UP (Pixar's latest)

Viewed in3D at our local Metrolux theatre. Brought a drink, but actually bought popcorn although it was, as usual, ridiculously expensive and incredibly salty.

UP was, as all other reviews pretty much unanimously agree, very good. I wouldn't put it in the same category as the Toy Storys, Cars or the Incredibles, but it was very entertaining and great to view - especially in 3D.

That's me there in the second row in my formal laughing hysterically. I just wish I'd worn my hat like the bored blond in the third row who looks like she sucked a persimmon. Ah, dressing up for the movies.......a bit different from attire we typically wear now. I actually saw someone in the furry bathroom slippers one time. America is somewhat more casual now, to say the least.


We were wondering about those glasses, they were not the usual old flimsy paper glasses that were used to view 3D back when, but a newer version in heavier plastic and probably more sophisticated in how they work (though I could be wrong). Anyway, they were comfortable and fit over our glasses. At first, it was a little distracting to wear them, but after about 5 minutes, I forgot they were there.

The best part of this movie is that Disney chose an elderly person as the main character. He's a crotchety old bugger named Carl, but crotchety only because the love of his life left him behind after she died. Ellie, his wife, is depicted at the beginning of the movie in a little mini movie about how they met and loved and lived together. After that the story of UP takes off, literally.

It's an adventure story featuring Carl's old house, carried aloft by jillions of colorful balloons as you've probably seen on posters, tv, etc.. It's part of his clever plan to escape the city and find Paradise Falls, a place where Ellie had always wanted to eventually live. A chubby little boy is introduced into the story as Carl's sidekick.

Together they face danger, a bad guy, an exotic bird and some weird dogs in the land of Paradise Falls. All ends well, as you would expect.

The animation is beautiful with softly bright colors - somewhat like a painting, particularly when the house is floating through the cloud covered sky. Going through the clouds in 3D was especially delightful. The 3D experience was novel at first, but then you get used to it and the way things pop out at you isn't that new anymore. Not that it isn't great, it's just that the newness of the technique becomes natural. Did I feel like it added a lot to the movie viewing experience? No. I could still view Pixar movies without it and like them just as much. Based upon previews we saw, though, it looks like more 3D is on the way. Here's the trailer, simple, but beautiful.