[November 07, 2009]

'Up' soars on home video: Pixar's latest animated adventure looks likely to be the biggest DVD and Blu-ray release of the year. And it should be. [Star Tribune, Minneapolis]

(Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 7--For sheer exhilaration, no movie this year has topped Pixar's latest masterpiece, "Up." The animated movie rides viewers' emotions like a hot-air balloon drifting along with the shifting winds. Factor in its nearly $300 million box-office haul, all-ages appeal and universal acclaim, and you're left with what is likely to be the year's biggest home-video release.

"Up" arrives Tuesday on DVD and Blu-ray (Disney, $30-$46). The film follows an elderly widower, Carl, as he takes an unexpected adventure with an 8-year-old stowaway, Russell, in a house buoyed by thousands of balloons. They end up in a remote part of South America, where they find a rare flightless bird named Kevin, a dopey talking dog named Dug and a few more surprises.

The high-definition version comes in a four-disc set, which reflects Disney's new focus on family audiences for its flagship releases as much as its aim to deliver a rich set of bonus material. The third disc offers a second copy of the film, plus a few extras, on standard DVD -- the idea being that it's for a second viewing room at home or a DVD player in the car, or for people who plan to upgrade to Blu-ray eventually. The fourth disc contains a digital copy of the film for portable devices and computers.

Aside from the feature film, the most entertaining extra, even though it's less than 5 minutes long, is a new animated short featuring Dug. Called "Dug's Special Mission," it finds the lovable mutt trying to fit in with his cranky canine colleagues, who give him time-wasting tasks that he fails at again and again. Dejection turns to elation when he stumbles upon Carl and Russell. The entire short fits seamlessly within the movie's story, right down to the emotions it elicits, but it needed to be told separately because it's all from Dug's viewpoint.

The 22-minute "Adventure Is Out There" follows the film crew's trek to explore the real-life inspiration for the story's Paradise Falls: South America's tepuis mountains, whose sheer cliffs rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet to a huge tabletop terrain. The remote tepuis fit the plot's needs because, Minnesota-born director Pete Docter says, "We needed a place for Carl to get stuck with this kid with no hope of pawning him off on the nearest policeman or social worker." Watching Docter and his colleagues inch forward toward a cliff's edge to peer at the uninhabited ground (and clouds) thousands of feet below confirms that they did just that.

Two featurettes, one of them hidden among the menu selections, focus on how aspects of the old-time adventurer Muntz's story were cut or altered because they detracted from the main story of Carl.

Among 10 Blu-ray-exclusive extras, Cine-Explore takes the typical filmmakers' commentary and augments it with visuals. For instance, when Docter and co-director Bob Peterson recall that a sketch by Docter -- showing a cranky old man holding a bunch of balloons bearing smiley faces -- inspired the story, the original drawing is superimposed over the movie. Throughout, you get the sense that Docter and Peterson truly enjoyed working together.

"We had a pretty amazing time making this movie," Docter says to Peterson. "It was a really fun project." "Pete, you always look for the heart and entertainment in things," Peterson says. "It was fun. Every day was really fun." It shows in "Up." Randy A. Salas --612-673-4542 To see more of the Star Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.startribune.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, Star Tribune, Minneapolis Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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