It’s official: Pixar can do no wrong. Up marks their tenth animated feature, and doubtless their tenth major hit. While Up lacks the edge of WALL-E, it more than makes up for it with tenderness and light. When was the last time a film made you reach across the armrest and gently squeeze the hand of the person sitting next to you? Made you want to leave the theater and find a dog, any dog, to pat on the head? My prediction is that dog adoptions will go up worldwide once Pixar’s latest is released.

And the film isn’t even about dogs. It’s about squarish, curmudgeonly Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), who reminisces about the long and happy life he led with his true love. Alas, she passes before he does, and when things become unbearable in their old neighborhood, Carl decides to up and move—the entire house, to Paradise Falls, a South American adventure destination they’d always dreamed of visiting together. He intends to relocate his two-story cottage to the top of the falls via thousands of  balloons, which he inflates and secures through his chimney.

But he doesn’t anticipate a stowaway, the needy and naïve scout Russell, who is attempting to earn yet another badge by helping a senior citizen. They form a reluctant team, encountering a pack of talking canines, Dug, a loving and docile dog named Dug, an exotic, endangered bird called Kevin, and a once heroic explorer who has gone bad. Can an old man and a young boy work together to make their dreams come true, or will working against each other spoil everything? The film has layer upon layer, dimension upon dimension.

If you can, see Up in 3D, rather than on a 2D screen. Not that you’ll miss anything in the stunning, lush yet simple graphics reminiscent of a richly illustrated children’s book. But directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, who also wrote the film, have done something truly ingenious with the 3D effects. Instead of having objects pop out at you, they pull you into the screen. The special effects add depth, as if you were watching everything through a window or on a stage, and could easily enter the magical world by simply stepping forward. No matter if you’re young or old, and regardless of whether enough you have children to take with you, Up is a must see for everyone of any age. It’s simply too good to be missed.

Rated PG

—Lisa Johnson Mandell