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2009's Best Travel Movie Is...

December 30, 2009 at 1:44 PM | by | Comments (2)

You may remember us saying that 2008 was a "marquee year for travel movies." Thanks to George Clooney, an animated curmudgeon, and Mike Tyson, 2009 easily tops it. Many of the films released over the past 12 months didn't just allude to travel or leave us dreaming about about far away lands—their plots centered around hopping a plane, train, or automobile and seeing the world.

Up in the Air, with its critical accolades and dashing lead, would be the obvious choice for Best of the Year, but it didn't feature as much awe-inspiring scenery as it did shots of airport terminals, when we were lucky. If anything, it kind of discouraged people from travel and was generally pretty depressing. The most scenic shots happened during the opening credits, so it gets shoved aside. Julie & Julia was also a top contender, balancing scenes of unglamorous cohabitation in New York with Paris' romantic landscape, not to mention shots of rich French dishes like sole meuniere. Then there was The Hangover, which our sister site VegasChatter comprehensively covered, and also because it was downright hilarious, taking the oft-repeated saying, "What happens in Vegas..." to ridiculous new heights. You thought that your all-night party session on the Strip was epic? Try stealing Mike Tyson's tiger and get back to us.

Find out which film takes home our top prize after the jump.

Our favorite of 2009 is easily Up, Pixar's 10th, and arguably best, film to date. Who would have thought that an animated movie about a crotchedy geriatric (Ed Asner) could be so heartwarming? Up captures the inspiring sentiments behind why so many people do—and should—travel, imparting the message that it's about following your dreams, making connections, and not letting life pass you by. Plus, in 3-D, those long, sweeping shots of South America's fictional Paradise Falls were enough to get us thinking whether a few thousand balloons might allow our own homes to become airborne.

Here's to more dreaming and more exploration in 2010.

Related Stories
· South America coverage [Jaunted]
· Movie Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· The Jauntys [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pixar]

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I'd nominate Up for travel movie of the decade. There isn't a traveler with even a drop of wanderlust who hasn't spent the last year wishing they could go to Paradise Falls...
Omri on December 30, 2009 at 2:23 PM #Permalink

UP is in the mail!

Is UP really that great? Ironically, that's the next movie on my queue with arrival scheduled tomorrow. Considering this post, I'll have to watch it IMMEDIATELY.
hosteldog on January 1, 2010 at 5:00 PM #Permalink

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