“Up”
I saw the new animated feature from Pixar, Up, earlier this week with my nearly 6yo son Drake. I cried three times, he was scared about as many times, but overall we enjoyed it. One of my favorite fleeting moments of parenting is sitting in the dark with Drake, watching a movie and hearing him laugh with delight. I love sharing that moment with him.
In addition to the balloons, old man and pudgy boy featured in the ads, Up has a delightful dog and bird, both of whom often steal their scenes. It’s rated PG for good reason, though. There are some scary chases, both by dogs and up high, and a cruel villain with a gun. In general, I think this is better for school-aged kids (I was glad not to have brought 3yo Guppy) and not for kids afraid of mean dogs, guns and heights. Also, I opted for the 2D, not the 3D, which I think would be better for kids older than Drake.
While it’s no Wall E, which I thought one of the best films of last year, and perhaps Pixar’s best yet, Up is still very good and worth seeing. It’s beautiful to look at, and has stuff to appeal both to kids and to adults, without resorting to the cheap pop-culture references of Pixar’s low-rent imitators.
June 13th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Really want to see this. I think we will splurge and do it in 3D. Based on your review, I’m pretty sure I will wind up crying several times over, since I sniveled through Wall E last year. Awesome.
June 13th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Yes, if it had been me solo, I would have gone for 3D. But expecting my 5yo to wear glasses and tolerate special effects flying at him? Nuh uh.
June 13th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
We went to a late show tonight, and I was a total doofus for not bringing any tissue with us - 10 minutes into the movie, I was a mess. What a sweet, lovely, and thoughtful film. The 3D was a nice touch - not at all intrusive - but I wouldn’t say it was a necessary component to our film-watching experience.
So, another home run for Pixar then. We’ll definitely add this to our collection when it comes out on DVD.