“Adventure is out there!”
So claims Charles Muntz, famous world explorer and star of black-and-white newsreels. Carl Fredericksen, an elderly widower, grew up idolizing Muntz. Muntz discovered Paradise Falls, a seemingly mythical jungle paradise, home to a strange beast Muntz claimed to have discovered – but was rejected and shamed by the scientific community. Fredericksen was a pudgy small child, with goggles and a leather pilot hat, who grew up into a pudgy small man. But, along the way, he met someone else with their own goggles and hat, and a missing tooth – his future wife Ellie. And fate takes its course, and we see Carl and Ellie grow old together, through some very happy times, and through the worst. After finding out the couple couldn’t have children, Ellie became ill later in life, and passed away, leaving Carl alone.
As we’re dropped into the present day, we now see the stereotypical cranky old man, but, more importantly, we know how a pudgy young boy became that bitter old man. Ellie and Carl’s dream home is surrounded by construction, with businessmen plotting to get Carl’s house out of the way. Carl, alone with pictures and memories, likely spends most of his time wondering how his life went from perfect to misery. A man who was once a balloon vendor at a zoo, who spent his days selling helium and smiles, now grumbles with every knock at his door. And that leads to a confrontation that has him on a one-way trip to a retirement home. And somehow, in less than half an hour, an animated film has craftily shown us an everyday man’s journey – Carl’s once-full life has been taken away, and his back is to the wall.
And, with nothing to lose, Carl takes a desperate chance to hang on to the only thing he has left – his memories. Thousands upon thousands of balloons, he’s sure, are going to take him away from orderlies in white coats, and drop him in what should’ve been he and his wife’s fantasy: the magical Paradise Falls, the place where Charles Muntz, Carl’s childhood hero and disgraced explorer, claimed to have found that fantastical creature. As Carl tries to take control of his life, his house is carried away, with one addition – a pudgy young boy named Russell.
And off they go. Carl has his reservations, of course, because his freedom has now become saddled with responsibility. They’ll run into obstacles, villains, pitfalls, and so on (of course), and they have their adventure. But the fact that Pixar, yet again, can make a simple film work so well, on so many levels, demonstrates how consistently strong their work is. Up is a family film, animated, and should have that fairy tale ending, so there have to be limits and boundaries as to what the movie can do. But the film works those boundaries to their limits, and gives us a full, satisfying, funny escape.
Rating: 
Movie was too deep EXTREMELY sad. So many parts could have been left out….they were so unnecessary. How about the part when they were in the doctors office crying because they werent able to have a baby? Yes characters were extremely believable thats what made everyone cry in the theater. I cried almost through the WHOLE movie. I am not a movie cryer. I was pissed trying to compose myself through out movie. THe happy parts still didnt let you get over the sad parts. Could have been an awesome movie really. Way too sad and deep.
Lisa, I couldn’t disagree more. I would have thought it was a good movie without the character background– but that was precisely what lifted it from a simply funny movie to one that was tremendously profound. I never would have thought that an animated movie would be able to speak so clearly about our hopes and dreams. Yes, it made me cry. But it also made me laugh. And I was smiling at the end. Isn’t that what life is all about?
UP was a beautiful film. The whimsy of a flying house soars all the more for the pathos of the passing of time and lives and of promises not kept. Without the sadness, this would be just another Pixar buddy comedy. Instead it floats well above the rest.
Honestly, I think Toy Story is sadder and potentially more damaging to children. Jesse’s song in Toy Story 2 spells out the fate of playthings: they all get abandoned. Hope lies in Andy, but for how long? I’d rather my children be saddened by Carl’s loss than feel guilt for eventual abandoning of inanimate objects.
I hope UP inspires children to ask questions about Carl and Ellie and that parents rise to the occasion to teach their kids that promises should be kept, that great things can spring from tragedy and most importantly that adventure is out there!
I agree with you, Lisa! I took my 6 and 8 year old boys, thinking it was a G movie….duh. Very touching movie, amazed how teary it got me, too. Not appropriate themes for young kids. As usual, the trailer makes it seem funny and uplifiting, but then the childhood hero turns nasty, loud thunderstorms, death and running for your lives takes over–yikes! Too sad and deep is right for an animated movie.
Oh, cry me a river. It was good character development, and made the movie great.
Heather, when I was that age I knew all about that. Don’t even worry about your kids seeing that.
Easy there, Brian. lol You don’t sound terribly sensitive to such things, so for you it might not have been too much.
It’s purely subjective and personal preference whether it’s too sad, and clearly for some it is. It’s all about entertainment, and everybody has different tastes.
Sometimes people (like me) seek out movies for an easy, pleasant pick-me-up to share with the kids, and Pixar has provided that reliably in the past. If I wanted deep or moving, I probably would have looked elsewhere, and certainly wouldn’t have expected it from Up based on the trailers — they don’t really suggest how deep it is at all.
Another example — I took my little niece to see Marley and Me. I thought it looked so cute. Boy was I wrong!
Lynne,
While I would agree with those who commend the emotional depth of the story, this movie was advertised as a “comedy” and clearly marketed to a young audience. I brought my young son, and had to explain to him why my husband and I were crying through almost the entire movie. The adventure and comic moments weren’t enough to lift the sadness. After “Marley,”"Bridge to Terabithia,” “Toy Story,” “Tale of Despereaux,” and the like, I am very leery of anything that’s billed as a “family” film. I don’t like being blindsided.