Blu-ray Review: UP, Best Movie of the Year is One of the Best Blu-ray Releases of 2009

Up Blu-ray

I’ll admit I didn’t see Up in the theater. By the time it was released I was burned out on 3D Animated films and frankly I’m not a big Pixar fan. I know that’s blasphemy to say. While I can appreciate the technical brilliance of the films and the obvious love and care that Pixar puts into them I never connected with them. I didn’t like Wall-E, Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and I thought The Incredibles was just ok. The Pixar film that I actually love was Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. After catching UP on Blu-ray I have to go along with the crowd.

Movie

The first 11 minutes of this movie is probably one of the best Romantic movies I’ve seen all year with an ending that rips your heart out and it’s all done without much dialogue.  It does a brilliant job of setting up the rest of the movie. Next to Star Trek, UP is probably the best film that I’ve seen all year. But man is this movie depressing. The commercials lead you to believe that it’s a “comedy,” and it’s many things romantic, adventurous, sad, a bit hopeful, but funny – not really.

Features

Once again Disney Home video have given us a reference quality Blu-ray release. The 1.78:1 video transfer is beautiful, it filled up my 50 inch Bravia with rich, and vibrant colors that just popped off the screen. Not only is the picture stunning, Disney threw in everything but the kitchen sink.  When I say this is a reference Blu-ray, it literally is as they even give you Home Theater Calibration settings as an extra feature. I bought a calibration disc for $30 last year, it’s here on this disc for free. This 4 disc set includes a ton of extra features including Cine Explorer Mode (Picture in Picture), Disney File Digital Version, and a full DVD version of the film. The menu navigation is elegant and simple. The audio is in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 so it sounds great, but the audio mix is pretty generic.  The Blu-ray also marks where you left off – a feature I wish all Blu-rays have. I always accidentally hit the stop button at least 3 times on my crappy Sony PS3 remote. Whenever I do the entire film resets and I’m forced to go through the BD-Live start up, the previews again, etc. So I really love that UP tracks where you are.

Previews (Which you can Skip)

  • Toy Story 3 Teaser
  • The Princess and the Frog (If I see this trailer one more time, I’m going to pull an Elvis and shoot the TV)
  • Disney’s Santa Buddies

Disc 1

  • Maximize Your Home Theater Mode
  • Movie
  • Disney Cine-Explorer Mode  (Picture in Picture blends Director Commentary, Storyboards, etc)
  • Partly Cloudy: Theatrical Short (5:46)
  • Dug’s Special Mission: All New Original Short (4:40)
  • Adventure is Out There (22:17)
  • Alternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz ($;56)

Audio

  • English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
  • French Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
  • Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1EX
  • English DTS-HD 2.0

Subtitles

  • French
  • Spanish
  • English

Disc 2

  • Geriatric Hero (:24)
  • Canine Companions (8:26)
  • Russell: Wilderness Explorer (9 Min)
  • Our Giant Flightless Friend, Kein (4:33)
  • Balloons and Flight (6:25)
  • Composing for Characters (7:37)
  • Alternate Scene: Married Life (9:15)
  • Up Promo Montage (6 Min)
  • Global Guardian Badge Game
  • BD Live
  • Worldwide Trailers

Disc 3 – DVD

  • DVD Version of the Movie
  • Partly Coudy Short
  • Dug’s Missiion
  • Adventure is Out There
  • Aternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz
  • Director Commentaries

Disc 4 – DisneyFile Digital Copy

Comments

What’s left to say? One of the best movies of 2009 gets a whole lot of loving on Blu-ray. Even if you don’t like animated films, you will be sold the minute you see how stunning the picture is. Factor in, again, that it’s one of the best films of the year. It’s a no brainer.

Grades

  • Movie – A+
  • Picture Quality – A+
  • Audio – A
  • Features – A+
  • Navigation – A

Final Overall Grade – A+

EM Review
By Michelle Alexandria
Originally posted 11.08.09