Response to Up

I first watched Up when it was released in theaters in 2009; however, I found that I had forgotten a lot of the plot when rewatching the film for this class.  Overall, I felt as if Up did a good job of breaking down stereotypes, and the story was definitely one that both children and adults would enjoy watching.  It addresses some serious issues, such as death, infertility, and the inability to fulfill childhood dreams, which give it a serious undertone, while characters like Russell and Dug lighten the mood.

One aspect of the film that I had forgotten about was that Carl and Russell arrive near Paradise Falls towards the beginning of the film, since that, I thought would be the main conflict in the film.  The middle part of the storyline, with the addition of the talking dogs and Charles Muntz, to me was a deviation from the main point of the film, which was about Carl fulfilling Ellie’s childhood dream and in the end finding happiness in spending time with Russell.  The conflict with Charles Muntz, and his Spirit of Adventure, and the chase from talking dogs added a science fiction aspect to the film that I enjoyed, but it did confuse me a bit, as I was not sure of the reasoning for them being an integral part of the story.  I wonder if Up would have been as successful if Carl and Russell had embarked on a “typical” journey through South America, and then finally found the falls at the end of the film.

One aspect that surprised me, especially with regards to the popularity and box office success of the film, was that Carl, of all people, is the main character.  In most other animated films, the main characters are young, or filled with energy, adding life to the scenes.  This is the case with Disney princesses, who are bright and cheerful, or with superheroes, who are strong, powerful, and very active.  However, Carl is none of these things.  He is old, grumpy for most of the film, and requires a cane to walk.  Except for the beginning, there are no particular parts where he adds life to the scene, but rather the film relies on Russell, Dug, and Kevin to do this.  This, to me, proves that Disney and Pixar do not have to follow a generic formula in order to create blockbuster hits, but can experiment with new ideas and still come up with great films.