Up

Up
Voiced by Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson & John Ratzenberger

The tenth film released by Disney/Pixar with its minimalistic title, "Up" does just that - brings a simple, ordinary life into the unbeleivable. Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) is a lonely, grumpy, and sad old man who has kept his property the same for decades, even though the contemporary, skyscraping battles unconditionally against him. He - like every human being - has a story, and his story is told in a ten to fifteen minute montage of his life and his amazing, exuberant wife, Ellie. This chonological mostly-silent section of "Up" takes the audience on a roller coaster of ups and downs. Carl and Ellie were in love the second they met, when they were kids, and always had high hopes of living a beautiful life together, a life of adventure. Yet, all doesn't go as planned, which is life, but Ellie and Carl make the best of what they have. Now a widow, Carl has nothing. Or so he thought.

Pete Docter's script is full of heart and soul, while we watch a grandiose adventure of a lifetime with the hero being a box-shaped senior citizen. Carl's life reaches new heights as he escapes the city in search of Ellie's dream land - South America. And he doesn't take a plane; Carl flies by the only thing he's ever known: balloons. Thousands and thousands of balloons. However, when a pudgy boy scout named Russell (Jordan Nagai) accidentally comes along the ride, Carl is forced to face the facts that this persona of the grumpy old guy is just that - a persona.

Talking dogs, crazy species of birds, and Carl & Ellie's life long hero ensue our story, but the heart of it remains through all the craziness, which is why I will forgive Pixar for selling out a bit with their dog dogfight just to gain membership in the 3-D club. "Up" is another of Pixars amazing line-ups teaching children and adults that life's too short, to love, and to live.

Grade: B+

And just for fun, I'm ranking the 10 films produced by Pixar starting with my favorite:
1. Toy Story
2. Finding Nemo
3. Ratatouille
4. Wall-E
5. A Bug's Life
6. Monster's, Inc.
7. Up
8. The Incredibles
9. Toy Story 2
10. Cars