Up review

I barely recall the opening 15 minutes of Toy Story when seeing it for the first time. Not because it was bad, but simply because I was completely awe-struck by Pixar's computer generated images. Fourteen years later Up had the same impact. 3-D movies have come a long way since they consisted of a (generally) mediocre story that would involve the occasional object hurtling towards a flinching audience. Every frame of the charming and hilarious Up has been conceived and realized by Pixar, under the direction of Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, in stunning 3-D.

You no longer feel you are simply watching the vivid world inhabited by the characters, you feel like you're in it. You have to lift off your 3-D glasses to remind yourself it isn't real. But all the best technology and striking visuals would mean nothing if they weren't aligned with a great story. This is especially true if you see the film without the benefit of 3-D. If Pixar has proved anything with their unbroken string of critically acclaimed box office hits, it's that story is key. And once again, in Up, they have come up with an original and thoroughly engaging tale.

Beginning with a sweet and heart-breaking love story involving a shy young boy, Carl Fredricksen (Jeremy Leary) and the exuberant and adventurous Ellie (Elie Docter). The couple harbor a dream to visit the picturesque Paradise Falls in South America, but over the course of their long and happy marriage, circumstances conspire to prevent them. Then, when the elderly widower Carl (Ed Asner) finds his house under threat from developers, he attaches thousands of colourful balloons to it and lifts off, bent on fulfilling a lifetime ambition as he heads for Paradise Falls.

Once airborne, he discovers he's been joined by an uninvited traveler. Russell is an enthusiastic 8-year-old Junior Wilderness Explorer who had been pestering Carl into letting him help him earn his Assisting the Elderly Badge when he alarmingly finds himself aboard Carl's high-flying home. The relationship between the ever so keen Russell and the crabby Carl is touching, filled with funny and sweet moments. The pair's adventure comes to involve Dug, a dog who's able to make his thoughts heard thanks to a vocal device on his collar, and Kevin, a colourful bird with a secret.

As much fun for kids of the grown-up variety as for the more diminutive kind, Up is a joy from start to finish. Its inspiring message that it's never too late to fulfill your dreams is one that's never been more beautifully told. And who hasn't at one point wished they could have followed Carl's example and escaped their woes and floated off under the canopy of balloons? Up is an appropriate title. It's certainly how you'll feel when you've seen this wondrous treat.

Kevin Murphy