Jetzt aber: Oben und seine Kritiken

Nachdem der erste Teaser des neuen Pixars veröffentlicht wurde, blieb eine Begeisterung wie bei WALL•E oder Ratatouille aus. Ich hätte auch nicht gedacht, dass er nur Annähernd an Pixars vorherigen Film rankommt. Doch die Kritiken überschlagen sich und unterstreichen mal wieder, dass Pixar keinenfalls den Bach runtergeht und: Das sie für die derzeit besten Filme stehen. Hier nun eine kleine Zusammenfassung der Kritiken zu Oben:

(Die nun folgenden Zitate sind frei von schweren Spoilern. Die vollständige Kritik womöglich nicht. Deswegen aufpassen ;) )

"Those, you might say, were the compass points of last summer's Pixar wonder WALL-E, of which Docter was the original director (before handing the project to Andrew Stanton). There are other similarities between that futurist galactic epic and Up, which will open the Cannes Film Festival on May 13 and come to North American theaters on May 29. Both movies are about lonely creatures — a droid left on Earth, a man whose cherished wife has died — taking a perilous trip. Both protagonists are stout and box-shaped and don't talk much. Both films, under the thrill-ride wrapping, are unabashed love stories. And though it's not yet summer, we can declare that Up, like WALL-E, will prove to be one of the most satisfying movie experiences of its year

[...]

Since this character study is also an action-adventure film, Carl has to go somewhere — Paradise Falls, obviously.

[...]


Extending the patented Pixar mix of humor and heart, Up is the studio's most deeply emotional and affecting work."
~Time Magazine

"Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, the gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it.

[...]

Even with its PG rating (the first non-G-rated Pixar picture since "The Incredibles"), there really is no demographic that won't respond to its many charms.

The Chaplin-esque influence is certainly felt in the stirring prelude, tracing the formative years of the film's 78-year-old protagonist, recent widower Carl Fredricksen (terrifically voiced by Ed Asner).

Borrowing "WALL-E's" poetic, economy of dialogue and backed by composer Michael Giacchino's plaintive score, the nostalgic waltz between Carl and the love of his life, Ellie, effectively lays all the groundwork for the fun stuff to follow.

[...]

Meanwhile, those attending theaters equipped with the Disney Digital 3-D technology will have the added bonus of experiencing a three-dimensional process that is less concerned with the usual "comin' at ya" razzle-dazzle than it is with creating exquisitely detailed textures and appropriately expansive depths of field."
~The Hollywood Reporter

"This is a wonderful film. It tells a story.The characters are as believable as any characters can be who spend much of their time floating above the rain forests of Venezuela. They have tempers, problems, and obsessions. They are cute and goofy, but they aren't cute in the treacly way of little cartoon animals. They're cute in the human way of the animation master Hayao Miyazaki.

[...]

The adventures on the jungle plateau are satisfying in a Mummy/Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones sort of way. But they aren't the whole point of the film. This isn't a movie like "Monsters vs. Aliens," that's mostly just frenetic action. There are stakes here, and personalities involved, and two old men battling for meaning in their lives. And a kid who, for once, isn't smarter than all the adults. And a loyal dog. And an animal sidekick. And always that house and its balloons."
~Roger Ebert

"At just 89 minutes, "Up" is unusually short for a Pixar film, and the action climax comes on rapidly.

[...]

Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances, most importantly from Asner, Plummer and nonpro Nagai, exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michael Giacchino's full-bodied, traditional score is superlative, developing beautiful themes as it sweeps the action along on emotional waves."
~Variety

"The story is as unconventional as can be, making even WALL-E (the company's last brilliant effort) look like a straight-forward narrative. The film kicks off some time ago with newsreel footage entitled 'Spotlight on Adventure', which tells the tale of explorer Charles Muntz, a Lindbergh-like figure beloved the world over until an unfortunate incident involving the discovery of a (possibly imaginary) prehistoric bird in exotic Paradise Falls.

[...]

There then follows one of the great sequences in the Pixar canon thus far - a marvellous, moving montage that illustrates the blossoming love between the couple as they hit their teens, fall for each other, get married and grow old together. Yet this isn't some rose-tinted view of wedded bliss, but rather a more realistic and well-rounded account, with the downs - some of them truly heartbreaking - covered alongside the ups in a brilliant, beautiful and all-too brief passage of film.

[...]

That's the set-up, and what follows is a truly magical journey into the unknown, the details of which we're not about to reveal here, but sufficed to say it's chock full of action and adventure, featuring nods to Tarzan and Indiana Jones, a dash of Dr. Moreau thrown in for good measure, and even some Bond-esque antics during the grandstanding finale.

[...]

In this way, Up tackles some seriously heavy issues in the most entertaining way imaginable, and such juxtaposition is aided by the animation, which remains colourful even when the tone of the film turns dark. Where WALL-E's earthly vistas were practically photo-realistic, Up utilises a more stylised form of animation, and the result is a true feast for the eyes that perfectly complements the film's flights of fancy.
~IGN Movies

"Was für bildersatte US-Kids ein mittelgruseliger Popcornspaß sein mag, gerät für den reiferen Zuschauer zur augenzwinkernden Reflexion über (Patchwork-)Familienwerte und die Macht der Anschauung gegenüber der puren Vorstellung. Der kinderlose Witwer und einstige Jahrmarktsballonverkäufer Carl sieht sein Holzhäuschen umstellt von Wolkenkratzern. Statt sich in eine Seniorenresidenz abschieben zu lassen, bricht er, Ellie zu Ehren, zur stets aufgeschobenen Traumreise aus, zu den nicht eben paradiesischen "Paradise Falls" in Südamerika.

[...]

Qualität ist ausdrücklich auch die Richtschnur der Pixar-Leute in ihren bislang zehn Filmen; mit Up stellen sie dies erneut eindrucksvoll unter Beweis. Wobei sie neben der schönen 3D-Spielerei auf eine vierte Dimension setzen: Rührung. Technischer formuliert: die verbraucherseitige Produktion von Tränenflüssigkeit. Da darf das Bild sogar mal unscharf sein."
~Die Zeit

"Nun hat 3D, wie „Up“ es einsetzt oder kürzlich „Monsters & Aliens“, mit den alten 3D-Versuchen etwa der „Creature from the Black Lagoon“ oder anderen Jack-Arnold-Filmen der Fünfziger nicht mehr viel tun. Und die Macher von Pixar lassen sich nicht dazu hinreißen, mit den damals so beliebten Effekten das Publikum zum Kreischen zu bringen, als Echsenschwänze durch den Saal schlugen. Vielmehr erzählen sie ihre Geschichte mit atemberaubend brillanten Animationen tatsächlich von ihren Figuren, nicht von den Möglichkeiten der Technik aus.

[...]

Der Reichtum an Phantasie, der neben der perfekten Ausführung in die Gestaltung geflossen ist, ist enorm. Und mit den Figuren, die winzig sind, in 3D durch ein Gewitter zu fliegen, mit einem Paradiesvogel durch den Dschungel zu tapsen und einfach nur für die Dauer des Films mit den Blicken in einem Raum unterwegs zu sein, in den man meint, hineintreten zu können, das war schon ein hübscher Auftakt für das, was jetzt noch kommt."
~FAZ

"Die Effekte bleiben diskret, "Up" ist genau nicht jener Typ von filmischer Nervensäge, der eigentlich auf den Jahrmarkt gehört, wo man dem Spektakel aber nur ein paar Minuten lang ausgesetzt ist.[...]Am Ende ist die Moral von "Up" die der 3D-Entwicklung insgesamt: Das Leben und das Kino sind immer ein Abenteuer, auch ohne Effekthascherei."
~Süddeutsche Zeitung