UP Blu-ray Review

Look up in the air, it’s one of the best Blu-rays of the year!

PACKAGE:  
Up comes in a four-disc package that – in addition to two BD-50 discs – has a DVD and Digital Copy. Not a bad deal.

The first disc consists of the film and some extras, while the second has a bunch of additional supplements. There are two amusing animated shorts on the first disc: Partly Cloudy and Dug’s Special Mission. I preferred the latter, since it focuses on a dog and serves as additional backstory for the film, but both are very fun little stories.

Then there’s a documentary “Adventure is Out There,”which details the travels of the Pixar crew while they researched the South American land they wished to draw from for the film. It’s a pretty interesting 20 minutes or so, and it admittedly made me a bit jealous.

The rest of the supplemental material scattered across the two discs is mostly just short featurettes on certain aspects of the film, giving some insight into how Pixar does what it does so well. How the score was created, how they came up with the characters, even the physics of the balloons — if you’re into that type of stuff.

The commentary for the film is called “Cine-Explore”, and it supplies picture-in-picture storyboards and videos and drawings that accompany the commentary, but the PiP disappointingly does not add too much to what is being said. Although there is footage of a real dog, which is enough for me to get excited. Have you noticed I like dogs?

But even if the Cine-Explore didn’t exactly blow me away, the total package is more than anyone could ask for at a regular Blu-ray price.

BIAS:
I can’t end this review without saying that Ed Asner is terrific as Carl. Who better to voice a crusty old guy?

At this point, you may think I’m a rabid Pixar fan. Well I’m not, at least not yet — but I seem to be getting there. I do know I had a huge smile on my face while watching Up.

It’s a great movie for anyone, as it manages to evoke just about every emotion you can think of. It also speeds along quick enough for even the shortest of attention spans — although I don’t have a kid of my own to test this on.

Other than the fact that I found the character of Russell a bit annoying, I can’t find much fault in the film. Maybe I didn’t find some of the dog models or animation to be that impressive? I’m reaching quite far here trying to come up with reasons for you to not buy this. Just put it next to the other Pixar films, in the reference section of your Blu-ray library.

Verdict:  AVOID / CONSIDER / RENT / BUY / TREASURE

Editor’s Note: This is a review of a Region 1 release. UP is also available for all Region 2 territories.

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One Response to “UP Blu-ray Review”

1. Adam Doree says:

   December 22, 2009 at 10:45 pm

   I heart Pixar
   This was a day one US import for me.

   Reply