So this is the very first movie I watched in New York City (well…since 2006 anyways).

When I was sitting in the cinema with the Buddy Holly 3D glasses on, I realized that I knew nothing about the story of this film even though I had seen the trailer. I knew that it was about 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen who flies his house to South America by attaching hundreds of balloons to it (a very brilliant man, I wish I had thought of that, then I would have all my stuff here…). What completely took me by surprise is the story that leads up to this rather unusual event. It starts with Carl as a young boy, wanting to be an explorer, but being a shy and scared kid he only fantasizes about adventure. One day he meets little Ellie who actually plans on becoming an adventurer when she grows up. They become best friends, fall in love and eventually get married. She is everything to him and his greatest dream is to make her happy and go on the adventure with her that they had been planning since childhood. But before they can finally go, Ellie dies. Carl is so upset about the loss of his loved one that he becomes a bitter old man. For Ellie, he goes on their big adventure alone. What he didn’t plan on was taking the little boy scout Russell along with him.

So this is only the beginning of the story. The main part is, of course, the journey and what happens on the way to Carl’s dream destination.

Up is made with so much love that it really goes right to your heart. I was incredibly moved by Ellie’s death. I haven’t felt this sad watching a movie in a really long time. I know it is supposed to be a fun movie with a positive outlook on life because Carl finds a way to move on and live his life without Ellie, but I found it mainly depressing, at least two thirds of it.  Disney/Pixar always put so much effort and detail into their films that it is so lovely to watch them, though. I guess if you are spending that much time working on it, the film becomes very precious to the film-makers and nothing is rushed or “accidentally” put in. I really think this is one of the best 3D animated films I have seen. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it!

I have never actually seen a Disney movie in 3D before (I don’t think I have seen any full length 3D film…just a short when I went to Universal Studios a long time ago…how odd…), but Up isn’t a film that has to be seen in 3D. It doesn’t really make good use of the effect. But it was still quite fun to have the feeling of almost being able to touch the characters.

The new Pixar/Walt Disney film is about a love story between two robots.

The earth is completely full of rubbish and robots are cleaning it all up while mankind has fled to big ships in space, supposedly for five years. 700 years later WALL-E seems to be the last robot on earth still cleaning. The humans have not yet returned to earth. The clumsy little robot is living in a broken truck with his pet cockroach and meanwhile has a huge collection of things he has found in the piles of trash he’s been cleaning up all this time (similar to Ariel’s collection in The Little Mermaid).

One day a big space rocket lands and the beautiful robot EVE is left on earth to see if any plants have started growing again. WALL-E immediately falls in love with EVE, who shows no particular desire to get to know him. In fact, she tries to blow him up.

When EVE gets collected again by the space rocket, WALL-E follows her and the story continues among the humans on a big spaceship.

Even though this is an animation film, it seems to be aimed more at adults that at children. The love between the two robots is a very grown-up love and the film has a political message. The people on the spaceship are what we are heading for at the moment: Everyone is living on a floating chair, with a screen right in front of their faces and food in a shake. They are unbelievably fat, stupid and ignorant.

Of course, WALL-E and EVE change everything and people begin to realize what they are doing and will hopefully now mend their ways.

The film is very cute and even though there is hardly any dialogue it is thoroughly entertaining. I really loved it and recommend it to everyone!

WALL-E is being given the MovieCat Award for outstanding funniness.