Up, 2009.
Directed by Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson.
Featuring the voice talents of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer and Jordan Nagai.
SYNOPSIS:
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.
Pixar’s latest adventure tells the story of Carl, an elderly man who decides to take to the skies in the most extraordinary way possible, in order to make the journey he and his deceased wife Ellie never managed to experience as a couple. After a brief montage that gives us the lowdown on their long and happy life together, we cut to a solitary and cantankerous Carl who is mourning the loss of his wife and ignoring everyone else in the process. Carl is tolerating the last years of his life by shutting himself away in the home he shared with Ellie, the one physical, tangible link he still has with his wife. With shady bosses of the neighbouring construction site constantly pestering him to sell his home to their development, Carl decides to escape his surroundings in the way that we all would; by tying thousands of helium balloons to his house and floating away into the sky.
I must admit that although I was initially enjoying the film to a certain degree, it wasn’t until this point that I began to really appreciate Up for the charming, insightful work of art that it is. Whilst I did sympathise with lonely Carl as I watched him grouchily rattling around his home, I primarily didn’t find him that engaging as a lead character and I doubted whether this would trump any of Pixar’s previous universally adored releases. However, as soon as the thousands of multi-coloured balloons exploded onto the screen to take Carl away into the sky, the film transformed into an exhilarating, uplifting tale, with plenty of brilliantly bizarre moments that will leave you wondering how the hell anyone managed to come up with them.
Let’s face it, if you’re a boring grown-up like me, you’ll know exactly how every children’s film is going to end as soon as you start watching it. But this won’t deduct a moment of satisfaction whilst watching Up. Yet again Pixar has exercised its expert ability in keeping you teetering on the edge of your seat in the genuinely exciting action scenes and swallowing that persistent lump in your throat during the sentimental moments, even though everyone over the age of ten is perfectly aware that everything will turn out fine and dandy in the end. I even managed to remain engaged despite having a row of five year old girls sat behind me in the cinema who were constantly piping up with; ‘Mummy, what is the man in the film doing?’ or ‘Mummy, why is that man always sad?’ or ‘Mummy, why does that lady in front keep turning round and staring at you? She looks mean Mummy. I don’t like her.’
In the past, Disney’s main characters have chiefly consisted of finely chiselled, heavily dimpled 2-D hunks like Tarzan or Hercules, or a parade of (all very similar-looking) princesses who are all mainly concerned with the pressing issue that they don’t quite belong. More recently, Disney Pixar films have featured the likes of furry rodents, talking cars, superheroes and cute and colourful fish. It is quite courageous of Pixar then to focus the attention of their new film around an old man who misses his dead wife. Perhaps this is why it took me a while to warm to Carl as a main character, as I too had been suckered in by the cute and energetic individuals that have been on our screens until now. However, Carl’s presence ultimately becomes an entertaining and refreshing one, offering new perspectives on typical Pixar themes such as adventure and confronting danger; a particularly hilarious example being the fight he has with his arch enemy, which results in being more back-cracking than swash-buckling.
We can assume that Carl intends his helium-fuelled flight to be a one way journey, his final wish being to spend his last days in Paradise Falls, the place he and his wife dreamed they would go together. This all changes when pudgy, pre-teen Wilderness Explorer Russell ends up clinging to Carl’s front porch as it sails off into the sky. Russell is delighted as this means he can achieve his final Wilderness Explorer badge which involves ‘assisting the elderly.’ Russell ‘assists’ Carl by helping him drag his house through the jungle in search of Paradise Falls, the two of them literally being weighed down by Carl’s ongoing devotion to his wife.
Through the well-crafted dynamics between Carl, Russell and other characters, such as loveable Labrador Dug, whose hi-tech collar exposes us to his doggy stream of consciousness (far more funny and perceptive than your average ‘talking dog’ character), Carl begins to realise that he needs to look for new experiences instead of yearning for the life he has already lived. Up is a film about not forgetting, but letting go of what’s weighing you down, a poignant message that isn’t lost amongst the many laughs, the captivating plot or the vivid and stunning visuals. I think Up is probably the best film I’ve seen at the cinema this year, so if you haven’t seen it yet, stop what you’re doing and go and see it now.
Amy Flinders
