There’s a sly mood turn, early in Up, that foreshadows nicely why this film is quirky and different from the herd. Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), our curmudgeon old blockhead, is trying to stop a construction worker from touching his sentimental mailbox. They go into a tug-of-war over the mailbox, which looks silly to us, but agitates Carl. So he whacks the guy on the head with his walker. BONK. The guy falls on his tush, holding his head. We laugh. Then, as if revealing a plot twist, he moves his hand and we see that he’s bleeding quite heavily. Other concerned characters tend to his injury. Carl, clutching his mailbox tight, panics and runs into his house. We stop laughing.
We’re so used to cartoons having no consequences that an action so simple could be used so provocatively. Up doesn’t pretend to be realistic, but it never betrays the logic of the characters for the sake of gags. It has plenty of hilarity already coming out organically. The Pixar folks are masters of this. They turn the scenes they have into the base for inventing their jokes, rather than devise jokes and try to fit them into the story. They don’t keep a scene in the film just because it’s funny. Everything here adds another layer to the characters. It’s almost flawless in its execution, with the kind of direction that conveys so much with so little. It’s not afraid to take its time, especially on sweet moments like Carl cleaning up his dead wife’s trophy mantle, or taking in the view upon the first time seeing a beautiful waterfall.
The animation is top notch, as to be expected, but it’s the “cinematography” that totally pushes it off the edge. There’s one shot from inside a bedroom as Carl’s house floats by outside, and the room turns into a kaleidoscopic rainbow from the sun shining through the multicolored balloons. It lasts only for a few seconds, but it’s sublime to see. All this accompanied by a wonderfully involving score by Michael Giacchino, whose composition is curiously always better when he’s working with Pixar than with J.J. Abrams.
Even though it’s a very funny movie, the most memorable moments are the pining ones. Top of the list is a masterful four-minute dialogue-free montage where we see young Carl and his sweetheart Ellie get married and build a home. They plan on going on an adventure to South America, but they keep having to use their savings... Flat tires, home repairs, medical bills. They try to have children instead, but Ellie can’t conceive. They grow old. Before you know it, we see Carl mournfully sitting at Ellie’s funeral. Has there ever been a more heartbreaking four minutes? And the movie's only just started!
What’s so brilliant about the montage is not just how moving it is, but also how it provides the clutch to the movie’s adventure. We see Carl talk to the house as if it’s Ellie herself. It’s a quirk, but it’s also painfully sweet. It gives us a valid reason to freak out whenever the house gets so much as a scratch, knowing how much it means to Carl, giving the story some of its needed suspense.
“Adventure” is the key phrase of the film. That’s the promise Carl made to his wife and it’s what motivates him. Russell (Jordan Nagai), a young boy who tags along in this journey, is a Wilderness Explorer looking to earn a badge. There’s also Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), Carl’s childhood idol who disappeared many decades ago in pursuit of a shocking discovery. But there’s something else that links these three boys-at-hearts other than their desire for adventure: it’s the yearning for acceptance. Carl goes on this South American escapade because he’s lost meaning ever since his wife passed. Russell, we find out, is as lonely as Carl and goes exploring because it keeps him distracted from disappointments. Even the talking dog, Dug, just wants to find a master. It’s only appropriate that the villain is a man who’s driven mad by solitary and has to talk to dogs with technology. The only thing he wants? To be adored and revered, of course.
Up is about love. It’s about companionship. It’s about interaction. It’s also about mortality and legacy—who or what you leave behind when you die—a profound topic that Up doesn’t take lightly, kids movie or not. Often we’re so obsessed with that legacy that we forget to enjoy the adventure. It isn't a new idea, but it's rarely executed so well. Do we want to waste life chasing a lasting legacy like Muntz, or do we want to lead a fulfilling life of love like Carl? It’s a brilliant choice for the film to have the death montage so early in the film, because it shares that potent impact on related scenes, like when Carl finally realizes what his true adventure was.
I don’t want to be “that guy” and say this is the best Pixar film yet, because I keep finding each of their output to be so stellar. But what can I say? It’s true. They’ve raised the bar yet again. Up is even more ambitious and impressive than Wall•E. I’d like to see if the so-called Best Picture contenders this year can match up to it.
"Up" opens May 29, 2009 and is rated PG. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family, Comedy. Directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson. Written by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Thomas McCarthy. Starring Christopher Plummer, Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson.
