Up
Up
Jun 09I’ve read plenty of reviews of Up, and talked to plenty of people who have seen it plenty of times. I feel like there’s almost no point in reviewing it. It’s a Pixar movie. Just like Metallica albums, even a bad Pixar movie is better than a great effort from nearly any other creative team, and Up is not a bad Pixar movie.
On the other hand, there is something purposefully uneven about the film that might be off-putting. There is a very full, resonant beginning to the film and a long stretch of cute fun comprising the rest of it that doesn’t match the emotional core that’s built at the outset. There are moments that come close, but they are only callbacks to that segment and not powerful emotional moments in and of themselves. And this is exactly what Pixar wanted.
See, I’ve heard a lot about how this is a film about adventure and never letting go of your dreams, but that’s not what I think the movie is about. This is the Pixar version of that John Lennon lyric, the one about life happening to you while you’re making other plans. It is far less about the things you do than the people you spend it with, which is what both of our protagonists come to grips with in the end.
The notion of waiting for life to start and then being shocked when you realize that you’re an adult all of a sudden and you haven’t done anything is not alien to me at all, nor is the Pyhrric aspect of achieving what you hoped for and realizing that nothing fundamental has changed. It’s the very thing that Elizabeth Kostova is talking about in The Historian when she talks about the disappointment of rediscovery: to paraphrase, the narrator talks about searching out a place that you once loved and revisiting it, but discovering that some mercurial thing you loved about it isn’t part of the equation anymore – like going to a place in the company of friends and going back alone, or finding it alone and returning with friends. Which is exactly what Up is about – the kind of love that makes every day an adventure, and how nothing is the same when it’s gone.
Of course, there’s also the easy joke about Up being an allegory for the subprime crisis. So, whichever.
man, I have to see this movie.
I know this is a fool’s task, but where do you rank it on the Pixar List?
By my best calculus, my list is:
Incredibles
Wall*E
Monsters Inc.
Toy Story
Ratatouille
Up
Finding Nemo
Cars
Toy Story 2
A Bug’s Life
Wall*E
Incredibles
Up
Ratatouille
Finding Nemo
Toy Story II (has Jessie)
Toy Story
Monsters Inc.
Bug’s Life
Everything else in the entire world
Cars
That much Cars hate? Maybe it’s just because I’m a NASCAR baby, even if I’m not a fan anymore, but I thought Cars was at least nostalgic.
I hated Cars. The universe makes no sense! It’s creepy! Cars aren’t cute! Etc.
OK, since all of the cool kids are doing it…
Ratatouille
Wall*E
Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Up
Monsters Inc.
Toy Story II
Toy Story
Cars
Bug’s Life
UP’s an absolutely beautiful film, and I’m actually surprised my boys loved it as much as they did. After watching it, it certainly didn’t feel like a kids’ movie. But I think that is one of Pixar’s strengths is that they are able to take themes that speak to adults and translate them to children…or is that vice versa?
Great post, and I agree completely. I couldn’t help thinking of “The Beast in the Jungle” while watching this — which is a short story that completely encapsulates the feeling you describe here.
I also have a theory that Pixar’s magic is making movies that appeal to everyone but hit a certain type of person in an especially resonant way. Because of that, I think it’s impossible to rank them, because the rankings aren’t so much a measure of quality (since they’re all great) as they are a ranking of what ideas and emotions and situations hit you at the deepest level.
(That said, my favorite is Toy Story. Least favorite is Monsters, Inc. Make of that what you will.)
Jennifer: “I think it’s impossible to rank them, because the rankings aren’t so much a measure of quality (since they’re all great) as they are a ranking of what ideas and emotions and situations hit you at the deepest level.” I feel the same way, I think. You’re basically rating yourself more than the film. I think that there’s an argument that it’s not good filmmaking as much as it is outright emotional manipulation, but I’d also argue that’s what good films do. So yeah.
The answer to “what kind of geek is Caroline?” can perhaps best be found in the fact that I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this movie until Jennifer compared it to a Henry James novella.
Now I guess I gotta go!
I am maybe not such a huge Pixar fan as the rest of creation (sorry!) but on the other hand I cry buckets in that toy junkyard scene in ‘Toy Story 2’. BUCKETS. While they are playing a Sarah MacLachlan song with is basically the equivalent of a blinking “We are manipulating your emotions!” sign at the bottom of the screen. But it totally works.
If we’re rating ourselves, does that mean Jeff’s a superhero, I’m a robot, and Jason’s a culinarily-gifted rodent? Kinda awesome.
though I agree with Caroline, in that each person’s Pixar ranking is less about the quality of the films and more about the person doing the ranks, I like lists.
Finding Nemo
Toy Story 2
A Bug’s Life
Monsters Inc.
Wall*E
The Incredibles
Toy Story
Cars
Haven’t seen Up and haven’t seen Ratatouille yet.
I also think like all great art, Pixar movies sorta change and grow with you–my kid LOVES Finding Nemo, and watching it again and again with her, it’s really a kids’ movie that’s for parents–that last shot of Marlin “letting go” of Nemo gets me every time.
I am also a sucker for the Jesse/Sarah McLachlan sequence.
I feel like I’m ranking Toy Story 2 wrong. I should maybe rewatch it.
I’m also shocked that I’m the only Monsters Inc. fan, apparently. I love the buddy, 1940s industrial comedy vibe it has.
I do love Monsters Inc. I just love the other three more. It’s possible I’m overstating my love for Bug’s Life–it’s another one I’ve seen like 1000 times lately and I’ve become charmed by the supporting cast. Jonathan Harris is so underrated in that flick. As is Dennis Leary, the late Joe Ranft, Richard Kind…
I enjoyed ‘Monsters Inc’, I just fail at having strong opinions about Pixar movies that aren’t ‘Toy Story 2.’
[i]This is the Pixar version of that John Lennon lyric, the one about life happening to you while you’re making other plans. It is far less about the things you do than the people you spend it with, which is what both of our protagonists come to grips with in the end.[/i]
Yes. YES. Brilliant review, and I agree with you wholeheartedly. I am not ashamed to say that I was choked up at the beginning and may or may not have brushed aside a few tears (I may or may not have cried at the beginning of the new Star Trek film as well…)
And for what it’s worth, I absolutely loved Monsters Inc. too. I definitely go: Wall-E, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Cars.
(And in defense of A Bug’s Life, who doesn’t love Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven storylines?! Effing awesome, is what they are)
I got a little teary at several points. I was afraid the girl I went with would make fun of me, but she cried more.
Also, tearing up at Trek? Really Thea? (Me too).
Side note: I grabbed a bottle of black cherry soda last night and wistful when I popped the cap off. I want to turn it into a badge.