Film

Okay, Pixar, you win. We’re officially running out of fresh ways to praise your films. Laud the careful balance of material for the kids and for the grown-ups? Done it. Remark on the wise decision not to follow the Disney lead and do a string of topical references? Done it. Note the amazing ability to move seamlessly from slapstick to sentiment? Check. What do we have left?

Ah-ha; mention the wise use of 3-D! Up is Pixar’s first venture into the brave new world of glasses-enhanced cinema, and once again, they look like the smartest people in the room. Docter and Peterson don’t resort to any poke-poke stunts to show off the third dimension. Instead, they use 3-D to let us experience the depth and fullness of the spaces in their story. Imagine that.

Like WALL•E, Up begins with a first act that isn’t afraid of serious emotion. This time it’s a brief but moving chronicle of the long and blissfully happy marriage of Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, a pair of would-be adventurers who never quite leave home. And then she dies, leaving Carl bereft. He finally breaks out of his funk by tying balloons to his house and lifting off for South America, with an 8-year-old boy (Nagai) as an accidental stowaway. They arrive in the wilds, only to find a rare bird and an explorer (Plummer) intent on capturing it. Oh, and then there’s Dug, a dog with a collar that translates his thoughts, most of which are exactly what you’d expect a dog to be thinking. The pacing is perfect, the animation looks terrific, the emotional range is wide, and there are a few sly jokes you might not catch the first time around. That’s okay; you’ll want to see it a second time anyway.