Pixar is hardly a company to rest on its laurels. The familiar image of that cute little lamp squishing the ‘I’ from its creators name is practically a seal of quality, so consistently have Pixar raised the bar for CGI features. Pixar’s revolving door scheme for directors/writers/producers has spun again and selected Pete Docter, whose last Pixar directorial effort was 2001’s Monsters Inc, to take the helm. It doesn’t seem to matter which combination of writers and filmmakers come out of that door, though, because what results is invariably of a high standard. Even Pixar’s least spectacular efforts (A Bug’s Life, Cars) are treated with the same care and attention we have come to expect from the studio.
You’ll be pleased to know that Up is certainly not the film to break this current run of form. Let us first remember that following Wall.E was always going to be an unenviable task. Inevitably, and perhaps a little unfairly, this film will be compared to its Pixar predecessor, simply because it’s the next one off the production line. Whilst this may be acceptable in a general sense, it is worth noting that Up is so different to Wall.E that such comparisons end up being rather futile.
Paradise Falls
Carl Fredericksen, miserly and embittered with life, is lonely. After losing his wife in a quiet, subtly moving prologue, his life seems to be a dead end. As contractors develop the land around his old house, Carl decides at long last to live the dream he and his wife Ellie always shared: to journey to Paradise Falls in South America, and live there in peace. Embracing the childlike dreams he held years before, Carl waves goodbye to his miserable existence, attaching thousands of colourful balloons to his house and floating away to adventure. Unbeknownst to him, however, he has a stowaway in the form of Russell, a ‘wilderness explorer’ desperate to complete his set of badges by assisting the elderly.
The Spirit of Adventure
Things quickly shift from preamble to adventure, as South America is reached in a heartbeat and a series of crackpot obstacles culminate to hamper Carl’s progress. It would be cruel to ruin the events of this segment of the film, or even reveal the raft of characters introduced, but suffice to say it’s hilarious. The film is so rife with imagination and ideas at this point that it’s a miracle Pixar didn’t lose track. If it weren’t for the human story developing between Carl and Russell (in many ways a younger version of himself) the film might have struggled to maintain its momentum. In the event, the madness of the middle third is somehow leant such a wonderful undercurrent of charm and sophistication that it never goes overboard. It’s bonkers, but it’s often brilliant, cramming in some exciting action sequences and witty gags amidst the mayhem.
Edward Asner and Jordan Nagai, respectively Carl and the intoxicatingly sweet Russell, steal the show here, despite amusing turns from numerous auxiliary characters. Their relationship is warm and deftly handled, with one camping scene in particular likely to tug at the heart strings. It may not pack quite the emotional heft that Wall.E did, but it’s mature and sensitive in its own disguised way. This may not be Pixar’s best film, but it remains a triumph in its own right. The potentially dark opening is handled in such a way as to make it suitable for children, and overall the film’s bright, comedic approach can’t help but warm one’s insides.
