Credit where it’s definitely due. Pixar are not content with simply pushing the animation envelope, they are origami masters of it, creating highly original features. They tend to go down well with kids too.

What they did with their last feature Wall-E was make a film that was far removed from being just a children’s film. It was almost the purest form of animation, with very little in the way of dialogue, driven primarily by visuals alone.

Up is yet another direction that Pixar are pushing, pulling, folding etc their impressive envelope. Its star is Carl Fredrickson (voiced by Ed Asner), a 78-year-old man, who lives alone since the death of his wife. They had a dream that they wanted to pursue together – to explore the wilds of South America.

They said it came with a great view but this is ridiculous.

Since his wife’s passing however, Carl has felt like doing very little. He’s pushed over the edge though, when some property developers – who are building all around Carl’s property – inadvertently destroy something of sentimental value. It fuels Carl’s desire to, more than ever, take that trip to South America. But instead of just packing a bag, he inflates enough balloons to lift his entire home, allowing it to take off and float across the skies, with him still in it.

What he doesn’t realise though, is that he’s not alone. On his porch, holding on for dear life is 8-year-old Wildness Explorer Russell (Jordan Nagai). And so the oddball pair begin their journey of a lifetime.

So if you haven’t guessed already, the hero in this flick is an OAP. And although an animated oldie isn’t a new idea (Mr Magoo for instance, first appeared in 1949), in this day of Disney tie-ins and merchandise, it’s quite a brave move. And although it would be great to see a non-action Carl figure available, it’s not likely to be this year’s top seller at Christmas.

The film also carries an amazing emotional weight for its type. It deals with aging, relationships and death – and that’s just in the first half hour – and all in a very grown up, non condescending manner. If you don’t manage to be touched in the slightest, it’s safe to assume that you had your heart removed at a very early age and are currently running on a mix of Duracells and Windows XP.

It’s also the first Pixar film to be produced in Disney 3D – which looks like many of the current crop of 3D animated features, but, you know, Disneyfied. As you would expect, it looks amazing. The colours are vibrant and many of the scenes with the house being carried away by the balloons are borderline breathtaking.

It’s only in the last third of the film that it feels that Disney bods may have interfered with the story (you probably don’t see that everyday – the words Disney and interfered with in the same sentence), by adding a Disney villain to the proceedings. Although the characters antics are fun, it all gets a little silly, feeling as if it had been tagged on to accommodate a younger audience. It’s not just the pace of the film that then changes, but also its tone, which is a real shame.

Nonetheless, Up still manages to continue the Pixar tradition of being an extraordinarily enjoyable piece of escapism that really is fun for all the family.