So I just went and saw 'Up' with my parents, since they both took the day off.


OOOOMG YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. I seriously cried more at this movie than I think I have at any other Pixar movie, or any other Disney movie at all. When you go see it (and you DAMN WELL BETTER GO SEE IT), bring yourself a box of tissues. BIG. CROCODILE. TEARS. Like, you know the part in Finding Nemo when Coral is killed by the barracuda, or the end of Monsters Inc. where Sulley walks into Boo's room and she says "Kitty!" and his face lights up? Or the Sarah McLaughlan song in Toy Story 2, and how at all of those points you totally tear up? It's like the Pixar guys went "Hey, you know those parts? Let's see if you can handle THIS, you SISSIES! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

Like, I knew that the montage towards the beginning of the movie with Carl and Ellie getting married and growing old together was going to make me cry, but geez I practically started in right as that montage started. Maybe it's just because I've been in a crying mood most of the week anyway, but I'm not certain it was just me, since I heard a whoooole lot of loud snorts and snuffles in the theater during that part. And that wasn't the only part I cried at, either...several other moments, like just whenever they played her theme song, or when Carl was looking through Ellie's Adventure Book towards the end made me real teary.

But aside from the snuffles, oh goodness this movie was gorgeous. Pixar movies are always gorgeous because dammit they know how to do their stuff, but at times the movie had such a Miyazaki feel to it, just in the scale and color they used. Pixar just has this ability to make things look so simple and so subtle, yet believable. I love any movie that's able to get its point across with as little dialogue as possible.

Of course, Dug and all of the trained dogs were absolutely hilarious, because you just know that's what a dog would actually talk like if they were speaking. This kind of completely honest but sincere running your mouth with excitement kind of talk. And there were just some moments that teetered on the edge of unbelievable, but still plausible...like the dogs pouring wine, cooking food and flying biplanes. XD Yet still behaving like dogs whenever they saw a squirrel or a ball.

I actually wasn't expecting the movie to be as frightening as it was at parts. While it definitely wasn't the focus of the story, there were some real Indiana Jones moments in terms of scope, stunts and danger the characters were involved in, and the villain had a 'The Most Dangerous Game'-feel of polite insanity and callous disregard for life. And you basically had moments were two bad-backed senior citizens were duking it out with swords and canes, and it was still cool. I loved the message that you don't have to be young and pretty to be an action hero.

Looking back on it, I'm getting the feeling that there's actually a lot more to Russel than was said in the movie. You get the sense that he had a much harder childhood than he's letting on, when he's really just like any other kid out there: he wants his parents to be proud of him. That is one thing I definitely loved about the movie: there was never a wasted moment. When you do something like ADVENTURES IN THE JUNGLES OF SOUTH AMERICA, there' probably this HUGE temptation to go off on a tangent with the characters running into something else wild and crazy, or getting stuck somewhere in peril, but there wasn't any shot wasted. In fact, they probably could have added in some more scenes and the movie still would've sat fine.

And honestly? This is not a movie for kids. There's lots of stuff that may APPEAL to kids, like how Russel acts and the dogs and the adventure in the jungle, but this is not a movie FOR kids. The whole beginning of the movie, Carl's main motivation and the major themes of it were all things that only adults would really respond to, because it's all about looking back on your life and discovering what really was important to you.

Oh, and a final note: since we accidentally missed the first part, we went to a showing of the movie in 3D instead. I've never seen any movies in the new SUPAH-DUPAH 3D before, so that in itself was a new experience. It took me awhile to adjust to it, but after awhile I didn't even remember the 3D was there. I don't think it really added to the movie in a significant manner, other than "hey that was cool" moments, but it certainly didn't detract from it at all.


The bottom line: GO SEE THIS MOVIE. I'm gonna go see it again at the El Capitan with friends, easy. I've been having a really crappy week and seeing this movie just helped get out a good chunk of the tears and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.