Up (2009)

Review:

The best thing about ‘Up’ is perhaps its fantastical logic and its strict adherence to physics that while maybe not sound we can still believe in - of course a house can be carried by balloons and of course when a few balloons pop, the house will be less buoyant!

Pixar is a miracle. I’ll just come out and say it. Not since the earliest pictures of Disney’s Golden Age have we been thrown into animated worlds so visionary that they kindle in our imaginations the ruminations of what we must have felt in childhood when beholding something truly marvelous – the first time we went to the aquarium for instance.

Visionary is a word I do not use lightly, and yet, I must apply it to many Pixar films – “Finding Nemo” (2003) and “Wall-E” (2008) just to name two. While watching ‘Up’ I found myself cataloguing the strongest images of the film and how I would use those images to decorate a future Criterion Collection Edition of the film. There was an abundance of inspiration.

The story is simple and profound. Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) is a man who always dreamed of being a great explorer, but like so many would-be explorers, he chose to settle down with a wife and build a life with her. They lived in the house in which they first met as children and this home becomes the iconic symbol of Carl’s whole life - all it was, all it is, and all it can be. When Ellie dies, Carl becomes a bitter recluse, hanging on to his home as his last connection to his wife.

With the encroachment of construction projects and soon the law, it becomes increasingly clear to Carl that he will be forced to vacate the home he treasures so dearly. But instead of submitting to the forces that be, Carl decides he will use his house as a means of escape. Using thousands of balloons, he transforms his home into a buoyant vessel and heads for Paradise Falls in South America, the place where he and his wife always dreamed of visiting.

There is one complication to his plan though. A little boy has inadvertently stowed away by crawling under Carl’s porch immediately before take off. This is Russell (Jordan Nagai), a Wilderness Scout who’s one wish is to get a merit badge for assisting the elderly. Inspired to help Carl in any way he can, Russell becomes an unlikely sidekick in the old man’s quest to get to South America.

The rest of the story involves Russell and Carl coming into conflict with an aged explorer named Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) and his quest for an elusive South American bird. This plot is fun and involves talking dogs, but it is almost tangential to the real theme of the film which is the process of letting go the past while still treasuring it.

“Up” is a beautiful film. The colors combined with the minute detail allow for a divine viewing experience. After it’s over you feel like you’ve eaten a rainbow. Pixar has done it again. Some people/companies are prone to masterpieces and Pixar is certainly amongst the ranks.

Rating:

On a scale of one to Casablanca, this film is a “Rushmore” (1998)

Rationalization:

It’s hard to imagine that there could be a theme other than ‘growing up’ in film. No matter who we are, at what age, or in what place, we are perpetually in a state of growing up (and hopefully growing wiser). The forward current of time makes it so. I think the title ‘Up’ is not only referring to the motion of Carl’s house but to his and Russell’s growth throughout the story. Inevitably, part of growing up is letting go of things and it’s perhaps how we accept our losses that informs how we grow. “Up” is an incredibly wise movie and it is not afraid to explore scary topics like aging and death in terms that children can understand. On the whole, I think “Wall-E” (2008) will be better remembered for its ruthless social critique and beautiful love story, but my guess is that “Up” will hold its own for many years to come.