DVD reviews: UP Blu-Ray

by Lynn Ansell

Format Blu-ray From Sony Pictures Rated PG

There have been a few grumbles from the critical fraternity about Pixar’s latest CG animation caper. I guess it’s hard, with each successful release, to keep the surprise factor when there’s inevitably a certain look to the digital animation style that, after awhile, starts to become part of the furniture.

Pixar needn’t worry, however, because Up rollicked and rolled its way up the film charts world-wide (with a fantastic showing in NZ), and will very probably lead the DVD and Blu-ray best-seller lists right through the holiday season.

In fact, Up is a very good movie, and will appeal to both kids and parents without either getting restless.

The story concerns an elderly chap who decides to make an airship out of thousands of helium-filled balloons to fulfill the wish of his deceased wife: to travel to South America. Except a young stowaway has attached himself to the ship, meaning the recluse has to start to deal with his issues.

This doesn’t sound like the most promising subject matter, but believe me, the result is a good deal better than Ice Age 2, and it’s as inventive as it is heartwarming.

More importantly for Tone readers, it’s a worthy disc to add to the Blu-ray collection. The transfer to Blu-ray is without any detectible visual faults, and the audio is equally stunning on a decent home theatre system. Up is a great movie to show off to your friends, because CG animations like this pick up astonishing detail, and technically, this is one of the best of its kind.

Bonus features are legion (well, maybe not quite that many but…) with all sorts of fun stuff that surpasses the usual by-rote ‘making of’ featurettes. It’s very possible that the creators of Up had just about as much fun on the extras as they did on the feature itself.

Sound 5

Image 5

Movie 4