right now is the hyperbole that accompanies reaction (in some quarters) to the studio’s films.

    Anyway, if you bounce without swinging by, I’ll take it personally.

  31. I saw it this afternoon in 3D and I completely agree with your review. This was an amazing movie that had soo much heart! It was beautiful, but that is expected from Pixar. That dialog free portion of Carl’s life with his wife is touching. Watched it in a theater filled with children and I felt like a moron crying, but it was just that moving.

    Good review, and a good movie.

  32. A perfect beginning with a silent film touch, an okay middle, and a great ending fill up a really good Pixar film called UP. This film is so different from all the other Pixar films and should be treated differently when being watched. It has darker moments and sadness along with a great way to understand how to accept death and let go of that sadness; moving on to more of life’s great adventures that it offers.

    UP contains a variety of emotions of humor, acknowledging death, adventure, and friend/mentor relationships. The attention to detail of objects, backgrounds, and characters help this animated piece come to life. The textures of things make it seem almost like it were shot by a real camera instead of digitally created.

  33. Saw it today in 3D. Want to see it again in 2D. Other than a few scenes I found the 3D effects a little distracting.

    But it could not take away from the brilliance of the film itself. A lovely beautiful funny action adventure. Pixar did it again.

  34. YEAH!!!!!!

    Awesome review! Im getting the Wilderness Explorer jacket!

    This BETTER get the Oscar! I will be pissed if they just have dramatic Holocaust movies nominated….Im sure the fucking Soloist will be nominated…UGH! This is why I hate dramas…no matter how good or bad they are..they will always get nominated because “Oh its a movie about a retard rising above his sickness and winning the wimbledon” WHO CARES!

    This better at least better be nominated

    DTK and Wall-E werent last year and those were the best 2 movies. And that, my friends, is BULLSHIT.

    Superhero movies dont get better then TDK!!! Thats as far as it goes! UGH! What more does DC/MARVEL have to do to get an oscar??

    Sorry.

    Anyways…great review broh

    4. they need to get over that, go watch any of the films that were nominated for best picture last yr.(except for the reader) and then tell me if dark knight was better than them

    5. The Dark Knight and WALL-E were easily better than most of the films nominated last year. From the ultra typical Slumdog Millionaire to the oscar-baiting The Reader. TDK and WALL-E were far more ambitious and groundbreaking.

    8. Some people like DTK more then Slumdog (me) some dont..WHATEVER

      But dont you think it should have gotten nominated at the very least!? Same with wall-e…It didnt have to win the Oscar…if they wanna be bitches and give it to the sad stupid dramnas…FINE- but at least nominate the good movies and make it LOOK like you tried to do a good job

    9. Slumdog Millioaire was a typical romance drama. It was a great uplifting fable that tried to mix a hindi movie feel with western sensibilities. Ultimately, it does not tell us anything new about the world or challenge the viewer unless we were ignorant of extreme poverty. Not to mention the painfully cliched ending. It deserved to win Best Picture, not because it was the best film of the year but that it was the best film nominated.

  37. John, if I wasn’t sold on watching this movie this weekend already, you just did it. We’re hitting the matinée on Sunday first showing.

    Dug the dog had me at SQUIRREL!

    Thanks,

    phil

  40. topped Wall-E? It better be good John, since I adored Wall-E

    oh, and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, average score 8.6/10, 118 fresh, 2 rotten.

    Out. Of. The. Park. Again.

  42. Better then Toy Story and Toy Story 2? Damn. I was planning on getting it on DVD, and not seeing it in theaters, but now I will. Should I see it in 2d or 3d?

    1. no matter how good UP is, for me personally, nothin will touch toy story 1 & 2, they were my most beloved movies from my childhood,they will never top that

    3. see it in 3d, the colors werent affected at all by it.

      this was fantastic.my first 3D experience, and it was HIGH quality…more then worth the extra 3 dollars….by the time the previews and short film, ‘Partly Cloudy” are thru, your eyes will be well adjusted and ready for the 3d ride.

  44. Although I’m not an animated film fan, I will check this out this weekend. If only to prove a theory of mine: that the one thing that all of Pixar’s films have in common…and here, all filmmakers and filmgoers alike should pay attention…this includes you, John…

    …is a strong grounding in STORY. (If you need to have this explained -because it’s not just ‘what happens’- email me.)

    And wouldn’t ya know it; this is the HARDEST thing for any filmmaker to get right…except for those who live by bizarro, Indie-esque, pretentious-laden paradigms. (God, that felt like bile in my mouth.)

    Story.

    Not tirading dialogue, not star-power, not T&A, not special effects, not overblown fanboy concepts…

    Story.

    Happily looking forward to having my anticipation confirmed.

    1. In thirty years I have yet to see a movie that is not grounded in a story. Obviously the depth of the stories vary, as well as the purpose behind them. It sounds more like your big complaint is that directors are not making more movies that cater to what you want.

      Michael Bay’s stories tend to shy away from a depth that really challenges the viewer because his movies are meant to be a roller coaster of a ride. He does not want to distract the viewer from the ride by making them think to much.

      On the other hand, Pixar wants to touch people in a more deeper and emotional way which they do through a deeper story and character development.

      Indie films tend to have smaller budgets so they can’t go all big with effects and what not, so they tend to focus on emotional content and character development as well.

      It’s not that any of these lack a grounding in story, it’s that the stories are presented in different formats. Sounds to me like you want more movies to be released that challenge your mind. This is not a bad thing, but there is plenty of room in Hollywood for both. Sadly we don’t get a lot on the deeper/challenging story side as we do on the other.

      It’s not about the film maker getting it right or wrong, though in some instances that does come into play as they fail to create what they initially set out to accomplish, it’s that they have a plan set in motion that calls for a story to be laid out in a certain way.

      Michael Bay was not wrong for using a story in Transformers that lacked some serious depth. He wanted to make a roller coaster ride of action and adventure that did not call for a depth in story that might otherwise distract from the ride.

      Anyway, that’s how I see things anyway.

    1. It topped Wall-e in every way. But this is coming from a person who liked Wall-e but thought it was SO overrated. However yes Up is fantastic

  47. Your review makes me even more excited to see the film. The only bummer is I’m planning my daughter’s birthday party AND sleep over, so unless I’m not a wreck on Sunday afternoon I’m not sure when I’ll have a chance to see it this weekend. I tell you though I’m so excited to see this movie that even if I am worn out I might have to skip out to the theater anyway.

  51. A perfect 10, John? That’s quite awesome as I’ve been wanting to see UP ever since it was first noticed. And with the possibility of even being better than WALL-E, then UP is clearly a must-see in my book!

  53. Great review! The trailers really left me kinda mixed, and not real excited for the movie, but I thought the same thing with Wall-E and loved it, so I guess I’ll have to go see that this weekend.

    Just out of curiosity, can you remember any of the other films you gave a perfect score to?

  55. This is pretty much what I interpreted John’s review to be.

    “I just ate a grape and I J*zzed in my pants.

    I just finished watching Pixar’s Up and I j*zzed in MY PANTS!”

    Lol…

    So Pixar hits another out of the park. Hmm….

  56. So I know you gave Juno a 10/10 what were the other two movies?

    Great review, your reviews always get me excited to see a film (I was already excited about seeing this one), I’m bumping it up my must see list.

    4. I thought he gave some other movie a ten…

      I’ve only given 3 films besides the ones that are in my top ten a perfect score. They are The Dark Knight, The Bourne Identity, and Forrest Gump.

      I can’t wait to see this film.

  61. To be honest I thought Wall-E was not emotional, but was exploitative at emotions. It’s almost like they asked a psychologist what would have the best emotional effect, or what will trigger which emotions and just hit on those as hard as they could-

    I’m hoping this isn’t the same.

  62. Terrific review, John. I honestly can’t wait to see this film tonight, and even with all of the rave reviews that Up’s been getting, reading/watching this one has gotten me just about as excited for this film as I possibly get. If Up is anywhere near as brilliant as either Wall-E, Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, or Toy Story, then I s’pose it’ll be time for me to edit my “all-time” Top 10 list.

  63. Its very easy to give Up a 10 / 10. Wall-E was worth a 10. Up is a very good movie but not sure i give it a 10/10. It will sure win a oscar for best animated film but if they take that bullshit of putting it on the best movie list for the oscars it will be said that they didnt find another movie for that list. My suggestion, Public Enemies.

    2. @ Thos
      I really don’t quite subscribe to the, “best animated category is a cop out” theory. I know John’s written a few articles on it and feels the same, but he also wrote an article about why Ledger shouldn’t win “Best Actor” and I think it’s about the same arguement. He was the supporting actor, so he could only win the “supporting actor” oscar, same as Wall-E or Up are animated features, so they belong in the animated category. Just because the competition in the animated feature category usually isn’t very strong doesn’t diminish what the winner (usually PIXAR) has accomplished. I know, one year “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for “best picture”, but I think that was an inconsistant and wrong decision on the academy’s part, they have the category, they should remain seperate, in my opinion.

      By the way, I SO hope I enjoy Up even remotely as much as you did. Awesome.

    3. You’re timeline is a little off. When Beauty and the Beast got nominated, there was no ‘animated feature’ category, the Academy added it afterwards. Some would say they did it to prevent a re-occurrence. A feature film is a feature film, the method used to create it should not determine if it is worthy of Best Picture.

    2. Can you comment on that part at all? Was it gimmicky or not (guessing no, from how much you loved it). I hear concerns that it washes out some of the vibrancy in 3D?

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