Today, Pixar’s newest superfilm, Up, hits screens across the USA. Up is being described as “deeply emotional and affecting,” “exhilarating,” and a “high-flying adventure.” Of course it’s also rating extremely high with reviewers, because let’s be serious Pixar is the most consistently fantastic movie house in the world. Sure they only churn out one per year. But if other movie theaters did such a great job with their one movie, we might only need 20 movies a year. (OK, overstatement there) But really, Pixar is the best. And with this they’ve given us their best adventure yet. Which got me thinking about adventures in general in the world of pop culture, shocking I know. There are lots of great adventures in pop culture, so narrowing it down to just a few is extremely difficult. I’ll give you a couple of my faves in a few different areas:

Movies
Raiders of the Lost Ark- Indiana Jones is just about everything an adventurer should be. He’s smart, he’s tough, and he’s brave. And he can wear a fedora like no one else AND he always gets the girl. He’s a perfect archetype of the hero. His globe-trotting, artifact-hunting, and whip-wielding jaunts are the stuff adventures are made of. What’s not to love?

Goonies- HAD to do it. What’s more exciting than setting off in search of buried pirate treasure? And this rag-tag group of misfits makes it all the more exciting. Booty traps. Boobie traps. That’s what I said Booty Traps. So great.

Back to the Future- It’s funny. It’s got time travel. It’s got an everyman hero saving the day against your high school bully. And all in the name of love, his parent’s love. And they drive back in time in a Delorean. Amazing.

TV
LOST- This is currently the best adventure on TV. And it will go down as one of the best ever regardless of how it ends. It’s a complex, mystery-wielding show which plays out like a big screen adventure nearly every week.

Chuck- My new favorite adventure show. It’s spy action at it’s funniest and you should definitely watch when it comes back for a new season (THERE IS A GOD!).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- This show should’ve been more than the cult hit it was. I never saw it while it was on, but caught up thanks to the FX channel’s reruns and summers off from college. It certainly didn’t hurt that all of the ladies on the show were beautiful. But the stories were fun and exciting, the characters entertaining, and it had this excellent wit about it. You should catch up because it was one of the best and most original shows during its time.

Books
Lord of the Flies- This book is about a lot of things, but it’s truly an adventure for the boys who are shipwrecked. It’s savage and instinctual and it tells you all about what you’d do if the proverbial poo did in fact hit the fan.

Touching the Void- A non-fiction account of one of the most daring and ill-fated climbs in the Andes. A partner is forced to cut the rope, unhitching himself from his partner. The partner then does the unbelievable. I won’t ruin it for you. It’s just INCREDIBLE.

Harry Potter series- I am a HUGE fan of HP and for anyone who has somehow (I’d be interested to hear how) avoided HP (why?!!?), you should stop doing so. It’s a great story and it’s super easy to read and it’s fun. Great adventures in every page.

Those are my faves, whatcha got?