Product Description
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios take moviegoers up, up and away on one of the funniest adventures of all time with their latest comedy-fantasy. Up follows the uplifting tale of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Their journey to a lost world, where they encounter some strange, exotic and surprising characters, is filled with hilarity, emotion and wildly imaginative adventure.Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #11 in DVD
- Brand: Disney
- Released on: 2009-11-10
- Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
- Formats: Animated, Color, Widescreen
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: French, Spanish
- Number of discs: 4
- Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
- Running time: 96 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
At a time when too many animated films consist of anthropomorphized animals cracking sitcom one-liners and flatulence jokes, the warmth, originality, humor, and unflagging imagination of Up feel as welcome as rain in a desert. Carl Fredericksen (voice by Ed Asner) ranks among the most unlikely heroes in recent animation history. A 78- year-old curmudgeon, he enjoyed his modest life as a balloon seller because he shared it with his adventurous wife Ellie (Ellie Docter). But she died, leaving him with memories and the awareness that they never made their dream journey to Paradise Falls in South America. When well-meaning officials consign Carl to Shady Oaks Retirement Home, he rigs thousands of helium balloons to his house and floats to South America. The journey's scarcely begun when he discovers a stowaway: Russell (Jordan Nagai), a chubby, maladroit Wilderness Explorer Scout who's out to earn his Elderly Assistance Badge. In the tropical jungle, Carl and Russell find more than they bargained for: Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), a crazed explorer whose newsreels once inspired Carl and Ellie; Kevin, an exotic bird with a weakness for chocolate; and Dug (Bob Peterson), an endearingly dim golden retriever fitted with a voice box. More importantly, the travelers discover they need each other: Russell needs a (grand)father figure; Carl needs someone to enliven his life without Ellie. Together, they learn that sharing ice-cream cones and counting the passing cars can be more meaningful than feats of daring-do and distant horizons. Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc. ) and Bob Peterson direct the film with consummate skill and taste, allowing the poignant moments to unfold without dialogue to Michael Giacchnio's vibrant score. Building on their work in The Incredibles and Ratatouille, the Pixar crew offers nuanced animation of the stylized characters. Even by Pixar's elevated standards, Up is an exceptional film that will appeal of audiences of all ages. Rated PG for some peril and action. --Charles Solomon
Stills from Up (Click for larger image)
Also on the Disc
The eagerly awaited Blu-ray of Pixar's hit Up comes loaded with extras, including two animated shorts: Peter Sohn's "Partly Cloudy," which screened with the feature in its theatrical release, and a new film, "Dug's Special Mission." Directed by Ronnie Del Carmen, "Special Mission" reveals how Dug, the dim but lovable golden retriever, met Carl and Russell. "Adventure Is Out There" documents the research trip a key group of artists took to the Tapuis in South America and includes not only footage of the precipitous ascent of the mountain, but watercolor sketches the artists did there. Alternate versions of key moments in the film show how these scenes changed during preproduction and why. An early storyboard of the wordless "Married Life" sequence that reduced many viewers to tears could have worked, but it's far less satisfying than the final iteration. Discussions of the characters Carl and Russell include preliminary art and footage of director Pete Docter working with child actor Jordan Nagai. In a thoughtful interview, composer Michael Giacchino explains his use of musical motifs for the individual characters, and how shifts from major to minor chords suggest different moods. The Global Guardian Badge Game narrated by Nagai is an interesting geography quiz that would be more fun if the controls were better calibrated--it's hard to land a cursor on Delaware or Belgium when it keeps drifting away. The bonus materials suggest that if Pixar consistently makes the best animated films in America, it's because such talented artists work so hard on them. --Charles Solomon
At a time when too many animated films consist of anthropomorphized animals cracking sitcom one-liners and flatulence jokes, the warmth, originality, humor, and unflagging imagination of Up feel as welcome as rain in a desert. Carl Fredericksen (voice by Ed Asner) ranks among the most unlikely heroes in recent animation history. A 78- year-old curmudgeon, he enjoyed his modest life as a balloon seller because he shared it with his adventurous wife Ellie (Ellie Docter). But she died, leaving him with memories and the awareness that they never made their dream journey to Paradise Falls in South America. When well-meaning officials consign Carl to Shady Oaks Retirement Home, he rigs thousands of helium balloons to his house and floats to South America. The journey's scarcely begun when he discovers a stowaway: Russell (Jordan Nagai), a chubby, maladroit Wilderness Explorer Scout who's out to earn his Elderly Assistance Badge. In the tropical jungle, Carl and Russell find more than they bargained for: Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), a crazed explorer whose newsreels once inspired Carl and Ellie; Kevin, an exotic bird with a weakness for chocolate; and Dug (Bob Peterson), an endearingly dim golden retriever fitted with a voice box. More importantly, the travelers discover they need each other: Russell needs a (grand)father figure; Carl needs someone to enliven his life without Ellie. Together, they learn that sharing ice-cream cones and counting the passing cars can be more meaningful than feats of daring-do and distant horizons. Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc. ) and Bob Peterson direct the film with consummate skill and taste, allowing the poignant moments to unfold without dialogue to Michael Giacchnio's vibrant score. Building on their work in The Incredibles and Ratatouille, the Pixar crew offers nuanced animation of the stylized characters. Even by Pixar's elevated standards, Up is an exceptional film that will appeal of audiences of all ages. Rated PG for some peril and action. --Charles Solomon
Stills from Up (Click for larger image)
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The eagerly awaited Blu-ray of Pixar's hit Up comes loaded with extras, including two animated shorts: Peter Sohn's "Partly Cloudy," which screened with the feature in its theatrical release, and a new film, "Dug's Special Mission." Directed by Ronnie Del Carmen, "Special Mission" reveals how Dug, the dim but lovable golden retriever, met Carl and Russell. "Adventure Is Out There" documents the research trip a key group of artists took to the Tapuis in South America and includes not only footage of the precipitous ascent of the mountain, but watercolor sketches the artists did there. Alternate versions of key moments in the film show how these scenes changed during preproduction and why. An early storyboard of the wordless "Married Life" sequence that reduced many viewers to tears could have worked, but it's far less satisfying than the final iteration. Discussions of the characters Carl and Russell include preliminary art and footage of director Pete Docter working with child actor Jordan Nagai. In a thoughtful interview, composer Michael Giacchino explains his use of musical motifs for the individual characters, and how shifts from major to minor chords suggest different moods. The Global Guardian Badge Game narrated by Nagai is an interesting geography quiz that would be more fun if the controls were better calibrated--it's hard to land a cursor on Delaware or Belgium when it keeps drifting away. The bonus materials suggest that if Pixar consistently makes the best animated films in America, it's because such talented artists work so hard on them. --Charles Solomon
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