Look Up, Dawg

I promised myself a while back that I would start doing more with my blog, so here it is.

I just got back from a showing of Pixar's newest endeavor, the brevity-friendly titled Up. I've been a fan of Pixar since Toy Story almost 14 years ago, and have liked all of their movies a great deal (except for Cars, which I thought was just okay). Last year, I gushed over WALL-E, as it was one of my top five movies of the year.

Up may have topped them all. It's an absolutely extraoridnary film from start to finish, filled with fantastical images and centered by characters that are easy to get attached to. Pixar has once again stretched the boundaries of the imagination to create a film that just keeps on giving.

What Pixar accomplishes with each new film is truly breathtaking to watch. They manage to take everything good about film and use it in ways no one has seen before. The bar keeps getting raised, and their competition isn't even close in terms of quality. Edward Asner (Carl Fredrickson) and Christopher Plummer (Charles Muntz) were wonderful choices for two of the main characters. The voice of Russell, Fredreickson's sidekick, is handled by newcomer Jordan Nagai. Perhaps the most memorable character is Dug, voiced by longtime Pixar collaborator and writer/co-director of Up, Bob Peterson.

And of course, John Ratzenberger keeps the streak alive.

I would be very shocked if this film doesn't land on my top 10 list at the end of the year, and probably in a very high position too.

Rating: **** (out of ****)