Nagy Dani - Up

Up (Pixar)

Up is a computer-animated movie created and produced by Pixar in 2009. The film received excellent reviews and became an ultimate financial success. In addition, it was the first animated movie to be awarded with the privilege of opening the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate the main arguments of Roger Ebert’s review of this film that was written in 2009. Ebert’s reviews are published on his website and in international newspapers such as, The Guardian. Throughout the review, the author praises the movie and focuses on three major aspects.

Firstly, Ebert says that Pixar tries to create films that set an example for both children and adults. While children laugh at the movie, adults cry. In Up, the storytellers want to illustrate that life can be very difficult sometimes, but people can survive anything. The marriage of Ellie and Carl is tested; their bills mount, their funds dip, and they cannot have children together, but they console themselves with each other. They are dreaming of travelling to Paradise Falls together. When Ellie passes away, Carl loses the meaning of his life. The story focuses on his adventurous journey to Paradise Lost and the process of battling for meaning in his life.

Secondly, the critic mentions the fact that it is a rarity that a hero is portrayed by a cranky old man. It sends a message that Up does not think that every hero must be young, strong, or sweet. Moreover, the main characters in the movie are unique; they do not have the usual characteristics. Old characters have young personalities, while young characters have old personality traits. What is more, there are several animals in the movie, who have anthropomorphic characteristics.

Thirdly, Egbert says that the technical side of the movie is brilliant. The colours are vivid and vibrant, the grand landscapes are mesmerizing, and the animation is very detailed. Furthermore, the voice-over performances make the entire film stand out of all the animated movies. Voice actors play with their accents, intonation, and voice pitch. The author proves his point with some short voice samples from the movie.

It is important to mention that the critic fails to mention the weaknesses of the film. Ebert focuses all his attention on the strengths of the film, which leaves the reader with the feeling of a gap. Both sides should be included in a review, the critic should be as objective as possible, let the readers decide what they think and how they evaluate the arguments.

In conclusion, Roger Ebert’s review of Up is very well structured. He supports his strong arguments with examples such as, the short voice samples or frames from the movie. Throughout his review he illustrates the strengths of Up; however, he forgets to mention the weaknesses of the movie. The review could have been more complex if the author mentioned some more different aspects. 

References

Ebert, R. (2009). Cannes #1: Up, up and away, in my beautiful, my beautiful balloon. Retrieved from Roger Ebert Journal: http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/cannes-1-up-up-and-away-in-my-beautiful-my-beautiful-balloon