Oscar Big 10 Challenge: "Up"

After reviewing a slew of serious, tense, and often dark films in an effort to cover all ten Oscar best picture nominees, I'm more than happy to take on Up today.

Up has the unique distinction of becoming one of the two animated movies ever to be nominated in the best picture category at the Academy Awards. The first animated movie to be nominated for a best picture Oscar? Disney's Beauty and the Beast in 1991. Up's nomination this year begs the question: would it have been nominated if the category hadn't been expanded from five to ten? Probably not, but then again, that's the whole reason why the category was expanded in the first place, so outliers like Disney/Pixar's Up, Neill Blomkamp's District 9, and the Sandra Bullock championed The Blind Side would have a presence at the Academy Awards. That way the AMPAS could rake in more ratings from a wide variety of viewers: from the kiddies, to the sci-fi fans, and the mini-van majority.

Up is a beautiful, light-hearted, and immensely visual tale of a grumpy man, Carl, who takes the trip of a lifetime after the passing of his wife. After he sets sail in a house of balloons, he finds that he had an unexpected visitor at the most inopportune time: the local boyscout who came a-knockin' to earn another merit badge. Carl begrudgingly takes the boy on his trip to South America where they stumble upon a world of strange creatures and talking dogs.

I knew going into this movie that it would be fantastic, thanks to the wonderful and amazing Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, the masterminds behind movies like Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, and Wall-E, but I was blown away. This movie is visually arresting. It really takes you into another world, where you aren't ashamed to be a little kid again and where you realize that the future of animation really is in Pixar's hands. A moment of truth for me: I totally cried during the opening montage of Carl's life with his wife. I just couldn't take it--I kept repeating the same mantra over and over in my head: 'don't cry.. don't cry.. kids will laugh at you.. kids. will. laugh. at. you.." and surely enough, this poor little boy seated right next to me shoots me the crazy eye. That is the magic of Up. It doesn't matter how old you are, you will become affected by this movie. If not for the beautiful sweetness and quirky humor, then the sheer flawlessness of the animation.

Up really stands out to me as one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. It is incredibly detailed and the character development doesn't fall short--it's just as detailed as the visuals. Carl is wonderfully grumpy and sweet, just like your persnickety, elderly neighbor or your very own grandpa. Russel, our adorable boyscout, is inquisitive, slightly dense, totally endearing, and altogether hilarious. The characters are just as you'd imagine them to be in an animated film--pure Americana, sweet and traditional as Apple Pie, but with a twist that only Pixar could inject into their films.

My final thoughts: Up's presence in the best picture category is purely for filler, but it also translates into a bankable win for the best animated picture category. One of my favorite, if not my favorite (other than Monsters Inc.) animated movie.

Six down, four to go. My previous best picture reviews:
Avatar
An Education
Precious
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air

What's left:
A Serious Man
District 9
Inglorious Basterds
The Blind Side