None of the animated characters in Pixar’s newest feature Up look like real humans, but they all have very human traits. They all have joy and sorrow, spirit, flaws, humor, wisdom and above all, a desire to face life head on while stretching the imagination to the end of the world and back.
This is a film born from the minds of true storytellers, men not afraid to overestimate their family audience, playing right to their sense of wonder and adventure and not below. A family film in the truest sense that, without self indulgence or cross referencing of any kind, is so simple and wonderful that everyone in the family can enjoy it.
Cartoons are no longer just for kids when Pixar flashes its name over the credits and now Up is one of the best films of 2009.
The Plot of Pixar`s Up
The film begins as a young Carl Fredrickson’s explorer-hero Charles Muntz has his reputation scorned by allegedly bringing back a fake skeleton of a rare creature from his trip to Paradise Fall.
So, Muntz vows to return to Paradise Falls and find another creature. Geared for adventure, the young Carl, equipped with pilot helmet and goggles that rest atop his bifocals, stumbles upon the like-minded Ellie who makes him cross his heart that one day they will take up residence atop Paradise Falls.
Carl grows up to become a balloon salesman and the husband of Ellie, who yearns for the day they can adventure to Paradise Falls so that she call fill up her My Adventure Book with wonderful pictures of the journey.
The couple’s life from adolescence is seen in one of the great montages of American film in which it is learned that Carl is one of Hollywood’s most extinct types of hero: a genuinely nice guy. The two live out their life, always deeply in love despite having to constantly tap into their adventure fund when real life takes its toll.
Having entered into the mundane days of old age Carl decides to buy the tickets for their trip, but before he can present them, Ellie becomes sick and passes away.
Living alone, the space around Carl’s home is consumed by construction, but he refuses to sell out of love for Ellie. Then one day, after an unfortunate incident with one of the construction men, Carl is forced to take up residence in a retirement home.
Flying to Paradise Falls
However, on the day he is to be picked up, Carl unloads a bag of thousands of helium balloons that are tied to his house and flies it to Paradise Falls, completing his promise to Ellie.
Along for the ride is a plucky wilderness scout named Russell who needs one last button for helping the elderly to become a senior scout.
Braving a storm, the duo are met in Paradise Falls by a giant bird named Kevin, who becomes a complete character without one audible line of dialogue, and a dog named Dug who is part of an army of dogs that can talk due to collars created by their master Muntz, who will stop at nothing to capture Kevin and return to America, a hero once more.
Pete Docter Proves to be a Master Storyteller
It would have been easy for Up to be no more than a spectacular adventure spectacle but director Pete Doctor (Monsters Inc.) follows in the footsteps of his Pixar contemporaries John Lassester and Andrew Stanton in keeping the adventure grounded in strong characters with deep emotional roots.
Carl acts out of love for Ellie more than a love for adventure and Russell finds a kindred spirit as adventure is the only thing covering the hole in his heart created by his absentee father. Even poor Kevin just wants to get back to her nest to feed her babies.
That Muntz gets in the way of this, creating a grand adventure, is just frosting on the cake. There is love for these people and their company.
The Voice of Ed Asner
Carl is voiced by Ed Asner who is so perfect for the role that he passes the test of all great performances: by the time it is over, another doing a better job is unimaginable.
Asner’s voice perfectly slips between being a gruff old man and being a tender, loving person: when he speaks of Ellie one can hear both the love and the sorrow her loss has caused, proving the importance of the time-honored Disney tradition of picking the best voice for the character and not the biggest name.
What’s also amazing is how Doctor creates joy, pathos and comedy all from the keen observation of human behavior; a tone of voice, a movement of the hands, a facial twitch: one of the film’s biggest laughs comes from simply observing Muntz move his eyes from one end of his airship to the other or how the dogs act like, well, dogs.
And how Doctor uses reoccurring motifs in underscoring both the comic and the emotional: with the same punch line reoccurring to get a bigger laugh each time, or at the end of the film when Carl gives Russell an object from the beginning that surely will mean more to him than any other scout badge, and how the heart jumps every time the My Adventure Book appeas, especially in the film’s best scene where Carl finds pictures in it that he never knew of before.
Verdict
Nothing has been said about the animation because 1) Pixar is known for no less than the best and 2) they have made the standard way of relating to animations obsolete.
With Pixar, animation is simply the technique to tell a story that wouldn’t have been possible on film. They are films about characters, stories, love, joy, wonder, suspense, and, especially with Up, in spite of it all, even when faced with all of life’s challenges and heartbreaks, never letting the imagination die because it is the most powerful of all human tools. Kids will love that message. Most adults will too.
