So i just saw a sneak preview of UP tonight in the Castro District of SF. After driving around for at least half an hour looking for parking, I got to wait in line for another hour to secure a seat for UP in 3-D! It was utter mayhem, waiting in a line that stretched around the theater hoping to get good seats, and to our success, we managed to get very decent views. I’m just going to jump right into how i felt about the movie because it was pretty amazing. I don’t think i’ve ever been that emotionally choked up while watching a cartoon before.
The first ten minutes were phenomenal.
I didn’t think i would enjoy UP, because the concept seemed one-note and contrived. A man makes his house fly with balloons. how could you make an entire movie about that? This wasn’t high-concept like a futuristic utopia gone wrong or a tale of anamorphic talking toys, this was simply an old man going on a plain old adventure.
The movie proved my initial feelings to be both right and wrong.
The plot was pretty standard for a Disney movie, and the pacing was fun, yet lacked the creativity and uniqueness of other Pixar vehicles. The laughs harkened back to the golden age of disney movies introducing one comical companion after another. And the plot moved along well without any hitches or slowdowns. Yet, the Pixar magic dust didn’t seem to translate into the backbone of the story. If it were not for the first ten minutes of the movie, i would have dismissed this movie as a Pixar film alltogether and categorized it with the likes of other computer animated Disney movies like Chicken Little.
But this was not so. The first ten minutes defined the rest of the movie. The shallow typical Disney adventure storyline was made truly deep and fulfilling because of character defining exposition. I didn’t think i would really care for the old man, but in the first ten minutes of the story, i learned about his whole life and what he cherished most. Basically it went through a whole nother side story showing the seasons of true love–so beautiful. Anyway, I’m not going to say anymore to ruin or overhype a good thing.
Okay. short post. go see UP and cherish life.
