"Up" Wins Oscar

Pixar's Up Takes You Soaring

Pixar Studios won another Oscar last night at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California. Also nominated for best original screenplay, original score, and sound editing, Up won the much coveted award for best animated movie of the year. It was also nominated for best picture of the year. This is only the second time in the 82-year history of the Oscars  that an animated film was nominated in that category.

Director Pete Docter accepted the award, recalling his life as a young boy creating mini-movies with paper.

"Never did I dream that making a flipbook out of my third-grade math book would lead to this," Docter said.

Kid Reporter Daniele Bond saw the movie when it was released last summer and wrote this review:

Up is about a man named Carl Fredrickson who dreamed all his live of  traveling to South America with his wife, Ellie. But Ellie dies before he can keep his promise, and Carl lives a sad and lonely life afraid his wife had never fulfilled her dreams of adventure. When contractors threaten to take away his home, Mr. Fredrickson ties helium balloons to his house and floats away to South America. Accidentally on board for the ride is a young boy named Russell.

Russell is a wilderness explorer trying to earn his helping-the-elderly badge. When he and Carl reach South America they begin walking to Paradise Falls with a floating house tied to their backs. Carl is determined to put his house by the falls as a way of finally keeping his promise to his wife.

I liked the symbolism in this movie. When Carl ties a rope around his house, I saw it as a symbol of him carrying all the memories he shared with his wife.

Along the way, Carl and Russell met a bird they call Kevin. They also run into famed explorer Charles Muntz and his talking dogs. As a young boy, Carl idolized Muntz, who disappeared on a quest for a mysterious bird. And yes, that bird is Kevin!

When the explorer discovers that Kevin is following Russell and Carl, he tries to kill them to capture the bird. The rest of the movie is an action packed adventure mixed with comedy and drama.

Up is one of my favorite movies. It shows that life is an adventure as long as you're with someone you love. It’s a movie I’ll never forget, just as Carl never forgot his promise to Ellie.

—Daniela Bond

PHOTO: Carl Fredricksen and Russell drag a floating house through South America to Paradise Falls in the Oscar winning movie Up. (Photo Credit: Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved)

Miami School Has a Different Way to Help

St. Theresa Catholic School collects cell phones and empty ink cartridges.

What is your school doing to help the environment? Are they recycling, replacing light bulbs or fixing leaky faucets? Are there contests you can enter to promote water conservation? St. Theresa Catholic School in Miami, Florida, is one of many schools doing its part to help the environment. Here students help their school take part in a mission: a mission to help the environment.

St.Theresa Catholic School participates in a program called Funding Factory Cartridge Recycling Program. This program collects cell phones and ink cartridges in exchange for hardware and software technology products. St. Theresa School wants to keep its technology up to date. Every year, the school sets a new goal for how many cell phones and ink cartridges to collect.

The school also has an earth-friendly way of sending announcements home to the students: All announcements are made on the school’s web site. It's called the Brown Envelope. A newsletter for parents, the lunch menu, and a calendar of events are all posted online.

I have learned at my school that If we all work together, we can make the world a better place. I am proud to be a student at St.Theresa School.

—Daniela Bond

Photo: Kid Reporter Daniela Bond learns the importance of recycling at her school. (Photo courtesy Daniela Bond)