Year: 2009
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $45.99
Studio(s): Disney Pixar
Release Date: November 10, 2009

Feature/Film: A
Instead of sequels like Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, I’ve preferred the more recent Pixar projects like Ratatouille and Wall-E for their “big picture” concepts and experimental narrative devices. Their latest release, Up has all of those things, and something no other Pixar film has, an lasting emotional effect that will bore into your heart. Co-drected by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, the Monsters Inc. tandem returns to showcase the full life of Carl Fredricksen voiced by Ed Asner, a lonely and retired balloon salesman who jumps into adventure to honor a promise he made to his late wife.

Up’s opening is like a complete film all by himself, Carl’s life unfolds before us as a young boy who meets a girl named Ellie, brought together by their love of explorers and adventurers, one in particular, Charles Muntz (Chistorpher Plummer) who seeks out new worlds in his zeppelin. Muntz is accused of being a phony and gets in his dirigible and goes to South America to bring back proof of his findings. Next is a montage assembly of important scenes of their Carl and Elli’s life together is done without dialogue, just big band music behind a sweet love story playing out from their friendship into boyfriend and girlfriend, then husband and wife who renovate the old abandoned house they used to play in as children. Then his entire world was taken away from him.

Now a shut-in, Carl turns his hearing aid down, closes the shutter and longs for the days when he and Ellie rebuilt that home, shingle by shingle. The house serves as a living mausoleum. Even the neighborhood has left him and his house is the only speed bump that stands in the way of commercialization.

Rather than be dragged away to the nursing home, he devises a getaway, loading every balloon he has to lift the house into the sky where he’ll navigate to the flat-headed tepuis of Paradise Falls in South America, the place where he and Ellie said they’d retire. They never did go on that adventure they saved up for, because the complexities of life got in the way. What else does Carl have to lose, as long as he takes the house with him, Ellie is at his side, right? What he doesn’t know is that an 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagai) stowed away on his porch, leaving him in the care of Carl.

Russell is best described as…a whole-hearted, adorable Asian-American boy, eager, and yearning for adventure. He has his own story but that’s not as important as him being a trusting friend. There’s no turning back now, and once they crash land in the tropical jungle, they must finish the journey on foot, dragging Carl’s house behind them. And this is where Carl’s adventure begins, the same place Muntz just happens to be.

What’s more interesting is the somber and powerful portrait of a cantankerous old fool who never thought his actions through. He is unlikeliest of interesting protagonists, but bears with him a very heavy and sad story. Once a romantic, always a romantic and Carl just can’t let his wife go, dragging behind him all of his memories, but Russell shows him, through his innocence–while testing Carl’s patience–that there’s still much to live for. Carl sees a lot of young self in Russell, someone who he’s departed long away from.

Carl realizes he needs to allow another person into his heart, to care again for someone other than Ellie, and let the house go. But that’s easier said than done, especially when one spends their whole life building towards something, and is a few days walk of fulfilling it. With every hurdle that stands in his way, Carl is tested in what burden he must bestow and decide what kind of happiness will drive him forward.

While Pixar’s Wall-E was environmentally responsibility, Up is a much more mature film that allows the audience to look within for the need of some cathartic release, studying life’s highs and lows, how the best people can be dragged down to misery by their regrets and sorrows instead of facing life’s changes as new challenges; it happens to more people than you think. While Up reminds us of what a sad and scary life can be in the later years and that without companionship, or someone to share it with, life can be one big drag; it also shows that as long as you hold those near to your heart, and the desire to bring out that young explorer, then there’s always time for new adventures.

Video: A+
Disney/Pixar once again keeps the bar high for how good animated films look in high definition. Up has a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. There were several times I had to say out loud, “Wow!” The primary and secondary hues are almost like neon lights because they burst off the screen. From the colors of the balloons to the color of the natural landscapes, they’re clean, bright, and provide unmatched boldness and rich quality. Blacks tend to go on and on and on, and for an animated film there’s plenty of blacks used in this film, giving a much more cinematic feel to the film. Detail is crisp in every shot but it’s hard not to notice the level of exhaustive efforts reproducing Dug’s body of hair, the hundreds of balloons, to the multi-textured skin of Carl is superb.

Audio: A+
The folks at Disney/Pixar are not going to let anyone down with Up’s 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio audio track. It’s a whimsical, playful, and active soundtrack that does a fair amount of movement around a home theater and maintains dialogue and LFE sound at comfortable levels. Scenes like when the House pulls up from the ground, or when Carl flies into a rain storm really come alive in high definition audio. Really take note of the storm scene where the thunder and lightning just burst out of nowhere like a real storm of that nature. The howling winds blow laterally to the left and right and swirl all around the room. Immersive environments like the jungle scenes, or when our heroes are surrounded by a pack of rabid dogs, both impress with proper placement and and add to a scene’s depth perception. Echoes play correctly and there’s no drop offs when the sound does move. There was really no doubt going in that the audio would kick a lot of butt on this blu-ray and it did not disappoint. Other audio selections include: 2.0 English DTS-HD, English Descriptive Service 2.0, 5.1 Dolby Digital EX tracks for French, Spanish and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish. There are test bars and audio tests to optimize your home theater and a screen saver in the setup menu.

Extras: A-
Like all Disney discs, there a overwhelming amount of extra material that should take plenty of hours of exploration. First off, the design of the entire package is clever. The menus and load screens play up the whole balloon and Dug theme. The delightful big band score plays in the background and makes you want to jump up and waltz with your kids or spouse. I wasn’t too fond of the lack of creativity on the menu navigation which was at times a bit clunky, nor was I appreciative of the lack of a “Play All” feature on any of the discs. While this Up’s extras don’t come close to that on Wall-E, there’s still plenty to make Up an investment of your time.

Disc 1
I love Pixar’s Cinexplore Audio Commentary by Bob Peterson and Pete Doctor who co-directed the film. They are some of the most intelligible tracks you’ll hear because they talk about all of the elements of taking a concept and carrying it through. Meanwhile storyboards, animatics, the discussion of themes and design amongst other visual aids are thrown up into the picture-in-picture box. Cinexplore track are some of the finest around and make that eighth or ninth viewing in the middle of the week a little more bearable.

Partly Cloudy: Theatrical Short HD (5:46) is an adorable animated short on how storks get their deliveries. It’s so good, I may use it someday when my future kid asks where babies come from.

Dug’s Special Mission: All New Original Short HD (4:40) like the Wall-E original short, This Dug short gives a little bit of back story that brings up to the point where we meet Dug in the movie.

Adventure is Out There HD (22:17) is probably my favorite extra outside of the Cinexplore Commentary. This shows the inspiration for Up’s setting, which had to be a place where Carl couldn’t just dump Russell to the nearest social worker, so the filmmakers were inspired by these large flat-topped mountain cliffs that rose up out of Venezuela called Tepuis. They were originally brought to their attention by tepui naturalist and filmmaker, Adrian Warren. They feature some of the oldest exposed rocks in the planet and Peterson, Del Carmen, Docter and the lead animators actually made the multiple day trek through rigorous terrain, and climbed the tepuis to research them for the film. Some of the tepuis visited were Roraima, Kukenan, and Angel Falls.

Alternative Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz (4:56) is a deeper look into Muntz and his character, whether or not he’s a villain and other alternate endings

Digital Copy Tutorial (1:00) shows you how to activate your digital copy disc.

Sneak Peek Previews for Disney Movie Rewards, Dumbo 70th Anniversary Edition, Ponyo, Disney Prep & Landing, Toy Story 3, The Princess and the Frog and Santa Buddies.

The Egg HD (1:57) is an easter egg (get it?) short of an early concept that had Muntz relating special powers with egg and the Fountain of Youth and it didn’t match Carl’s story.

Disc 2

Global Guardian Badge Game Try and help Russell earn his geography badge patch by trying to match cities, countries and states. I dare anyone to do well in this without throwing their remote at the television. 1) It’s a difficult game to race against the clock, and 2) to maneuver in small spots on the map makes for a frustrating experience. However, it is addictive because the idea of being bested by a blu-ray game doesn’t sit well.

Documentaries

• Geriatric Hero HD (6:24) looks deeper into our grouchy protagonist and his life story. The Pixar animators tapped their grandparents while studying aging, as well as, the movement of the elderly.

• Canine Companions HD (8:26) takes a look at Muntz’s talking dogs.

• Russell: Wilderness Explorer HD (9:00) shows the creation and design of the character of Russell, the young boy who would voice his role.

• Our Giant Flightless Friend, Kevin HD (5:04) You guessed it, a whole feature on that crazy looking bird, Kevin.

• Homemakers of Pixar HD (4:38) reveals how Carl’s house was built, and how models were built to accurately get lighting and shadows just right. The symbolism of the house

• Balloons and Flight HD (6:25) is a look at dirigibles, balloons, and the nostalgia of a future promised.

• Composing for Characters HD (7:37) the emotional heart of the film is added in the composition of the score done by Michael Giacchino who made sure to give every character a theme.

Alternative Scene: Married Life HD (9:13) is an explanation and storyboarded punchy alternative to the Carl and Ellie’s childhood romance.

Up Promo Montage HD (5:52) is a bunch of cute Up shorts strung together.

Worldwide Trailers HD Trailer #1 (1:52) Trailer #2 (2:33)

The DVD is included for all those folks or parents who have DVD players in the kids rooms, in the van or a portable player. This is a real ingenious move by Disney to think about those worried about having to rebuy it in the future. They give you the film in every single way you can imagine. Including…

Digital Copy Disc for when you want to take Up with you on the go.

Overall Shock Value: A+
For the first time I felt some real emotional reaction watching a Pixar film. Sure, there’s lots of adventure and fun for the entire family, but the big moments in Up for me are the ones that really tug heavily at the heart strings. I’m still thinking about it, actually. The extras are nothing short of amazing and could eat away a day in one sitting but since I doubt Up is a film you’ll only watch once, savor those supplements over time. The beautiful design and animation teams of Up deserve once again high praise and their work can best be experienced on blu-ray. With this package where you get the blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy disc all in one, there’s not better value for your movie dollar.