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Up: Reviewed by Aidan

Up is an adventure,comedy brought to us by Disney-Pixar animation and is fun for the whole family. Up is about a 78-year-old balloon salesman named Carl Fredricksen. When Carl's beloved wife dies and his quiet residential street is overtaken by property moguls for high-rise building development, Carl finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. Carl gets a crazy surprise when he discovers all too late that he has a stow away on the trip; an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

Up follows the relationship development between Carl and Russell. Carl learns to tolerate Russell's cheerfulness and innocent optimism. Carl and Russell learn that they are not alone in a remote part of South America. They discover and befriend a spectacularly coloured bird and a talking dog! An old hero of Carl's also resides in this remote place, who so happens to be obsessed with capturing Carl and Russell's new pet bird. Carl and Russell end up fighting for their bird's freedom, as well as their own.

Critics have generally rated Up very favourably. Critics have commended this movie for the way it deals with the challenges of old age, its visual magic and the way the movie moves through so many different kinds of cinematic styles-quite impressive ingredients and meaning for an animated feature. My review of Up is not as good and excited as many reviews for Up. I liked Up, but I found it quite forgettable, and at times annoying. I found the pet bird really annoying and hoped it would be lost somewhere in the South American jungle, so we viewers no longer had to hear its terrible sqwark. The action scenes in the jungle setting are quite dull. Jungle, waterfall settings offer plenty of opportunity for exciting chases and battles, but Up doesn't take advantage of that opportunity. The characters are likeable and as you watch, you find yourself becoming more fond of Russell's childish optimism and cheering for old Carl as he manages to be heroic when it counts. I give Up 3 stars.

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