iREVIEW: Up

Starring Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai and Bob Peterson. Written by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter. Directed by Pete Docter. 

Some films defy norms. It's almost impossible to believe that an animated film with its trademarked "unreal" colors and shenanigans could evoke vivider emotions than a "real" film. Up is no less than a work of genius. 

We have heard time and again about macho men who held onto their conviction till the last breath but  seldom come across a man on mission who changes vision and goals as much as we do.  Up is as humane as a film could get. 

Up is about a young child Carl Fredricksen, enamored with explorations and global trekking but his timidness keeps the passion hidden.  But then he finds a girl who is as raw and adventurous as he always wanted to be.  They become best of friends and before we know it, they tie the knot and live happily forever... until Carl's wife dies and he realizes,  entangled in trials and tribulations of worldly life, they forgot to fulfill their mutual dream of living at the Paradise falls. 

And that's where the magic of Up comes in. Till this point animation seems quite pointless.  If this was a "real" film, Carl would be rubbing sole of his shoes at banks and real estate agencies trying to make the dream reality but in this case he simply flies away towards Paradise Island in his house, tied to hundreds of helium balloons. 

He can do this because the point of the story is taking us at a heartbeat distance of Carl's dream before revealing the human out of him.  To the paradise fall, Carl tags along the adventurous, tubby little kid, Ellie, who some would say is what Carl was on the inside when he was that young.

But just when we start to believe that the characters would lessen in layers and succumb to the cracking plot, we are taken aback by the story of it all. Without spoiling much, I can say the film makes us realize that big dreams and lifelong obsessions sugarcoated as ambitions and sacred goals all lose meaning when we fail to act with compassion towards everything, even as little as a bird. 

Up has exceptional animation, great plot, witty dialogues and vivid characters, but it has something more, something which takes us beyond entertainment and forces us to do that we have long given up on doing... introspect!