UP

[bluejeans07]

twirlynoodle invited me to see UP yesterday so I got up super early, got ready and hauled my ass to Burbank! Woo hoo! FROG TRAILER ON THE BIG SCREEEEEEN TWO-DEE SO AWESOME YAAAAY~

Anyway, UP. It was a cute movie. Like Mary Poppins is a cute movie. The best thing I have to say about the movie was the COLOR. Oh my god, colorgasm! The color was just amazing, it was really like a fantasy children's book movie with strong, beautiful, almost candy, fantasy colors with the right amount of strength and saturation. It was a JOY just to see all these beautiful colors work so well together, so WELL DONE.

On the other hand, I wasn't attached to the characters that much and I didn't enjoy the plot as I thought I would. I enjoyed Carl's backstory and it was very moving to see him fall in love with his wife and then lose her without going on their adventure, but there was a bit too much explanation of why things are the way they are with these characters. I liked watching the dogs, I liked Russel, but I didn't see anything beyond their one line character descriptions:

Carl- A bitter old man who is determined to fulfill his promise to his dead wife for the adventure she always wanted.

Russel- An over enthusiastic city kid who is gung ho about earning his badges so that he could see his father who has left him after his parents' marriage ended.

Dug- Funny talking dog who wants nothing more to protect and serve his master.

Russel and Carl do step a little bit outside these guidelines when it comes to rescuing Kevin, the rare bird, and things do get resolved for them, but they still stay consistently in the character stereotypes. Pixar has extremely well rounded characters most of the time, and these characters seemed to fall a bit short on their potential compared to their predecessors.

I did see the villain a mile away, can't help it, it was a little bit obvious.

But overall, the movie was fun, the designs were pure Pixar/Mary Blair, the color was FAB, and the story is okay. The movie isn't as strongly a character movie as it is a gag movie since the characters don't really cause the gags that much as they are just a part of them. It does over explain things but maybe that'll make it easier for a kid to understand. I do recommend it, it is a cute movie and you do leave the theater feeling light and free like a balloon. :D