UP DVD: Review By slysnide

May 7th, 2010 by slysnide
Pixar now takes us deep to all too real wilderness of Venezuela for another loveable adventure.
  • OVERALL
    4.0
    GREAT
  • Feature
  • Picture
  • Sound
  • Extras
  • Replay Value
THE GOOD
Pixar has done it again with one of their best yet. Going on location to the real place the story is set to capture the right look and feel was brilliant, and definitely proves dedication on behalf of director Pete Doctor. Basing Carl off of Spencer Tracy also was a treat, as it's like raising him from the grave. Yeah, Ed Asner's impersonation and Pixar's animation did a damn good job at that. The extras are decent, and flick is great. Nuff said. {yeah, that phrase doesn't really play with me well}
THE BAD
Nothing besides the lack of deeper exploration into the seldom explored jungles of Venezuela. Afterall, the adventure there doesn't really pick up until halfway through the film, and that wasn't my cup of tea. But the vistas certainly make up for it.
THE FEATURE
When 78yr old Carl Fredrickson's wife Ellie dies, he decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of living beside Paradise Falls in the Tepui Mountains of Venezuela. Using a thousand helium balloons, he makes the trip, but to his annoyance, a young chirpy boy scout as come with him. And when the tropical bird Kevin joins in, they're in for a whole mess of trouble. Especially when a bunch of renegade talking dogs are hot on their trail wherever they go.

Set in the Tepui Mountains, the setting on screen looks exactly the same, with certain rock formations being copied exactly. Such detail enhances the film.

For the rest, reference my 188th review.
THE EXTRAS
On Disc 1, there's the ever present Pixar short, this one being "Partly Cloudy" about a rainclouds inability to produce eggs for the stork. And a bonus short "Dug's Special Mission" serves as an explanation to what Dug was up to in the time immediately preceding his first appearance in the film. "The Many Endings of Muntz" walks us through storyboards of the various ideas concocted of how to rid the heroes of the villain without making them seem violent in disposing of them. Such thinking shows that Pixar really cares for the integrity of their characters. Lastly, "Adventure is Out There" showcases Pete Doctor's camping trip with fellow animators to the Tepui Mountains where they sketched storyboards and the landscape, as well as took an array of photos to provide Pixar with more than enough information to make the film decent. And no motor homes or creature comforts! Now that's dedication!!!

Disc 2 is just the temporary Digital Copy. So it's nice that they don't make you go onto that disc to watch any of the features.
THE VIDEO
While I'd recommend a large flat screen for this, the picture quality isn't framed for such televisions, so this should look as good on any screen. Though unlike most flicks, I think this one in particular would benefit from the big flat screen treatment.
THE AUDIO
The sound wasn't anything too special, but the music was. Any sound system, or just you TV speakers will be fine for this.
THE PACKAGE
A clever slipcase with the poster of Russell & Carl sliding down the hose while holding Dug. Kevin's on the side in a pop up manner like she does throughout the film, and the balloons attached to the house in the upper left corner actually protrude from the slipcase. So that was cool. The same image is on the plastic cover, as well as instructions on how to attain the Digital Copy, but if you're reading this, then it's already too late for that.
THE FINAL WORD
Despite that all the features are on the first disc, the same can't be said of the single disc set which omits all features, and doesn't even have a main menu. So this is definitely a better buy for any movie lover out there.

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