by Iain Wilson

Created on: February 25, 2010

Up was released in 2009, produced by Pixar. It has a runtime of approximately 96 minutes and is available from Amazon.co.uk for around £10.

~~~ Synopsis ~~~

Carl Fredricksen sets out on his lifelong dream of living at the top of the Paradise Falls. Taking a plane isn't an option though and he ties thousands of helium balloons to his house.

Soon after taking off he realises he has an unexpected guest in the form of 8-year old Russell a wilderness explorer, looking to gain the final badge that he needs.

So together they set off on an adventure across South America to reach Paradise Falls.

~~~ My Opinion ~~~

When I first saw the trailer for this I wasn't particularly interested in seeing it. I thought the movie was only about an old man, not knowing about the other key characters in the movie. Eventually after reading good review after good review about 'Up' I decided to watch it.

Unlike most other people who said the first ten minutes are an emotional roller coaster, I didn't really find this. I don't think you know the characters well enough at this stage to have many feelings towards them. It is well put together though, combining good music with various clips, which does quite a good insight into the characters background in just 10 minutes - without anything being said. So the writers have to be given credit for that.

Once the movie got started I wasn't really sure where the enjoyment was going to come from. I thought the house was going to be floating through the air the whole time and didn't really know where the adventure was going to come from. Thankfully the adventures do arrive.

As soon as my joint favourite character appeared, Kevin, a giant bird. I couldn't stop laughing at everything that Kevin done and increased my enjoyment of the movie ten-fold.

Then to add to this a talking dog called Doug appears, which is equally as funny. Between these two characters the laughter just keeps on coming and they are two of my favourite animated characters now.

Overall 'Up' is a very good animated movie, which I'd recommend to everyone. Some people will find it emotional, but this is by no means a sad movie. I didn't think the story was that impressive, but it wasn't terrible so in no way let the movie down, animated movies are all about being entertained afterall. There are so many funny parts throughout the movie, which is cleverly done by the writers. Fans of observational comedy will enjoy the Doug scenes. Recommended.


Edward Asner ... Carl Fredricksen (voice)
Christopher Plummer ... Charles Muntz (voice)
Jordan Nagai ... Russell (voice)
Bob Peterson ... Dug / Alpha (voice)
Delroy Lindo ... Beta (voice)
Jerome Ranft ... Gamma
Elie Docter ... Young Ellie (voice)
Jeremy Leary ... Young Carl (voice)

Summary: 9 / 10

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