Up (2009, Dir: Pete Docter)

It’s hard to compare Pixar films as they’re always so different. You can’t compare Up to Wall-E - it isn’t fair on either film. For me, Pixar are always doing something right when they’re not aiming their films primarily at children. Cars was so forgettable that it still irks me that a sequel is slated for release in 2011 (when you consider that they’re still releasing new Cars merchandise all the time – from a film that was released 3 years ago - you get the sinking feeling that it’s probably Disney’s call to plunder McQueen and company for more adventures).

Up received a lot of criticism for being too adult. It’s lead character is a septuagenarian misanthrope, and the film’s heartbreaking opening strips away any innocence that you would expect from an animated film. Excellent!

But let’s rewind back to the beginning, and the short film – a tradition of Pixar’s - entitled Partly Cloudy, directed by Peter Sohn. Sitting somewhere between the tone of Boundin’ (2003) and earlier fare such as Red’s Dream (1987), the film features no dialogue (again a tradition of their original, pre-feature shorts) and is a delight to watch. In 3D, the whole picture looks fantastic, especially due to the aerial setting.

Partly Cloudy tugs at the heartstrings (more on this idiom later), but what really hits home is the opening 10 minutes of Up. Apparently, the tearful tale of Carl and Ellie’s marriage was a hit at Cannes, and it’s not hard to see why. Most films would struggle to inject the audience with empathy for it’s characters; Pete Docter’s film manages it in minutes.

Once we’re sugar-fed the exposition, Carl takes to the skies in his helium-balloon assisted house - unwittingly taking boy-scout Russell along for the ride – to find the paradise that he and Ellie always dreamed about. The balloons, reaching down the chimney and connected to the fireplace (tugging at the “hearth”-strings?), take the pair to South America, and everything is plain-sailing until a series of mishaps lands them at the mercy of adventurer Charles Muntz, voiced by Christopher Plummer.

And it is here that we meet what has to be – after 10 features and umpteen shorts – my favourite Pixar character, the loyal Dug – a talking dog. Again, Pixar’s knack for observational humour goes down a treat when we hear a dog vocalising about his feelings. The rest of the film is a joy, again with the aerial locale providing an eye-candy setting in 3D.

Enjoy this film while you can, as it’ll be the last original Pixar film to be released until The Bear And The Bow in 2011. Until then we’ll get 3D re-releases of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, the long-awaited Toy Story 3, and – groan – the less-than-anticipated Cars 2.