Directed by Pete Doctor (Monsters Inc)

Starring voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

Synopsis: “By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.”

I finally got around to watching this movie, and I have to say that Pixar has done it again. The most impressive thing to me is how heart-felt and genuine their movies consistently are. The montage at the beginning of the film is as impressive an example of visual storytelling as I had heard it was. The amount of emotion conveyed and the serious subject matter that is so deftly handled in this sequence really stands as an acheivement in and of itself. Plainly put, it is a clear example of masterful storytelling. Though I feel like Carl Fredricksen is the type of character we’ve seen before, I don’t think it’s ever been done better than here.

Otherwise, I was slightly put off by the rest of the movie. If I had to pin it down, I would say it was a bit too “whimsical.” That’s the word I am going to go with. I know it’s a kid’s movie, technically, but some of the “fantastical leaps” that the narrative took just didn’t feel right to me. All in all, I have to say that I prefer Wall E…

Definitely worth a watch though.