Movie Thoughts: Up (2009)

• Released: 29 May 2009
• Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
• Running time: 1 h 36 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

An old man tries to literally fly his house to South America to cope with the passing of his wife, only to end up in a grand adventure that involves protecting a rare cryptid.

My Thoughts

Up was one of the first Pixar movies I unapologetically loved when I was younger. They had a pretty good run up until then, but none of their movies really spoke to me on a deeper level. I liked them, watched them occassionally, and then moved on. Then came Up, which I still believe is their movie I’ve watched the most to this day.

Everyone and their (deceased) grandmother has already brought up how good the first ten minutes are. We get to see the cute friendship between these kids develop into a marriage and just an overall really emotional scene. But even after the first ten minutes, I do believe the rest movie holds up.

Does it take a bit of a tonal shift? Definitely. We go from this tragic yet beautiful montage of Carl and Ellie’s lives to a much more quirky journey of flying to South America and then over there protecting Kevin from her pursuers. But I still think that the rest is good, too.

Muntz is actually a pretty good twist villain (unlike many modern Disney ones) and I thoroughly enjoyed Alpha as his main minion. Yes, his voice joke gets old fast, but he just has such a badass design and all.

The other characters are likable, from Carl’s grumpiness to Russel’s innocence and love for nature. Kevin doesn’t have a whole lot to her, but she’s still fun. As does Dug.

I just think that overall this is a really solid movie I’ll keep coming back to time and again. These days, it’s no longer my favorite Pixar film, but I still watch it from time to time and enjoy it each instance.