HOLLYWOOD - The latest Oscar-winning masterpiece from the creative geniuses at Pixar studios, "Up" is confirmation that animated films as a cinematic genre are here to stay.

After reeling off a string of hit films over the past decade including "Toy Story," "The Incredibles," and "WALL-E," Pixar made one of the boldest decisions in the studio's history when they gave "Up" a green light.

The story of a grumpy widower who ties balloons to his house and floats away to South America, many wondered whether the film would be able to repeat the commercial success of the studio's more obviously family friendly films.

Yet "Up," which won the best animated feature Sunday, has emerged as one of Pixar's most successful films, grossing more than 700 million dollars worldwide since its release, second only to the studio's 2003 smash hit "Finding Nemo."

Written and directed by Pete Docter, the movie revolves around the adventures of Carl Fredicksen (voiced by Ed Asner), who resolutely resists attempts by developers to buy his house and demolish it.

When his hand is forced, Carl escapes suburbia by attaching thousands of balloons to his home and flying to South America in order to fulfil the lifelong dream of his late wife, Ellie, to see the famous Paradise Falls.

Unfortunately for Carl, an over-enthusiastic boy scout Russell has stowed away on board, ruining his cherished solitude.

The fun begins when Carl and Russell encounter a famous explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) and his pack of talking dogs, who are hunting a giant flightless bird, which befriends Russell.

Docter, whose other credits include "Toy Story" and "Monster's Inc," said he intended "Up" to be a story about human relationships.

"The initial kernel was based on that desire that I feel a lot to escape the world," Docter has said.

"There are plenty of days when you hate humanity, you're so sick to death of everybody and you want to get away -- and then at the end, you realize well, that's what really makes the world go round, is human connection."

One memorable four-minute montage in the film charts the entire course of Carl and Ellie's marriage, from the shared joy of their wedding day to Carl's grief at his wife's bereavement.

The film was also afforded the honor of opening last year's Cannes Film Festival, the first time ever an animated film -- and a 3D film -- had ever been selected to launch the annual Riviera extravaganza.

The 300-strong Pixar team behind "Up" used 3D effects sparingly, in bursts, to hint at an emotional journey, alternating between "flat" and more expansive, three-dimensional sequences, studio chief John Lasseter said.

"The main character Carl at the beginning is living a very kind of closed life. He is just cloistered in his house. So what we did is a very subtle thing -- we made the dimension much more shallow," he said.

"And so when he goes out into the big wide world and starts opening himself up for the first time, we made that dimension so much deeper."