This past weekend I (and many others) saw the latest flick from Pixar, Up. I loved it, and while it may not be a masterpiece it left my heart warmer and my face a bit tear stained.  Instead of writing a review I am going to leave you with the Top 10 reasons I loved Up.

See the film and let me know if you feel the same!

1. The opening 10 minutes.  The beautiful, mostly dialogue-less courtship of Ellie and Carl Frederiksen is cinema at its finest. It’s simple, pure and gets to the heart of what it means to be alive. It also had me crying and I couldn’t tell you the last time I cried in the first 10 minutes of a movie.

2. Dug the Dog. Maybe my favorite movie character in a long time.  I now wait for the day when someone says to me “I hid under your porch because I love you.”  I never much wanted to get married but if someone propsed this way (and actually hid under the porch) I might be inclined to say yes.

3. In keeping with Dug, I have always been a dog person.  The fact that a major plot point of the story involved the existence of a group of dogs who wear collars that let us hear what they are thinking made me ridiculously happy. 4. The main character was an old person.  How often do we see the elderly on the big screen, let alone as the star of an action film!? The message that you still have adventure ahead of you no matter your age is a pretty powerful and important one.

5. I like balloons and I like bright colors. A lot.

6. The inclusion of this video in the background of a scene where Carl F. is watching TV:

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7. The still shot during the credit sequence of Carl F. holding up the computer mouse in confusion.  Simple and brilliant. (also any shot of Dug in this sequence)

8. This is more general, but I loved how strange and kind of creepy and dark parts of the film were.  They made the outlandish hilarity, bright colors and sentiment much more meaningful.

9. The words of Charles Muntz: Adventure is out there! He may be a little nuts but his words ring true.

10. The end of this dialogue sequence is logic I can totally get down with:

[Carl and Russell find Dug in a South American desert]
Russell: [pets Dug] Hey, I like dogs!
Carl Fredricksen: [calling out] We have your dog!
Russell: [Dug walks around Russell] Whoa.
Carl Fredricksen: I wonder who he belongs to?
Russell: Sit boy.
[Dug sits]
Russell: Hey look, he’s trained! Shake.
[Dug shakes his paw]
Russell: Uh-huh. Speak.
Dug: Hi there.
Russell, Carl Fredricksen: [surprised exclamations]
Carl Fredricksen: Did that dog just say “Hi there”?
Dug: Oh yes.
Carl Fredricksen: Whaa!
Dug: My name is Dug. I have just met you, and I love you.
[he jumps up on Carl]
Carl Fredricksen: Wha…
Dug: My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master and he made me this collar so that I may speak. Squirrel!
[looks to distance for a few seconds]
Dug: My master is good and smart.
Carl Fredricksen: It’s not possible!
Dug: Oh it is because my master is smart!
Russell: Cool! What do these do, boy?
[Russell starts to fiddle with a dial on Dug's collar]
Dug: [cycling through languages and different voices] Hey would you -
[Spanish]
Dug: - I use that collar -
[Japanese]
Dug: - to talk with - I would be happy if you stop.
Carl Fredricksen: Russel, don’t touch that. It could be… radioactive or something.
Dug: I am a great tracker. My pack sent me on a special mission, all by myself. Have you seen a bird? I am going to find one, and I am on the scent. I am a great tracker; did I mention that?
[Dug is suddenly attacked by Kevin, who shrieks in Dug's face after pinning him to the ground]
Dug: Hey, that is a bird! I have never seen one up close, but this is a bird. May I take your bird back to camp as my prisoner?
Carl Fredricksen: Yes, yes, take it! And on the way, learn how to bark like a real dog!
Dug: I can bark.
[barks]
Dug: And this is howling.
[howls]
Dug: [Kevin screeches]
Russell: Can we keep him? Please, please, please?
[Carl says "No."]
Carl Fredricksen: No.
Russell: But it’s a TALKING DOG!