REVIEW: Up (2009)
Up
Rated: PG
Runtime: 96 minutes
My rating: 2 stars
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There came a time while watching this old man, Carl (Ed Asner), scale the side of a blimp that I started to think about why he needed a quad cane. I think his doctor must not know much about this old man's condition.
I also wondered why his childhood hero was still alive after at least, say, 70 years. I also wondered why that guy, who presumably is now in his mid-90s is able to run, jump and sword fight while conducting a Hindenburg-size blimp.
I guess that didn't matter, nor cross the minds of any of the 70-or-so children in the audience with me to watch Up. I don't know how much it mattered to the parents of those children, most of whom were just trying to keep their child quiet. I do know it mattered to me and is one of the first times I can say that Pixar whiffed with Up.
The problem is not with the animation. It's not really with the story. It comes with the lack of magic previous Pixar creations have.
The kid, Russell (Jordan Nagai), was only tolerable and mildly annoying. Carl was not that lovable, not that funny, and not all the charming. Maybe I'm heartless, but I just never bit on any of the characters. There wasn't that charisma or charm about any of them. The dog, Dug (Bob Peterson), was very fun to watch and care about.
Aside from not caring, I wasn't laughing. I found close to nothing laugh-out-loud funny. Here is a perfect example of a film that is a mild drama marketed as a comedy. Maybe it was funny, but the kids in the audience fumbling for popcorn and candy, asking to go to the bathroom and generally fidgeting about made me think it wasn't really all that entertaining.
Pixar has a history of making movies that appeal to both kids and adults. This one appeals to 8 year olds and 8 year olds only. Younger kids get bored, adults fall asleep and I, unfortunately, was working, so my caffeine-infused Coke was put to the test.
Pixar tried to make a memorable movie with a heartfelt back story about Carl spending his entire life with one woman in one house. When she dies, he remembers a pact the pair made about traveling to Paradise Falls in South America. He is on the verge of losing his house when he releases thousands of helium-filled balloons and floats off to South America.
He forgot about the boy scout, Russell, on the front porch. Carl is forced to let Russell tag along. I may have pushed him off the porch for talking incessantly. They're journey takes them into the South American wilderness in search of Paradise Falls.
That voyage bored me endlessly, which is why I started thinking about poor Carl's health. How can a man who can barely stand out of his chair lug a house around? How can this man, who hobbles to the mailbox jump through a window, pull an overweight kid up over a ledge all while trying to keep his own balance so he doesn't fall to his death?
Pixar usually doesn't make these grossly negligent mistakes. Up will still top the box office for a few weeks. It will still make double what it cost, but it doesn't live up to the other great Pixar classics. Two stars.
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Where it's playing:
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