Up is proof that Pixar is maturing towards genius in storytelling, animation and cinematography. The design of each and every environment is exquisite, particularly the interior of Carl Fredricksen's house. With Up, Pixar has created a version of the world full of fantasy and intrigue that comes closer to watching my imagination than anything I've seen on screen before. In short, I loved this film, it was perfection.

The story Up tells is timeless. Its core is familiar, and successfully rooted in reality before transcending into reverie. Carl, the old man in the film, loses his beloved wife Ellie after a long and happy life together. While they were younger, they dreamed of becoming adventurers, but instead settled into a routine until it was too late. Faced with the prospect of being shipped off to a retirement home after a unfortunate conflict with a real estate developer who wants his land, Carl decides to check out by unleashing thousands of balloons and traveling off to Paradise Falls in South America. Unbeknownst to him, he has a stowaway...a young Wilderness Explorer (think Boy Scouts reinvented without the military undertones and with a greater focus on environmentalism) in search of a "helping the elderly" badge whom he tried to ignore the day before.

The film is great for all ages since it can be taken at face value as a tale of discovery and exploration, or as a slightly more complex allegory about carrying the past as a burden. Far from being a lesson in regret, the denouement is uplifting and optimistic.

Pixar also proves that avoiding Disney's anthropomorphic tricks can lead to powerful characterizations that are easy to relate to. The animal characters are almost Chaplin-esque in their mannerisms, relying on movement for expression rather than humanistic eyes and facial expressions. Even the voices given to the dogs in the film avoid the common trap of becoming more of a human in an animal's body with clever writing that evokes what we all transpose onto animals as an internal dialogue in real life.

The Bottom line: Up is sweet without being saccharine, touching without being contrived, funny without being stupid, and above all else...intensely satisfying. See it if you haven't. You won't be disappointed.