Good Movie | Bad DVD
Added 11/25/2009
I bought the UP Blu-ray 4 disc version just so I could have the SD DVD with English subtitles. I had the NetFlix version of UP and it had no subtitles or closed captioning. Neither version plays on my computer and both versions are programmed to start with coming attractions. The copy protection on these Disney DVDs is similar to the Sony DVD copy protection on many of its DVD releases at the start of 2007, movies like Casino Royale and The Pursuit of Happyness. Then, Sony admitted that about 25 million of its movie DVDs used copy protection software that prevented many DVD players from playing the DVDs. Disney will never admit it is selling DVDs crippled by defective copy protection software. Nor will Disney acknowledge that it is shortchanging customers by not putting Spanish or French language tracks or closed captioning on some of its new SD DVD releases. The Mouse House seems now to be only good at firing longtime executives with one hour notice and selling shoddy DVDs of recent movie releases. At least the Disney Treasures DVDs are still quality mastering jobs.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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disappointing release from Disney
Added 11/24/2009
Another commendable, 4-star outing from Pixar.
The DVD packaging is another matter. There have been many complaints about the computer-incompatibility, but my gripe is about the "pecking order" for those that want the single-disc DVD vs. the 4-disc Blu-ray and everything in-between.
Time was when you bought a 2-disc set of a Pixar film, you got hours worth of neat, entertaining and enlightening extras (example: the exhaustive Super Heroes guide with "The Incredibles"). By the time "Cars" came out, you could only get a single-disc version with very few extras. "Ratatouille": same story. "Wall-E" somewhat rectified the situation with the available 3-disc version, which did have generous bonuses - if you shelled out the bucks, that is. "Up" has the most deceptive packaging of all: a bare-bones single-disc version (you just want the movie and a lot of promos? You got it!), the "deluxe" DVD version (which Amazon/Disney advertise as a "Two-Disc Deluxe Edition + Digital Copy", which can imply there are three discs [there are not], and there are certainly NOT "hours of new bonus! [sic]", as the slip-sleeve boasts), and a 4-disc Blu-ray version for those fortunate enough to own that format. Disney is obviously hard-balling the recession-weary public into buying Blu-ray players and their inflated-priced discs and punishing those who are scraping by with an archaic DVD.
What would have been nice is an extras-packed double-DVD w/o the digital copy (I don't know anybody who really uses this), a better-valued single-DVD version and maybe even a single-Blu-ray.
The release date for a Pixar movie used to be an event. Now it's a downer, waiting to see how Disney rips its faithful public off again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Up up and away from good
Added 11/24/2009
I love the animation of this movie, it totally rocks, BUT the movie itself is pretty pointless. There's also a few gray areas:
Where was Rusell's mom during all of this?
What happened to his dad?
How did the "bad guy" get to Paraside Falls?
It left a few question marks that were never answered. Also, I think it may be a little too wild for kids. There are gun shots, violence, a small blood scene ( th old man knocks somone with his cane and the man is left bleeding), agressive dogs, etc. Just think twice before you watch your little one watch it.
Just my opinion.....
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Just Getting the Movie to Start is a WAR
Added 11/23/2009
"Up" is a great movie, I highly recommend it, but wait for a better DVD Treatment.
Allow lots and lots and lots of time to get the movie started.
The DVD doesn't even play on some players, thanks to some DRM (Digital Restriction Mess-Up).
UOPs (User Operation Prohibition) are enabled on this DVD meaning that you cannot skip over many parts of the DVD and are FORCED to watch things you have no interest in.
While it is easy to purchse a DVD player that overrides UOPs, there are no Blu-ray players that do this YET.
Avoid this presentation of the movie. When a later one is released that is not hostile to the viewer, buy it only then.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Entertaining but Odd Blend of Adventure Serials, Star Wars, Conrad & an Elderly Man.
Added 11/23/2009
"Up" is an oddly incongruous film from Pixar in that it has primarily adult themes but a relatively simple visual style and an over-the-top adventure plot. Carl Frederickson (Ed Asner) is an elderly widower who had always dreamed with his wife Ellie of far-flung adventures. In particular, they wanted to visit "Paradise Falls" in South America, where their childhood hero, an adventurer named Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), made his name. Before he is forced into a retirement home, Carl takes one last shot at his dream. He attaches about 20,000 helium balloons to his house, hoists some sails, and sets the house aloft. But Carl has an unintended guest: an boy named Russell (Jordan Nagai), overeager to get his Wilderness Explorer "Helping the Elderly Badge", is on the porch.
Carl and Russell have only a few days to deposit the house atop Paradise Falls before the balloons deflate. The boy's idealism and enthusiasm clash with Carl's sense of urgency. Russell befriends a giant bird and a talking dog named Dug (Bob Petersen) but cannot understand Carl's increasing desperation. Carl is an old man who feels the pressure of very limited time to fulfill his life's dream, and at first he doesn't' have much patience with Russell's cheerful but easily distracted temperament. Now, this is entertaining to watch, but how much would a child understand or care about Carl's problem? "Up" does not limit its appeal to children, as "Finding Nemo" and "Cars" did, but I wonder if it has not done the opposite and taken on themes that are irrelevant to children.
I hope this will not spoil the movie for anyone, but I feel compelled to mention the strangest thing about this film: There is a man living in the jungle who is right out of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". He is worshiped and served by a group of violent primitives (in this case domesticated dogs), and he collects the heads (in this case helmets) of those who have dared trespass his little fiefdom, whom we assume he has killed. He's an intelligent, accomplished man whose mind has gone `round the bend. He's Kurtz. Should I be surprised to see a Kurtz character in a "family film"? There is nothing graphic about "Up", and I don't think this guy is any scarier than a typical Pixar villain. "Up" is an entertaining film, though it lacks the visual interest and innovation that I've come to expect from Pixar (it was intended to be shown in 3D). I just wonder what children will make of it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Good Movie | Bad DVD
Added 11/25/2009
I bought the UP Blu-ray 4 disc version just so I could have the SD DVD with English subtitles. I had the NetFlix version of UP and it had no subtitles or closed captioning. Neither version plays on my computer and both versions are programmed to start with coming attractions. The copy protection on these Disney DVDs is similar to the Sony DVD copy protection on many of its DVD releases at the start of 2007, movies like Casino Royale and The Pursuit of Happyness. Then, Sony admitted that about 25 million of its movie DVDs used copy protection software that prevented many DVD players from playing the DVDs. Disney will never admit it is selling DVDs crippled by defective copy protection software. Nor will Disney acknowledge that it is shortchanging customers by not putting Spanish or French language tracks or closed captioning on some of its new SD DVD releases. The Mouse House seems now to be only good at firing longtime executives with one hour notice and selling shoddy DVDs of recent movie releases. At least the Disney Treasures DVDs are still quality mastering jobs.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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disappointing release from Disney
Added 11/24/2009
Another commendable, 4-star outing from Pixar.
The DVD packaging is another matter. There have been many complaints about the computer-incompatibility, but my gripe is about the "pecking order" for those that want the single-disc DVD vs. the 4-disc Blu-ray and everything in-between.
Time was when you bought a 2-disc set of a Pixar film, you got hours worth of neat, entertaining and enlightening extras (example: the exhaustive Super Heroes guide with "The Incredibles"). By the time "Cars" came out, you could only get a single-disc version with very few extras. "Ratatouille": same story. "Wall-E" somewhat rectified the situation with the available 3-disc version, which did have generous bonuses - if you shelled out the bucks, that is. "Up" has the most deceptive packaging of all: a bare-bones single-disc version (you just want the movie and a lot of promos? You got it!), the "deluxe" DVD version (which Amazon/Disney advertise as a "Two-Disc Deluxe Edition + Digital Copy", which can imply there are three discs [there are not], and there are certainly NOT "hours of new bonus! [sic]", as the slip-sleeve boasts), and a 4-disc Blu-ray version for those fortunate enough to own that format. Disney is obviously hard-balling the recession-weary public into buying Blu-ray players and their inflated-priced discs and punishing those who are scraping by with an archaic DVD.
What would have been nice is an extras-packed double-DVD w/o the digital copy (I don't know anybody who really uses this), a better-valued single-DVD version and maybe even a single-Blu-ray.
The release date for a Pixar movie used to be an event. Now it's a downer, waiting to see how Disney rips its faithful public off again.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Up up and away from good
Added 11/24/2009
I love the animation of this movie, it totally rocks, BUT the movie itself is pretty pointless. There's also a few gray areas:
Where was Rusell's mom during all of this?
What happened to his dad?
How did the "bad guy" get to Paraside Falls?
It left a few question marks that were never answered. Also, I think it may be a little too wild for kids. There are gun shots, violence, a small blood scene ( th old man knocks somone with his cane and the man is left bleeding), agressive dogs, etc. Just think twice before you watch your little one watch it.
Just my opinion.....
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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