Two thumps up, up, up, up, up!
Added 11/25/2009
Pixar has a pretty good track record if you ask me. Of their releases there is only one that I cannot stand (`Cars') but there are quite a few I consider absolutely wonderful (`Ratatouille', `The Incredibles') and one that I consider a near masterpiece (`Finding Nemo'). In my personal opinion, `Up' is the best thing they have ever done. It is, quite frankly, a modern masterpiece in animated filmmaking.
Seriously.
The plot is pretty simple on the outset. Carl Fredricksen (who looks an awful lot like Spencer Tracy) is a crotchety old widower who is holding onto the only memory he has of his departed wife; their home and a dream of adventure. When circumstances shift, paving the way for Carl to be court ordered to a nursing home, he decides to try his hand at adventure by tying thousands of balloons to his roof and going up, up, up and away. With a young stowaway named Russell, an overweight boy-scout of sorts, Carl sets off in hot pursuit of Paradise Falls, the land he and his beloved wife always dreamed of exploring.
Let's get one thing straight; this is a story about a floating house, so don't expect it to be realistic. To those who pick apart plot holes such as "where was Russell's mother this whole time" and the like, sure it isn't realistic, but are you really expecting it to be?
One thing I will agree on is that this is a very sad and dramatic film that may not be suitable for all children. I do feel that it may be good for children who face similar situations as Russell to see their home life displayed in a sweetly appealing setting like the one presented in this animated film, but I do also feel that some subjects discussed may be too deep or even unsettling at times for young ones. It was choking me up. Within the first ten minutes we are introduced to themes such as the inability to have children (or it possibly could have been a miscarriage) and the death of a spouse. Themes such as single parent families and neglect come into play as well, and the ending, which is sweet, is also laced with sadness.
The film will make you smile and laugh, but it will make you cry A LOT.
With that solitary caution (it does tend to get very violent towards the end as well, and with attacks made on a child I find that it may be a concern to a parent) I have to say that this is a very, very, very good movie; great even. No, better than great; it is a MASTERPIECE. The animation is stellar, the concept is original and engaging, the humor is strong and the gags are all on point, fresh and welcome. For me, it was nice to see such strong emotional themes explored in this context. It adds a different layer to the general consensus of dramatic entertainment. Sure, this is no where near as gritty or as overwhelming as `Grave of the Fireflies', but `Up' allows the humor to play a perfect balance to the mature point of view this film is taking.
There are very few animated films that can handle both sides of the spectrum with such grace and eloquence.
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 3 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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Two thumps up, up, up, up, up!
Added 11/25/2009
Pixar has a pretty good track record if you ask me. Of their releases there is only one that I cannot stand (`Cars') but there are quite a few I consider absolutely wonderful (`Ratatouille', `The Incredibles') and one that I consider a near masterpiece (`Finding Nemo'). In my personal opinion, `Up' is the best thing they have ever done. It is, quite frankly, a modern masterpiece in animated filmmaking.
Seriously.
The plot is pretty simple on the outset. Carl Fredricksen (who looks an awful lot like Spencer Tracy) is a crotchety old widower who is holding onto the only memory he has of his departed wife; their home and a dream of adventure. When circumstances shift, paving the way for Carl to be court ordered to a nursing home, he decides to try his hand at adventure by tying thousands of balloons to his roof and going up, up, up and away. With a young stowaway named Russell, an overweight boy-scout of sorts, Carl sets off in hot pursuit of Paradise Falls, the land he and his beloved wife always dreamed of exploring.
Let's get one thing straight; this is a story about a floating house, so don't expect it to be realistic. To those who pick apart plot holes such as "where was Russell's mother this whole time" and the like, sure it isn't realistic, but are you really expecting it to be?
One thing I will agree on is that this is a very sad and dramatic film that may not be suitable for all children. I do feel that it may be good for children who face similar situations as Russell to see their home life displayed in a sweetly appealing setting like the one presented in this animated film, but I do also feel that some subjects discussed may be too deep or even unsettling at times for young ones. It was choking me up. Within the first ten minutes we are introduced to themes such as the inability to have children (or it possibly could have been a miscarriage) and the death of a spouse. Themes such as single parent families and neglect come into play as well, and the ending, which is sweet, is also laced with sadness.
The film will make you smile and laugh, but it will make you cry A LOT.
With that solitary caution (it does tend to get very violent towards the end as well, and with attacks made on a child I find that it may be a concern to a parent) I have to say that this is a very, very, very good movie; great even. No, better than great; it is a MASTERPIECE. The animation is stellar, the concept is original and engaging, the humor is strong and the gags are all on point, fresh and welcome. For me, it was nice to see such strong emotional themes explored in this context. It adds a different layer to the general consensus of dramatic entertainment. Sure, this is no where near as gritty or as overwhelming as `Grave of the Fireflies', but `Up' allows the humor to play a perfect balance to the mature point of view this film is taking.
There are very few animated films that can handle both sides of the spectrum with such grace and eloquence.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
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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