Movie Review - Up (A)

It is hard to think of a film with less initial appeal than WALL-E a movie about a trash gathering robot. That is, until Up, a story about an elderly widower, was announced. It is almost as if Pixar is trying to alienate its audience. By all measures Up appears to be Pixar's least accessible film to date. Yet, not only is Up a well-crafted CGI adventure with cross-generational appeal, it also deftly tackles mature themes such as death and grief.

As a child, Carl Fredrickson and his friend Elie idolized explorer Charles Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer). Carl and Elie grew up, fell in love, and got married. Carl and Elie's marriage transpires in a speechless and montage that is touching and pleasantly free of pretension. They purchase a fixer-upper house and devote their energy into improving it. Unexpected events defer their trip to Paradise Falls until old age. They dream of following Muntz's exploits to Paradise Falls, South America and make plans to visit. Before they can make the trip, however, Elie passes away.

Soon after Elie's passing, an unfortunate sequence of events forces Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) to move to a nursing home, and relinquish his house to urban developers. Carl, however, refuses to accept his fate. Instead, having spent a career as a balloon salesman, Carl attempts to navigate his house to Paradise Falls. The house is lifted from its foundations by a multitude of balloons tied to the chimney. Along for the ride is a chubby boy scout stowaway named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), who gets involved trying to help Carl so that he can get a merit badge for assisting the elderly. Along the way, the odd couple is joined by Dug, a dog who can speak (voice by writer/co-director Bob Peterson) with the assistance of a talking collar. Juxtaposing good-natured innocence and loyalty against a mechanical monosyllabic voice, Dug is funny and lovable. From then, the story takes several turns that is best left for the audience to discover.

Being a Pixar production, it goes without saying that the settings provide plenty of atmosphere. Carl's house looks lived-in and aged, the balloons are colorful and sways realistically. South America, as imagined by Pixar's artists, brims with exoticism that ia alternatingly inviting and menacing. Exciting chases are common, and the film is punctuated by numerous humor and gags.

But there are two significant achievements here. First is in the formation of the relationship between Carl and Russell. Elderly Carl is cranky and stubborn. The young Russell is optimistic and accepting. Though their personalities are in stark contrast, they share a common struggle against loneliness and alienation. As Carl and Russell bond, they find their figurative and literal redemption in each other.

The second achievement is in how the film deals with death and grief. In Up, death makes an immediate appearance: Elie dies without forewarning, and Carl is left with a uncertain future. Ultimately, Carl's decision to move his house to Paradise Falls represents a grieving widower's cathartic tribute to his wife. Although Carl's house is a comforting reminder of Elie, it also becomes an albatross that prevents Carl from starting a new chapter in his life.

Thoughtful and entertaining, Up exemplifies the sentiment that the journey is more important than the destination.