Up

Having already explored such lush narrative territory as robot romance and superhero family dynamics (not to mention the experiences of rats, bugs, toys, cars, and monsters), it only makes sense that Pixar's latest movie is about an elderly man and a young boy dragging a floating house through the jungles of South America with an exotic bird and a talking dog at their sides. Or maybe not. Either way, the shimmering rainbow of computer-generated beauty that is Pixar's Up is both a wildly imaginative, lovingly loopy romp and a logical step forward for the incomparable animation company.

Since the heroes of Pixar's tales grow less likely and more surprising with each turn (from Ratatouille's rodent-turned-gourmet chef to Wall-E's outdated robot-turned-saviour), it shouldn't come as too much of a shock that Up's protagonist is a 78-year-old man named Carl Fredrickson (voiced by Ed Asner). As a retired balloon salesman, Carl may be an unlikely hero for an animated adventure movie, but he is nonetheless a fully-realized character and completely believable human being who has lived a full life. The problem is that his life is now missing a crucial piece of his personal puzzle.

As the movie's touching opening minutes illustrate, Carl was once a wide-eyed dreamer who met a spunky little girl named Ellie with similar aspirations. Their childhood friendship blossomed into marriage in adulthood and the happy couple never stopped dreaming the same dream: that they would eventually visit a magical place in South America called Paradise Falls, a land that takes geographical inspiration from the pages of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.

But the trials and tribulations of daily life kept steering the lives of Carl and Ellie away from the land of Paradise Falls and so the dream faded from memory. By the time the movie's sweet and gentle introductory montage is complete, we learn that Ellie passed away not too long ago, leaving Carl sad and alone, with nothing to do and no dream to feed. Now, Carl spends his days sitting on his porch and trying to scare away the greedy developers who want to buy his house only to tear it down.

One of Carl's run-ins with a construction worker leads to his forced relocation to a retirement home, but Carl refuses to go quietly. On the morning that he is supposed to leave his home for good, he instead affixes thousands of helium balloons to his house and lets the multi-coloured display yank the old building from its ancient roots and send it soaring into the sky. Finally, after so many years of waiting, Carl is about to embark on a genuine adventure.

And once the balloons erupt from the top of Carl's house, it doesn't take Up very long to adopt the adventurous spirit. Mere moments later, Carl is in South America with a young stowaway (and Junior Wilderness Explorer) named Russell (voiced by newcomer Jordan Nagai), who is about to earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge the hard way. Carl and Russell find themselves within walking distance of Paradise Falls and so they pull the floating house with them on a trek that is as treacherous as it is funny.

Along the way, they meet a rare 12-foot-tall bird (nicknamed Kevin) and a dog named Dug, who wears a special collar that translates his doggy thoughts into grammatically correct English. Dug is one part of a large talking dog army ruled by elderly explorer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer), who doubles as the movie's villain. With all of the characters introduced, the story is free to roll with the crazy concepts of balloon-powered houses and hilariously articulate canines. There are many funny jokes and lots of exciting moments that stem from the strange plot, but director Pete Docter and writer Bob Petersen (who also co-directed) make sure that the action-based aspects of the story are filled with the necessary heart to give them meaning.

Up never becomes lost in a sea of visual clamour, but instead emerges as an engaging and heartfelt adventure movie for the whole family. There is a sweet message nestled inside about love and relationships and the special moments we share with friends and family, but it is delivered in a smart and gentle way that is devoid of drippy sentimentality. Up is immensely intrigued with the comparison and juxtaposition of adventures in movies and adventures in real life. Where does the line between fantasy and reality become blurred? What defines an adventure anyway? For Carl, having spent so many years with his beloved Ellie was truly the greatest adventure of all.

In the midst of so many talking dogs and perfectly-rendered balloons, Up soars to tender heights with its wonderful cast of characters and universally accessible sense of humour. It represents yet another success for Pixar, which is sure to continue to explore unexpected territory in search of cinematic gold. The animators and storytellers have risen to the challenge of making an elderly man's quirky jungle adventure a bundle of lovable entertainment. With the focus on characters and the message etched in expertly relatable terms, Up is a spectacular movie that everyone (even talking dogs and mysterious birds) can enjoy.