Review: Up

Directed by: Pete Docter

Written by: Bob Peterson & Pete Docter

Starring: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson

Rating: [4.5/5]

As one continues to progress through life, one thing becomes evident: not everything will go to plan. A difficult truth to reconcile especially for someone like myself who likes to plan every facet of my life, but as Up teaches us through its emotionally devastating and wondrous tale, deviations from the plan can make for the best adventures. This film takes us on quite the adventure and presents a narrative that lands its themes so thoroughly it continues to astound me on each rewatch. 

Following the death of his beloved wife, Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) lives a secluded life from the rest of society in his small house as everything around him gets redeveloped. After an incident that calls into question if he can care for himself, Carl decides to go on the adventure he promised his late wife they would go on by releasing balloons that will float the house down to Paradise Falls in South America. 

Up will always remain a deeply personal film for me in the way it never fails to make me sob and how with each subsequent viewing it destroys me even more. I remember first watching it in a theater when young and single and feeling affected by the famous opening sequence acknowledging the exuberance and sadness of Carl and Ellie’s lives. However, after watching the film with my would-be wife, it absolutely shredded me to my emotional core not only because it hits home harder to watch the sequence of seeing the love of your life pass away but the truths of life imbued throughout the mostly silent montage. 

Beautifully scored by Michael Giacchino, this opening sequence communicates so much with minimal dialogue interjected to tell us. The definition of “show, don’t tell” in its presentation and it does wonders in showing the big dreams this couple has to go to live a married life of bliss and have children. When this proves impossible for them, it brings pain but their beautiful love for each other does not break them but allows them to find something else to aspire to do together. This shapes their plan to go to Paradise Falls, which gets repeatedly upended because life simply happens. A flat tire occurs, an injury transpires, and they need to break the piggy bank to pay for it. When Ellie tragically passes just as they plan to go to Paradise Falls, it further deepens the loss because she never got to on her grand adventure leaving this gaping hole in the heart of Carl, who needs to live on without her. Just writing about it has me holding back tears, but it sets up the true message of the film about life itself being an adventure worth taking. Such a life-affirming message but one Carl cannot begin to comprehend early in the film because he’s still grieving her loss. 

Typically a film that impacts me to this degree typically brandishes my highest rating, but Up does suffer from what transpires in the messy middle of the film seeing as the two bookends are fantastic and emotionally resonant. By no means, does this indicate it does not have a high degree of entertainment, but it does lose steam in moments where it does rely on some juvenile humor that was mostly likely deemed necessary to bring some levity to a story that emotionally whips you throughout its runtime. This mostly occurs when we have the storyline with the dogs and all that they include. This section of the feature adds to the entertainment but does come as quite the drop-off as we wait for the meaningful conclusion to hammer home the larger point of the film. 

On this journey to Paradise Falls, Carl finds himself with an unlikely Wilderness Explorer companion named Russell (Jordan Nagai) who happens to have stayed on the porch when the balloons levitated the house. Russell brings this youthful zeal that counters well to Carl’s curmudgeon demeanor at this point of his life but what the young boy represents in his life adds further coloring to the feature. Some more abstract readings see Russell as the child Carl and Ellie never had guiding him towards this collective dream they all had to reach Paradise Falls or as simple as the individual that represents Carl’s next adventure. Everything between them works on an emotional level and they make for such a lovely pair. 

The imagery on display in this feature is more than iconic as we have the beautiful visuals of the balloons holding up this house. We, of course, have to indulge in some fantasy as we try to comprehend how many balloons it would take to actually levitate a house. As someone with no background in science, I could not begin to have a debate but it sure does make for such a colorful and palatable visual as we see the house floating through the sky. This allows Pixar’s animation style to shine in the way it presents this story and adds to the whimsical nature of this narrative overall. 

There will always be a soft spot in my heart for Up and what it explores on a thematic level not only about the relationship Carl has with his wife Ellie but also a love of life we cannot forget about. Not crying at least once throughout the runtime of this feature will rightfully cause accusations of a heart of stone seeing as this feature digs into something so incredibly impactful. While not personally in his same age group at the moment, Carl becomes such a relatable character for me seeing as I would be the same way should I lose my wife but where the film takes his own personally emotional journey demonstrates the brilliance of the team involved and I remain forever thankful it exists.