OUTDOOR SCREENING: Up

Carl and Ellie form an adventure club in an abandoned house, taking after their beloved explorer, the famed Charles Muntz. Ellie tells Carl about her ambition to move their clubhouse to the top of Paradise Falls in South America. Years pass, Ellie and Carl get married, grow up and grow old. They collect money for their adventures, but broken tyres and burst pipes quickly reduce it. Now alone, Carl fends off the rise of skyscrapers on his doorstep and young club members earning their “Help The Elderly badge.” To the amazement of all, Carl unleashes thousands of balloons attached to his and Ellie’s house which drifts away into the sky, ready for adventure.

This film is so good that it’s practically a turning point in animation. In recent years Pixar has matured from producing purely sentimental comedies and is now making movies still packed with humour, but with deeper characters and pathos. The first section of Up is more moving than a lot of films ever achieve. From there the film becomes increasingly comedic but sustains its rich ideas with one of the best scripts in animated films. If you liked WALL-E then you can expect even more from Up.

Nick Grills