Review

Review Date: 31-May-09
Spoiler Rating: High
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Up (2009)

Few if any studios have enjoyed the success of Pixar, the animation house that has been issuing critical and box-office hits since Toy Story in 1995. Last year WALL*E showed that the studio felt secure enough to push the envelope in a medium traditionally reserved for broad comedies and kiddie flicks. That partially silent film carried an environmental warning and depicted humans of the future as pathetic creatures diminished by apathy and technology. The marketing for this year's Pixar offering, Up, suggested a return to more traditional fare. It lied. In its own way Up blazes new trails that leave you wondering what substance got into the writers' brownies. I expect the overall impression is a matter of taste, but to this reviewer Up feels somehow off.

This is not to say that Up lacks heart. It unleashes almost too much heart in the first seven minutes with a brief history of how a shy boy met an outgoing girl, bonded with her over adoration of a famous explorer, shared everyday happiness and heartbreak with her over many years, and finally lost her to old age. Left without children but with a sense of unfulfilled dreams, the rickety widower (voiced by Ed Asner) spends his days fending off the encroachment of a land developer and the necessity of a nursing home. Just when it looks like he is going to fail, he thumbs his nose at development and dependency alike by strapping helium balloons to his house and taking off on a flight to South America. His goal is to set down in the jungle that his wife always wanted to see and go to join her. But the plan hits a snag in the form of a pudgy boy (Jordan Nagai) who unwittingly comes along for the ride. He needs a father figure just as the old man needs something to anchor him to life.

The unlikely duo enjoys some tender moments on their trip, and what they encounter is trippy. Upon reaching the intended destination they befriend a rare bird and run into a pack of dogs who not only understand English but speak it with the help of collars that translate their thoughts. (This notion alternates between funny and creepy.) One of the dogs has the dopey demeanor of a family pet, while the others are aggressive hunters whose prey happens to be the bird and whose master happens to be the now-ancient hero from the old man's youth (Christopher Plummer), who is still searching for the discovery that will reestablish his fame. An echo of environmentalism emerges as man and boy fight to save the bird, which entails bravery, a blimp, and the letting-go of baggage both literal and figurative.

While the action-adventure and animation are reliably fine, the movie has an unsettling vibe which the attempted humor, relying on the dogs and their collars, cannot dispel. It is a combination of the melancholy setup, the remote setting, the viciousness of the villain, and the fact that the story contrasts good and bad ways to (live and) die, i.e., clinging to a past that is gone versus seeking comfort to smooth the journey. I can agree with most folks that heading south (waaaay south, if you know what I mean) is not a nice way to go, but this movie did not give me a satisfying sense of which way is up.

Note: I watched the 2-D version of this movie, which is also out in 3-D.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.