Family Friendly Sunday - Up

This week's inaugural "Family Friendly Sunday" review is of Disney/Pixar's latest release, Up, which is currently in theaters.

Unlike Pixar's previous efforts, most notable of which is Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and (my personal favorite) The Incredibles, Up seems to be geared a little more to adults than it does to children. That's not to say it isn't kid-friendly, but some of the jokes and themes are ones that adults will most certainly be more apt to appreciate.

The main character this time out is Carl Fredricksen, voiced by Edward Asner. Asner does a fine job, mixing his performance with equal parts vulnerability and flat out grumpiness.

Carl, a recent widower, is facing a court-ordered eviction from his house to a retirement home due to an altercation that involved him hitting a man over the head with his walker, drawing the first bit of blood I've ever seen in a Pixar movie. He decides to keep a decades-old promise to his late wife Ellie that they would one day live atop the fictional Paradise Falls in South America.

Using his knowledge of balloons (his profession had been that of a balloon sales at the zoo where his wife also worked), he attaches thousand of helium filled balloons to his small house, carrying it up into the air. having also fashioned some makeshift sails, he plots a course that will lead him to Paradise Falls.

Along the way, he discovers a small boy that has stowed away and is now trapped on his front porch. Reluctantly, Carl invites the terrified young man inside, and they begin to bond. Carl, having no children of his own, soon begins to see Russell (voiced by a first-time actor, 12 year old Jordan Nagai) as sort of the grandson he knows he can never have.

As previously mentioned, many adult themes are present throughout the film, but none would make the movie unsuitable for children. The scene that most comes to mind that will effect adults more than children is the opening montage, where Ellie and Carl's lives together are represented by a montage, including a heartbreaking scene in which they discover they will never have children.

The moral of the film, conveyed skillfully by Pete Doctor (who also directed Monsters, Inc.) is that life itself is the only true adventure. Carl discovers this as the movie progresses, and it changes him dramatically.

Overall, I would recommend this movie to just about anyone who would listen. Although it does drag a bit at times, it is well-paced for the most part and kept me entertained for the entire run-time of 96 minutes.

MPAA RATING: PG for some peril and action.

GRADE: 9/10

FAMILY FRIENDLINESS: 10/10