UP – Blu-ray Disc Review

October 31, 2009 – 2:05 AM - Posted by: Justin Sluss

Tags: BD-Live, Bob Peterson, Bonus View, Christopher Plummer, David Kaye, Delroy Lindo, Digital Copy, Disney, Edward Asner, Jerome Ranft, John Ratzenberger, Jordan Nagai, Pixar

has an average rating of 8.5 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 MA & DTS-HD 2.0 MA
are great with a DVD & Digital Copy
–
– 2009
– 96 minutes
– Pixar (Disney)
–
Disc 1 uses 41.4GB total.
Disc 2 uses 17.8GB total.
Street Date: November 10th, 2009

Overall Verdict – Very Highly Recommended

Buy it for $17.99 @ Amazon.com

— Review by: Justin Sluss & Brendan Surpless —

Trailer:

The Movie Itself is directed and written by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson (Docter is known for directing “Monsters Inc” while Peterson was one of the writers on “Ratatouille“). “Carl Fredricksen” (voiced by Ed Asner), a man who has just recently lost the woman of his life “Ellie” (voiced by Elie Docter), is in the midst of flying his house to South America after making a decade long promise to his wife. Along the way Carl finds out that a young boy by the name of “Russell” (voiced by Jordan Nagai) has someone found his way onto the porch of Carl’s house. Clearly not being a cruel old man (even though he is bitter), Carl decides to bring Russell along (does he really have a choice). Without giving away any more of the plot, the rest of the film sees Carl finding out more about him, especially what made him the man his wife dearly loved. What results is a film that made me utter ‘Only Pixar could make a film about a flying house fantastic’.

It’s easy to say that “UP” is an excellent film because well it is. But “UP” is more than an excellent film simply because it shows that Pixar is growing not only as a company but as an animation leader. Before they were revolutionizing the world with “Toy Story” in 1995, Disney was the king because they were able to make films not only with impressive imagery but also they were successful in making movies that had heart and emotion. Perhaps because of the type of company Pixar has become, other animated rivals have really stopped trying in my opinion. Sure the films they create are a visual treat (especially in hi-def) but none of them really have any true quality to them. Pixar’s “UP” is the definition of a film with heart and emotion.

Choosing to not really have much dialogue in the film for the first 15 or so minutes akin to that of their last effort in “Wall-E“, these initial minutes are heartwarming, endearing and, well, sad. As we learn of the kind of relationship Carl and his wife had (through a beautiful arrangement of music courtesy of Michael Giacchino), the story begins to unwrap itself in front of us. And I’m not unashamed to admit that this movie had me on the brink of tears. Not because the film was sad no; rather, the movie was endearing. Items like this are why Pixar are kings at what they do. They understand the definition of what life is. Each of their films have dealt with a different aspect of the human life. “Toy Story’s” (growing up), “A Bug’s Life” (being a leader), “Monster’s Inc” (sense of what goes bump in the night), “Finding Nemo” (parents protecting their kin) “The Incredibles” (family togetherness), “Cars” (sense of competition and realizing who you are), “Ratatouille” (sense of accepting what’s different in the world as one), “Wall-E” (environmental issues humans deal with) and finally “UP” (sense of discovering oneself after loss).

The real reason why “UP” connects with audiences in the manner it does is because we all know someone who has gone through what Carl has. The sense of losing a loved one is painful and can make you bitter and cranky. But the importance of finding and realizing who you are is even more important. Pixar nailed it on the head here. There isn’t a studio out there that understands the art of the film the way Pixar does. No one studio has the rate of success in terms of box office and film quality that Pixar has and there’s a reason one. They have some of the most talented group of workers that not only understand how to make a film but they realize that animation is more that putting stupid characters doing things that make no sense on screen (*cough* other studios *cough*). Heart is key here folks.

In closing, “UP” is the definition of an animation masterpiece. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. Pixar is the best animation studio out today….period… With heart, pure emotion, an excellent story, stunning visuals and an all-around great style and range of voice actors, Pixar’s “UP” is the best animated film I’ve see yet and just may be the best film I’ve seen all year long. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, pun intended.

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I (Brendan Surpless) commented about a year ago in my review of “Wall-E” that the transfer was absolutely breathtaking and was something we only dream about. Well this should come as no real surprise but Pixar has completely knocked it out of the park with “UP“. Entirely in digital, “UP” arrives on Blu-ray with a perfect transfer. Colors are accurate with deep, bold blacks and blues but also bright yellows and greens. In fact every aspect of the color spectrum is fantastic with no real color not looking amazing. The balloons on top of the house serve as a great example of the color spectrum; obviously. Speaking of those, one of my more favorite sequences is the initial scene where “Carl” launches his house from his property into the sky using those balloons. As the house takes off, the detail of the blue sky is simply, well… PERFECT! This is the kind of image that feels like you’re looking through a glass window. Something that we wish every animated feature today would have. Detail is utterly jaw-dropping with numerous instances throughout the film of very fine detail and textures. If you don’t believe us, be sure to take a look at some of the screenshots we captured for a small treat of what’s to come when you purchase this on Blu-ray.

We will be honest and mention that we could go on and on with examples of why this is one of the best, if not the best, transfers we’ve seen PERIOD since the launch of the format in June of 2006. It’s definite that Pixar has become known for not only their incredible film catalog but also their Hi-Def transfers of not only their current film catalog but also their older films as well. Easily continuing in this awesome tradition, “UP” easily earns a perfect “5 Star Rating” for overall video quality. There’s even some “3-D pop” in some shots without even using 3-D technology such as crappy cardboard glasses. It’s a great thing in fact that they didn’t bother trying to include a 3-D version of this and focused on the standard (2-D) presentation.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in both DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio and DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio Stereo. I’m not totally sure which they chose to include a DTS-HD MA stereo mix but it’s certainly something new on Disney‘s releases and it makes sense actually. Keep in mind that a large majority of the target audience for this film might BE watching this in Hi-Def on a HDTV but they may NOT even have a AVR (stereo receiver) with 5.1 or 7.1 speakers in their living room like most of us. That’s why it makes sense to include this specific DTS-HD MA stereo mix for those using the speakers on their television (as bad as they might be). Also even those with just a 2.1 stereo configuration will enjoy (make use) out of this DTS-HD 2.0 mix but the folks like myself, they will obviously be opting for that DTS-HD 5.1 MA to hear the film in it’s true glory. Speaking of which I’ll now actually analyze a bit of the audio portion of this release. I just felt that since this included the DTS-HD 2.0 I would explain why it was likely included. I hope I didn’t ramble too much about it. Now, back to the audio.

First thing you’ll notice here is the dialogue, here the opening “MovieTown News” narration. It’s delivered very distinctly and perfectly through primarily the front center channel with a bit of presence at times in the left and right front channels. Occasionally you’ll hear a voice maybe out of the rear channels but it’s not too common. The rear channels do get a real good amount of attention here though it really is the film’s sound effects and original music that get the most of that attention. The LFE is great and sure to leave your subwoofer rattling the room a couple times in some action sequences but for the most part it’s not really going to “blow your socks off”. The mix is definitely perfect, by definition “reference material” yet it is not really “in your face” type action, explosions and such that you come to expect from that. It works with the film’s wonderful subject matter and it does it complete justice. You will definitely be drawn in as much by the sound here as you will be by the film’s amazing CG animation visually. This earns Pixar (Disney) yet another “5 Star Rating” for overall audio quality. This has really become something to expect from these films and the studio itself. Major kudos to the folks at both Disney and most importantly Pixar on a job well done here in terms of sound.

Bonus Materials on this release are presented in Hi-Def video quality using AVC MPEG-4 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo @192kbps — unless otherwise noted in the description below.

Disc 1 includes:

• BD-Live is included on this Disney release and requires the user to be on a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player with internet connectivity. This feature has not been enabled yet, at time of writing this review so I can’t really tell you what all is included aside from the usual Disney BD-Live interface and options.

• “Cine-Explore” is included on this release and features Picture-In-Picture (PIP) video commentary from co-writer/director Pete Docter. This uses Bonus View to achieve the onscreen commentary as the film goes. Meaning, this requires the user to be on a “Profile 1.1” capable Blu-ray Disc Player to access this feature. This is a definite treat from start to finish, just like the one’s included on other Pixar Blu-ray releases such as “Cars“.
• “Partly Cloudy” (5:46) is the original short that run with the film theatrically. This features great video quality and Dolby Digital 5.1 @640kbps sound.
• “Dug’s Special Mission” (4:40) is an all-new original short done specifically for the home video release of “UP“. This ties in to the actual film itself near the end. This, just like the other short, features great video quality and Dolby Digital 5.1 @640kbps sound. Below you’ll find a clip from this short provided by Disney.

• “Adventure is Out There” (22:17) takes a look at the trip the folks at Pixar who worked on the film took to South America to research the Tepui and rock formations, as well as the “Angel Falls” waterfall which served as inspiration for the “Paradise Falls” in the film. This is really interesting for those who appreciate how these animated films are made and what serves as inspiration, reference to the artists. Sadly though, most audiences, especially kids, will be bored by this lengthy featurette.
• “Alternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz” (4:56) takes a look at some of the alternate ways they tried to kill or resolve things with the character. This is best left for after the film as it obviously contains a spoiler.
• “The Egg” (1:55) is actually an “easter egg” with a very witty title. To find this, hit the left direction button on your Blu-ray Disc Player’s remote control at the menu and you’ll see the featurette come up. Hit enter to play it and enjoy!

Disc 2 includes the following bonus content:

• “Geriatric Hero” (6:24)
• “Canine Companions” (8:26)
• “Russell: Wilderness Explorer” (9:00)
• “Our Giant Flightless Friend, Kevin” (5:04)
• “Homemakers of Pixar” (4:38)
• “Balloons and Flight” (6:25)
• “Composing for Characters” (7:37)
• “Alternate Scene: Married Life” (9:13)
• “UP Promo Montage” (5:52)
• “Global Guardian Badge Game” is an interactive game (powered by BD-Live) in which Russell is your guide. You pick our states on the map from your location you pick or so forth. This is a pretty fun game even for adults to refresh their memories of states they might have forgotten or to teach your kids their states.
• “Worldwide Trailer” features “Theatrical Trailer #2” (1:48) and “Theatrical Trailer #3” (2:29). Both are in Dolby Digital 5.1 @448kbps sound.

Disc 3 contains a DVD of the film in Standard Definition as well as the standard DVD bonus materials.

Disc 4 contains a Digital Copy of the film which is compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media — Mac and PC.

Overall, the bonus materials we get here a really in-depth to a degree but may not be as lengthy as some would expect. Plus, you have to factor in the “Cine-Explore” Picture-In-Picture video commentary which is very enjoyable and exclusive to the Blu-ray. The fact that a DVD and Digital Copy are included, in addition to the other bonus content is just icing on the cake. This earns an impressive “4.5 Star Rating” for bonus materials. Fans will definitely be happy!

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

Screenshots:

NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.

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