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Up pulls Pixar down. Now, I could have started this review with a backhanded compliment, first extolling the virtues of those super-geniuses at Pixar, still the best computer animators under the sun, but that would have been beside the point. It isn't that Up is a bad movie. In fact, I don't believe those at Pixar are capable of making anything even remotely approaching the outer edges of "bad". The set-up is actually quite brilliant, certain to bring a tear to many viewer's eyes. It tells the story of a lifelong romance between Carl and Ellie. This story alone would have made for an award winning short. Years go by and Carl becomes old Mr. Fredricksen, a cranky curmudgeon voiced by Ed Asner. After that, things quickly degenerate into a series of comedy/adventure situations that have little to do with what should be the "heart" of the story. Without giving too much away, what follows involves Carl's efforts to complete an adventure that involves relocating his house, the very house that he and his wife Ellie had lived in together for decades. There is a promising subplot, with a land developer attempting to buy Carl's home, but this idea is soon (and inexplicably) thrown away in favor of an unlikely escape, a generic pencil-thin-mustachioed villain (who looks suspiciously like a caricature of Kirk Douglas), a talking dog of the Warner Brothers "Which way did he go, George?" variety, a Dr. Seuss-inspired giant bird, and a small boy. Oh, and the villain has other talking dogs as henchmen... and those dogs can fly airplanes. Ooooookay. Was there an executive committee meeting at Disney? As stated earlier, surprisingly, the result is not a bad movie. This is where all the super-genius compliments to Pixar come in. Nice job, people! I only wish that the story had remained more focused on Carl & Ellie during its middle hour. I'm going to give Pixar the benefit of the doubt and speculate that Disney manhandled what should have been a cohesive story about love, loss, and life. Instead, we get the above mish-mash in 3D. Nothing particularly innovative or original there. To be completely fair, the 3D process Disney presents is very successful, but it is still what 3D has always been... a gimmick. In the entire history of motion pictures, 3D has never actually made any movie better than it would have been without it. In fact, there are only two reasons to run a movie in 3D. The first is to mask a mediocre film, fooling moviegoers into watching it. The second is to steal a few extra box-office bucks from moviegoers pockets. In this case, both reasons apply equally. Up hints at greatness and then falls as flat as any corporate committee-approved production. If Disney meddling were not to blame, I would be forced to consider that Pixar has started to coast on its own reputation. I know, I know... that's just crazy talk! Up to now, each Pixar film had been increasingly innovative, both in animation technology and in storytelling complexity. Up is the first Pixar offering that, ironically, fails to rise to the occasion. My final appeal to Pixar, besides ignoring notes from Disney at every opportunity, is that they go back to producing only one picture at a time. Pixar uber-genius and head wonderguy John Lasseter (as well as many of the Pixar team) must also be hard at work on Toy Story 3, due out next year, overlapping its production with that of Up. Too bad it shows. |
Up - in 3D |
Directed By: Pete Docter & Bob Peterson (co-directors) Written by: Bob Peterson (screenplay) Starring the vocal talents of: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai MPAA: Rated PG for some peril and action. |
A.J's Rating: 3 Burst Balloons |
Review published June 1, 2009 |
