BLOGGERS and their families were invited to screenings of Up. Here's what our reviewers thought:
Phoebe says:
Carl Fredricksen spent his whole life dreaming to go to Paradise Falls with his wife, who eventually dies. To show his determination and appreciation to his wife, he finally realises that he needs to get there.
With helium stuffed balloons, he releases them into the air as people from the old people’s home called Shady Oaks come to get him for abusing the postman.
Russell the wilderness explorer leapt onto the flying house when it was in the air and thumped the door once and then twice.
Carl sat up, moaned then groaned and answered.
A couple of hours later, they find themselves in Paradise Falls finding a gigantic, exquisite bird (Kevin) and a dog that can talk.
I thought the film was good but not as good as I thought it would be, because it was too sad for the type of film it seemed to be. But as they say, you can’t judge a book by its cover!
There are happy moments and sad moments. It is good for little children.
Jayne says:
It goes without saying that a Disney Pixar movie has a sad bit that makes your bottom lip wobble. It isn’t usually in the first 15 minutes, though.
And it isn’t usually so sad that it makes a small tear or two fall from the eye.
And I thought Up was meant to be a comedy adventure?
This is the tenth film from Pixar Animation Studios and the first Disney-Pixar film in 3D.
Technically, this is an awesome film. With almost 70 animators working on it and a crew of 375 having a hand in its creation, Up is a feat of animation.
The attention to detail is stunning and the colours are breath-taking.
But the story? Sentimental isn’t the half of it.
It centres on Carl Fredericksen, a grumpy old man who refuses to move from his home when developers carve up the surrounding land.
His house is full of memories of his dead wife, Ellie, a woman who dreamed of visiting South America’s mythical Paradise Falls.
He still talks to life-long love, whose story we see in a silent montage at the beginning of the film. He still talks about “we” and “us”.
It is only when Carl is ordered into an OAP home after a fracas involving a builder and his ancient mailbox that was painted when he and Ellie were a young couple that the former balloon salesman takes drastic action.
His house, buoyed by thousands of helium balloons, is ripped from its foundations and he makes the journey he and his wife always promised themselves.
Throw in a tubby youngster called Russell, who inadvertently finds himself on the journey; a bird in the jungle, who is given the name Kevin; a childhood hero gone bad with his talking dogs and you have the makings of a comedy caper.
Except, the story falls short.
It is too maudlin to be an out-and-out comedy and there is too much humour in it to be an all-out weepy.
There are flashes of brilliance: the fight scene between two old men (the fights can be un-cartoony); the squeaky-voiced Doberman-type dog; and Dug (a rather daft hound who wants to be loved).
But it isn’t Monsters Inc or Ratatouille.
It’s a story that is told on many levels: adults will glean some subtle messages and sub-texts than the youngsters.
You might not laugh out loud too much, but I doubt Pixar would apologise for that.
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