-
Recent releases:
- That They May Face the Rising Sun
- Jericho Ridge
- Civil War
- Mothers' Instinct
- Sweet East, The
- Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire
- Immaculate
- Roaring Twenties, The (reissue)
- Soul
- Dune: part two
- American Star
- Dune: Part 1 (reissue)
- Jerry & Marge Go Large
- Argylle
- Forever Young
- Jackdaw
- All of Us Strangers
- Holdovers, The
- Mean Girls
- Poor Things
Up (3D)
Stars: Voices: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Delroy Lindo, John Ratzenberger, Bob Peterson, Elie Docter
Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
A jolly 3D adventure from the Pixar people, with a surprisingly watchable elderly hero (not sure about his dragging that house around, though) and his even more ancient adversary. 3D effects - apart from dog-piloted aircraft zooming into the screen - are unobtrusive and the film would be just as entertaining in a 'flat' ratio.
Once a kid with a taste for adventure who married a girl who dreamed of going to South America's Paradise Falls, Frederickson (Asner) is now a cantankerous old widower whose beloved home stands in the centre of a building site - as a result of his being the last holdout against developers.
After being ordered out following a confrontation with authority, Frederickson ties a thousand balloons to his house and floats away into the sky, taking with him a tubby Junior Scout, Russell (Nagai), who neded a 'care for the elderly' badge to become a senior.
Naturally, they land not over the rainbow, but in South America, where Russell befriends a brightly-coloured giant bird and, dragging the house behind them, they ultimately encounter explorer Hurtz (Plummer), the old man's boyhood idol, but now a madman with a zeppelin and a army of dogs, who seems to have overtaken Frederickson in age and covets - you guessed it - the giant bird. Kids of all ages will enjoy it.
David Quinlan
USA 2009. UK Distributor: Walt Disney. Colour by deluxe/Technicolor.
96 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: U.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.
Review date: 05 Oct 2009