The creative talents at Pixar and Disney have their hearts in the right place -- up there spread across the big screen for all to enjoy.

The veritable cloudburst of sentiment and humor in Pixar Animation's new video arrival, "Up" (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated PG, DVD $29.99 & $39.99; Blu-ray Disc $45.99), should prove to the most skeptical viewer that the studio's record of achievement is no accident.

"Up" builds on the childhood whimsy of "Toy Story," the family poignancy of "Finding Nemo," the ticklish perspective of "Monsters, Inc." and even the sociological musings of "Wall*E." ... Clearly, these Pixar folks are on one steep learning curve.

But "Up" also has its down side: old age, dashed dreams, disillusionment, even death. Just try to find a computer program to help you whip all that up into a sweet and sunny meringue.

This is hardly the first piece of animated escapism to evoke grief over the loss of a loved one; remember "Bambi"? It uses that sense of loss, though, to cement our identification with its flawed, fictional lead -- a cranky old-timer named Carl Fredericksen.

Carl's whole early life explodes like overheated Jiffy Pop in the foil bubble of the film's first few minutes. Carl and his wife were once united by the spirit of adventure; so when he finds himself widowed and alone again in old age, he sets out on a Quixotic quest to honor their pioneering spirit by fulfilling a long-deferred dream.

Where the dream leads him and the obstacles it presents are details best left to the storytellers at Pixar. But we are fortunate indeed to be stowaways via an on-screen surrogate named Russell, whose youth and inexperience are only exceeded by his eagerness to earn a merit badge by helping the resistant Carl.

As in most mainstream fantasies these days, there are no allusions here to a higher power. Look at that as one more challenge that "Up" must rise above. But director Pete Docter and his fellow screenwriters keep things racing toward a more secular source of spiritual comfort for Carl.

It doesn't take high-tech to make big magic, in this case, though if your family has a Blu-ray player, the new four-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack of "Up" has special advantages. It offers access to BD-Live features for Internet-enabled machines, plus a digital copy and standard DVD for ultimate flexibility, and a whole array of bonus extras on character development, concept art and a geographical "badge game."

The two-disc standard DVD edition shares many of the other features, like an original cartoon short dealing with one sequence in "Up" from Dug the dog's perspective, a Pixar comedy about a much-abused "delivery stork," and a fine documentary on the Pixar crew's trek to the rugged Venezuelan mountain range that inspired Carl's journey.

While you're deciding on your ideal version of "Up," you may also see on the shelves a fat new video edition of Pixar's 2001 blockbuster comedy, "Monsters, Inc." (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, rated G, Blu-ray Disc $39.99). This one would make a much-appreciated gift for any of the millions of families that have stepped up to Blu-ray in recent years.

Created by the same team as "Up" only more in their "Toy Story" mode, this is a charming bit of levity for young and old alike about the company that provides the strange creatures that wait behind the closet doors of small children late at night. Would you believe they are trained to gather youthful screams to power their world? Or that they are possibly more frightened of our kids than the other way around?

This high-def debut is pretty irresistible. You'll see the improved detail in the rippling of the monsters' fur and the brilliance of their colorful bodies. And that final chase scene across the factory conveyor belts of entry doors is suddenly as vast and impressive as it was in theaters, thanks to Blu-ray's 5.1 DTS-HD audio.

All of the shorts and extras from the standard DVD release are here in remastered digital, along with BD-Live, a new 100-door "challenge" game, a behind-the-scenes look at the new Monstropolis attraction in Tokyo Disneyland and a filmmakers' roundtable reunion.

Re-'Born to Be Wild' on Blu

Two iconic films beloved by two separate generations of youthful fans have just been re-issued in high-definition transfers for our Blu-ray era. Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" and Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything" each overcame the odds against first-time filmmakers to parlay modest budgets and low-expectations into long-lived phenomena.

"Easy Rider" 40th Anniversary Edition (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, Blu-ray Disc $38.96) comes in a "digibook" format with a 16-page booklet of photos and reminiscences by stars Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson. The music-rich soundtrack is a key element in the 1969 film's power, and it has never been delivered better at home, thanks to Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio.

"Say Anything" 20th Anniversary Edition (20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, DVD $19.98; Blu-ray Disc $34.99) made an unlikely gen-X cult hero of baby-faced John Cusack, and set the bar very high for all subsequent "young man pursues seemingly unattainable girl" teen outings. The 1989 release also benefits from Blu-ray's more forceful audio and DTS-HD surround sound.

Visually, the shoestring limitations of both movies are harder to ignore in high-definition. Both succumb to grain in low-light situations, and the Crowe title in particular is prone to dingy colors and loss of fine detail.

That shouldn't dissuade fans of either film who have been waiting for their best possible presentations. "Easy Rider" also contains a Dennis Hopper commentary and the excellent 1999 documentary "Shaking the Cage" by Charles Kiselyak. "Say Anything" has commentaries, deleted scenes, a "conversation" with Cameron Crowe and a thorough look back at the film on its 20th anniversary.

Also making its Blu-ray debut from Fox is a much more jaded and profane view of romance and desire, James Toback's 1998 three-person drama "Two Girls and a Guy" (20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment, rated R and NC-17, Blu-ray Disc $29.99). A fitfully engaging character study of contemporary narcissism, it offers a flawed tour-de-force showcase for the brilliant but troubled Robert Downey Jr. as an actor engaged in sexual deceptions with Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner.

The transfer appears dark in more ways than one, but the leads are attractive and make the young hedonists they are playing much smarter than the norm. The Blu-ray includes a cast and director commentary, as well as an informative conversation with writer-director Toback.

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