Over the years, it was always Carl and Ellie's dream to visit Paradise Falls, but life just kept getting in the way. When Carl is faced with moving into a nursing home, he does the unthinkable! He, being a balloon man after all, blows up thousands of balloons and attaches them to his house to make the journey to Paradise Falls, just the way Ellie always wanted. What he doesn't realize is that an unsuspecting young Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagai) has inadvertently hitched a ride and is now stuck with him for the duration of the trip - and all because he was simply trying to earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge, the only one he lacks. Imagine a crotchety old man imprisoned in a flying house with an excited youngster who simply won't shut up and you now have Carl's worst nightmare.
The journey to Paradise Falls is one fraught with excitement and danger, but the kicker is landing in the wrong place and the pair having to drag the floating house to the correct location. As they trek through the jungles and rocky terrain, they meet Dug (Bob Peterson), a dog with a collar that allows him to speak, and a strange, tall, colorful bird that loves chocolate whom Russell christens as Kevin. Little do they know that lurking in those same rocks that they are traveling through lies Muntze, along with his troop of dozens of "talking" dogs, searching endlessly for the bird that could finally set the record straight.
Up is a fantastic film, let me first say that. Not only is it an amazing feat of animation genius, but it also has a superb story that will have you both crying shamelessly and belly-laughing. The backstory of Carl and Ellie's married life is told through only pictures and music, no words, and conveys a thousand thoughts as though you are watching an old Super 8 film (which is precisely the feel that the filmmakers were trying to convey). Seeing Carl morph from a seemingly selfish and angry old man to a kind and loving friend, which is what he was before Ellie's passing, is as wonderful a journey for the audience as the one we take while watching Carl and Russell. This is a very deep movie, even though it's a cartoon. There is symbolism all throughout the film and watching the special features really gave me a lot of insight into just how well thought out everything was, from start to finish. There are documentaries on everything from the elderly hero and the steps they took to get things just right, to one on Michael Giacchino's amazing musical score for the film, a hefty one on the trip the team took to the real Paradise Falls to do research, one on the character of Russell and how he came about, one on Kevin and his many iterations, one on the studies they did to get the dog animations just perfect (and boy did they get them down pat!) and one on the animation marvel that is the balloon cluster. There's an extensive geography trivia game for the kids, the theatrical short shown in theaters with Up called Partly Cloudy that is absolutely precious, a short on Dug's Adventure that ties directly into the movie and is essentially a "missing" piece of it, plus an alternate scene and backstory on Carl and Ellie's married life and finally, some alternate scenes concerning Charles Muntze. All in all, this release is packed with special features, but none ran on so long that they got boring and all are well worth watching. Seeing this in Blu-ray is far superior to watching the DVD version, although that is included, too, as well as a Digital copy. The colors of the balloons reflecting off of the buildings as they pass is truly amazing and Kevin the bird, with his brilliant plumage, is lovely. I actually whipped my head around in response to the excellent surround sound while they were trekking in the jungles. It's good stuff.
I can't recommend Up enough. It's heartwarming, touching, funny and all around wonderful - simply can't-miss stuff. Just buy it so you can watch it over and over.
