Name a movie that has you crying in the first 10 minutes and touches on mature issues like being poor, miscarriage, old age, death of a loved one, and fulfilling an unfinished dream of a loved one. Name a movie that the lead is an retired age old man and a boy who was abandoned by his father because he got re-married. Name a movie that has all that and can still be entertainment and fun in the end. UP is such a movie, and it’s not even live action! Pixar not only is brilliant but they have guts too! No other studio would green light such a movie and have audience to embrace it. The movie has so much depth that i think it’s a miracle that it got made, especially in Hollywood! It’s an animated film too, which said a lot because the medium is still regard as kids movie in America, unlike in Japan and other countries where they use the medium on all sort of mature topics. For this, I think UP deserves an award.

UP also brought along the most terrifying villain in Pixar’s history. By that I don’t mean he’s some horrifying monster or creature, nor is he some evil genius sitting on a chair padding a white cat. He is human, a greedy human that was blinded by fame and pride and hysteria that he would kill. That is the most terrifying villain because he is real, just like Heath Ledger’s Joker is scary because he is real, not some cartoonish character. The villain present such a real danger here that it kept you at the edge of your seat.

In-between all the mature and dramatic plots, things are actually very much lighthearted. The boy, the big bird Kevin and the talking dogs are too adorable and funny! Not to say the movie doesn’t has its flaws. In fact i see more problems with this movie than any other Pixar features. The biggest problem is that the film challenge your perception of the laws of physics. To me it’s much harder to believe balloons can carry a house than talking toys or a rat that can cook! not to mention you cut some balloons and the house will fly lower and yet later on it can fly back high up again? And then there’s the question of age – the lead is like 60? 70? and by that calculation the villain should be over 100 and alive and kicking (literally)???? these examples really tax logic and believability of the film. But despite all that, this film is such a unique achievement in terms of the topic and back story that i wouldn’t mind at all. It is still in my top 5 favorite Pixar movies~

Related posts:

1. Avatar
2. The Nines
3. Ponyo
4. Prince of Persia
5. How To Train Your Dragon

Tagged: Movies · Pixar