MOVIE REVIEW: Up

Pixar's Up is the tenth movie released by the computer animation film. Except for 2006's Cars, every Pixar film has been an unvarnished critical and box-office success, with each having rottentomatoes.com ratings over 90% and worldwide grosses over 350 million dollars.

Up is another worthwhile addition to this list. Although it is no Finding Nemo or The Incredibles, it is also no Cars.

The latest Pixar film features an old crotchety white guy with glasses AND a chubby Asian kid as the lead characters that the audience is supposed to identify with! Their sidekicks are a talking dog named Doug and a huge, exotic bird called Kevin.

As with last year's WALL-E, Up begins with a brilliant prelude which absolutely delights the audience, and strengthens the emotional connection to the characters.

The story is about the adventures that the old man named Carl Fredricksen and the young boy named Russell have when Fredrickssen ties thousands of helium balloons and flies off to South America to make good on a life-long promise to his beloved wife Ellie.

The film is surprisingly action-packed and very enjoyable. Although my Other Half enjoyed WALL-E more, he was still happy that we saw Up on opening day, and you will not be disappointed either, if you are a fan of smart, funny animation.

Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes. MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some peril and action. In Disney 3D in some locations.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A-.

ACTING: A-.
IMAGERY: A.
PLOT: A-.
IMPACT: A.