Up

I freely admit that I love the movies that Pixar makes. I've got many of them on DVD. This is the company that allowed Steve Jobs to return to Apple Computer and save it from almost certain death. Of course, if you suffered through Vista, I suppose you can thank Steve for bringing Mac OS X to the masses and forcing Microsoft to play catch up (and badly), but there you go. I hear the next Windows OS looks a whole lot better, so good things come to those who wait. For their system to reboot.

But I'm not talking trash about Windows, at least not today. Instead, here is a list of things you need to know about Pixar's newest offering, Up. I shall not discuss the plot in any detail, so don't be afraid of spoilers.

1. Bring tissues. I don't care if you're a linebacker. Bring lots, because everyone around you will need them. In the first 10 minutes. I am not lying.
2. If you're wondering if splurging for the 3D version is worth it, it isn't. There are a few scenes that are perhaps made more visually interesting, but I spent a good part of the movie taking my glasses off to make sure they worked. Frankly, I'm happy about that as 3D is yet another fad to get us to go to the theaters instead of waiting for the DVD or HBO broadcast. Or just lifting the damned thing from the web.
3. There are some scary moments here. The auditorium was filled with fairly small children, and there are some scenes with dogs that would have freaked the heck out of me at age 4, especially in 3D. In contrast, Wall*E was very tame (although less consistent in the quality of animation - first half was stunning, second half cartoony).
4. Joe Mortensen of the Wall Street Journal has not the slightest bit of his childhood left in his memory, and his negative review was undeserved. However, he did correctly note that the music for the movie is superb (as a musician, I tend to notice these things - Michael Nyman ruined "The Piano" with his terrible score).
5. If you have a child in Scouting, you will particularly like this movie.
6. Did I mention that you should bring tissues? Well, you should.
7. If you aren't bringing a child to see the movie (and there's really no need to if you don't have one handy), you can show up about 10 minutes late so that you can miss the kid's version of "The 20" as well as the kid trailers. However, don't be *any* later than that - the first 10 minutes of the movie is a clinic on how to present backstory.
8. The dog has the best name ever! Especially the spelling.

While I'm not terribly sure that this was the best movie of 2009, it will certainly be in the top 10, and almost certainly the best animated feature. My highest recommendation.