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Year 2, Day 142 - 5/22/10 - Movie #509

BEFORE: From a flying city to a floating house, so that worked out pretty well. Unfortunately, I read so much about this movie, because it so universally liked and well-reviewed last year, that I might be going in to it knowing just a bit too much...

THE PLOT: By tying thousands of balloons to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America.

AFTER: I've got to be careful here, not just because this movie is so well-known and loved by millions, but because my wife watched it first (and again over my shoulder), so I could get in trouble if I give it a bad review.

Or if I were to get too hung up on the unbelievability of it all, wondering if it's possible for thousands of balloons to lift a house into the air, or for the wood-framed house to stay together in one piece, despite lacking a foundation. No, I just can't do that...

Or if I were to question the likeliness of just enough balloons popping, so that the house doesn't sail off or fall to the ground, and exact equilibrium is achieved, so that Carl can pull it into position with the use of a garden hose. Man, I could really get myself in hot water by pointing that out...

Or wondering how the invention of a dog collar that enables a dog's barks to be translated into human speech somehow also gives the dog the mental capacity to exactly understand the English language, enabling two-way conversation between the species. No, it's best not to bring these things up at all.

See, it's an animated cartoon, which means anything can happen, and we shouldn't question the physics of it all. See, I'd really be a heartless bastard if I let all that get in the way of me enjoying the movie on an emotional level, wouldn't I? I suppose I did watch "Cars" and not question why the cars had human faces and could speak English. And I did watch "Monsters Inc." and not question why the monsters needed human screams to power their nightmare world. I've got to just roll with the situation that's presented to me here, and try to enjoy the ride.

When I saw Carl's house being surrounded by construction work, and a conglomerate trying to buy his land (or force him out, whichever...) I thought of a recent situation here in New York City. A group of investors led by Bruce Ratner (Booo...) bought up property around a piece of land known as the Atlantic Yards, with the intent of building a giant mall, condo units, and a new home for the Nets basketball team. They bought out (and forced out) a lot of people from their homes, but there was one lone holdout. Then the recession hit, and the entire construction project sort of got put on hold. Meanwhile this poor guy was living in a virtual ghost town in downtown Brooklyn, which couldn't have been safe. Finally he did get a large payout in order to move - so I'm wondering why Carl couldn't have taken the construction company's best offer, or forced them to pay for his home to be moved somewhere else.

See, there I go again, forcing an animated fantasy to conform to my view of how the real world works, or should work. No, I've just got to step back and judge this film based on how well it entertained me, on a comedic and emotional level. I will say that the comic timing in this film was nearly flawless - all of the jokes and surprises landed, largely due to the timing. And of course the emotions are there, due to the flashbacks to his marriage, and the emotional bond Carl ends up forging with Russell and the other characters who join his party.

Starring the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, with cameos from Delroy Lindo and John Ratzenberger.

RATING: 8 out of 10 picture frames - let the sniping commence.