May 31 2009
Up (2009)
Animated
Starring the voices of Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, and Bob Peterson
Directed by Pete Docter
Production/Distribution: Pixar/Disney
Rated PG for some peril and action
1 hour 29 minutes
2009 Best Picture Nominee
Another Pixar film, another “A”, right? Surprisingly no. While this movie has the brilliant animation and touching story we’ve come to expect from the animation studio, it’s lacking in one department: fun. Sitting in a theater full of first graders, I couldn’t help but notice that there were far more laughs and smiles during Partly Cloudy (the brilliant short that preceded the movie) than the feature itself. Now that’s not to say that there wasn’t plenty of cleverness and action – there was. It just seemed like adult themes (growing old, loss of loved ones) weighed down the movie a bit. Combine that with the questionable premise (navigating a house carried by helium balloons) and you’ve got a movie that is shockingly… just good. Definitely worth seeing, but you could wait for the DVD.
Grade: B+
Attention to detail–go Pixar. The orderlies who came to pick up Carl to take him to the “retirement” home had their clothing tags sticking out-just like most of us in the scrubs world.
[...] Giacchino for the Star Trek and Up [...]