Up up and away

Up started positively enough. A short film titled Partly Cloudy brought about giggles as memories of how we used to think babies come from was brilliantly put into animation. Funny yet poignant about how friends stick with each other. It was also interesting to look at how someone has to do the stuff that no one wants.

And then it was onto the movie proper. This was a story that talked of how a child, because of his idol, has big dreams. It talks about how he finds the love of his life that shares the same dreams that he has. But life is rarely smooth sailing. You live life and sometimes you get comfortable with it, so much so that you forget the dreams when you were young. And the next thing you know, it's almost too late. And Carl (the old man) only sees that when his wife (Ellie) is on her last breath.

But if there's a will then there's a way. Adventure has a way of finding people who need to escape. Stuck alone and with the prospect of being sent to a nursing home staring him in the face, he remembers his dreams and follow it. And tying balloons to his house, he goes up in search of adventure.

Along the way he picks up a virtual menagerie of characters ranging from a young and overly enthusiastic Wilderness Explorer (think scout cub), a talking (!) dog and a weird bird. He learns about friendship and ultimately needing to let go and move of to better things. No sense grieving for what has left when there are new opportunities ahead.

Up is a feel good movie that has enough of a story to keep adults entertained and some parables inside to get some people thinking, while at the same time having enough jokes and visual gags to keep the young uns giggling away.