“UP” in Ratings
Released in 2009, Disney-Pixar’s feature film, Up, has become a beloved classic for many. It’s rare to find a movie that will appeal to those core human emotions of joy and sadness simultaneously. Accumulating more than $735 million world wide on a budget of $175 million, it is the fifth highest grossing Pixar film right behind Finding Nemo (2003), Inside Out (2015), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Finding Dory (2016). Sounds pretty impressive for a movie about an old man, a flying house, and a talking dog, right?
The directer, Pete Docter, came up with the idea for Up in 2004. While he began his career at Pixar during its early days as a writer, voice actor, and animator, Up was the second major film that he directed. He also directed the films Monsters Inc (2001) and Inside Out (2015) which were widely successful and brought $1.1 billion in combined revenue world wide. As for his role in Up, Docter’s personal life and artistic creativity heavily influenced the plot development and production of the film. His love of tropical destinations led to the story partly taking place in “Paradise Falls”, which was modeled off of Angel Falls in Venezuela. His daughter, Elie, served as the voice actress for the young Ellie in the movie. He also drew inspiration from his favorite movies such as Casablanca and A Christmas Carol as well as from the works of Hayao Miyazaki.
Infused with that characteristic Disney-Pixar “magic”, Up is a story that translates across generations. Carl Fredricksen is the ninety year old protagonist who seeks to evade spending the rest of his days in a retirement home by literally flying his house to Paradise Falls, a tropical location in South America that Carl and his deceased wife, Ellie, had always dreamed of traveling to. Along the way, Carl meets Russell, a kind and energetic Wilderness Scout; Doug, a lovable golden retriever who has a collar that allows him to communicate with humans; and Kevin, a massive and rare bird with a vibrant plumage and a taste for chocolate. Carl reminds all of us of a grumpy but sweet grandparent or senior we have met in our lives, yet his thirst for adventure and non-conformist tendancies appeal to a younger generation of explorers.
However, while Carl may reflect the spirit of those who are forever young at heart, the film score reflects the sentiments of those who are old-souls and live for those nostalgic feelings that music can provide. The iconic feature song, “Married Life”, syncs up with the life that Carl and Ellie shared together. In four minutes and ten seconds, Pixar manages to take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster of love and loss that takes some movies an entire film to achieve. A happy and light-hearted waltz, the song’s tempo gradually transitions from upbeat and carefree to slow and isolated before picking right back up with a mélange of trumpet, flute, violin, and piano in order to reflect the ups and downs that Carl and Ellie experience throughout life.
I love that Pixar used music as a metaphor to reflect the fact that life is a continuous and ever-changing endeavor. This movie is not only entertaining, its also a lesson about living life to the fullest and accepting the winds of change. Carl struggled greatly with letting go of the past and the things that he felt kept him connected to Ellie, such as his house. He finally learned that the best way to heal from a heavy loss is to “seek a new adventure”, which in Carl’s case, happens to be his new found friendship with Russell.
Up is such a beautiful and comforting movie. Full of diverse characters but familiar situations, this is a film that almost anyone can relate to. We all crave a relationship that is similar to Carl and Ellie’s, full of love, devotion, and companionship. In addition, the artistic merit that this movie possesses is undoubtedly seen in the spectacular animation and film score. Vibrant and lively in both sight and sound, this film will always be near the top of my list of aesthetically pleasing movies, and it should be on yours, too.
