UP
DVD release date: November 10, 2009
Blu-ray version (some materials may not appear on the DVD version)

Hey, what’s up? I’m here to tell you that Disney/Pixar’s Up aired on DVD and Blu-ray this week and is sure to rise to great success!

This is the GOOD story about a boy floating in the air under a balloon, not that ridiculous hoax that’s been on the news. Up tells the story of Carl Fredicksen, a crotchety old retired balloon salesman who somehow ends up tugging at our heartstrings. After the passing of his wife and other harsh blows that have been dealt to him, Carl is ready for his last chance at excitement. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, Carl sets off to the lost world of his childhood dreams. On his journey, he meets Russell, an overeager eight year old Wilderness Explorer, Dug the dog who has a special collar, allowing him to speak, and Kevin, a rare 13 foot tall flightless bird.

There are some great BONUS FEATURES, too!

Seeing a Pixar movie just isn’t the same without a great animated short preceding the movie, and debuting with Up was PARTLY CLOUDY. This tells the story of Gus, a cloud who delivers “dangerous” babies for the stork to deliver. This little cartoon is cloudy with a sure chance of laughs!

There’s yet another cartoon short, this time letting us in on what happens just before Carl and Russell meet Dug. DUG’S SPECIAL MISSION shows us Dug’s adventure as the other dogs trying to catch Kevin the bird, while keeping Dug at bay.

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE (22:17) is a fascinating documentary of the lengths the Pixar folks went to in order to get inspiration for creating their own world of Paradise Falls. The crew treks to South American and embarks on a fascinating adventure high in the Dupuis mountains for a firsthand look at what seems to be the end of the earth and the perfect stimulation for their research.

THE MANY ENDINGS OF MUNTZ (4:56) focuses on the sensitive matter of how to kill a character. Through interviews, animatics and early sketches, the filmmakers explain the tough decisions in creating the demise of the villainous Charles Muntz.

When I first saw Up in the theatre, during the “married life” sequence in the film, I heard sniffles all around the theater. Like an animated short in itself, the sequence displays the entire life of Carl and his wife, from beginning to end, with nary a word spoken. It’s quite interesting to hear about different possibilities that were considered for this scene and to see the early stages of an ALTERNATE SCENE: MARRIED LIFE (9:15.)

The UP PROMO MONTAGE (6:00) are super quick and super cute little animated segments featuring Carl, Kevin, Russell and the lovable inimitable Dug! Don’t blink… these are just a few seconds each, but all compiled for six minutes of chuckles.

With our BD Live hooked up, we played the GLOBAL GUARDIAN BADGE GAME, and I learned something… I’m dumb! Holy moly! You have to match up combinations of US states, world countries, world capitals and various continents. My son, however, did a lot better than me! These Blu-ray games are so much better than typical DVD games!

There are a couple WORLDWIDE TRAILERS and at least one EASTER EGG that I found on here, so there’s more than immediately meets the eye. Email me if you find any Easter eggs. I’m curious if there’s any I haven’t found.

As if that’s not enough, there is also a section called DOCUMENTARIES, which they pumped up with not one or two, but seven documentaries, each between four and half to nine minutes in length.

So that’s what’s on the Disney/Pixar Up DVD. As usual with Pixar, the great movie and great bonus content doesn’t let down!