Up
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Pixar has a formula for making movies that works extremely well. A dash of ingenuity, a sprinkle of mature ideas, and a heaping of marketing magic and children themes ensures an entertaining ninety minutes and a blockbuster opening to boot. With Up they seemed to have upended the balance a bit more than usual, making the Disney execs breathe a little harder. Up is an innovative movie. It displays sparks of ingenuity and emotional maturity that are far from the norm in such children’s cinema. When it picks up the reins from its corporate bigger brother, through the action filled last thirty minutes of the film, it displays a distinctive self-awareness. The double-edged sword of a Pixar feature is that for all its maturity the film is still a children’s movie and so it constrains itself both intellectually and narratively within these boundaries.
Up is the story of a man, his love, and his adventure. The most poignant moments from Pixar’s newest creation are dutifully found in the quietest scenes; where a man is wrapped in the events of his life or the struggles of his mind. Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) has always been a fan of Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). In our parlance, Muntz is the Charles Lindbergh of the Up world. Carl’s obsession with Muntz introduces him to Ellie, a rambunctious and talkative young girl who loves Muntz as much as Carl. Ellie shares a passion for adventure, wanting dearly to follow in Muntz’s footsteps. Carl and Ellie are opposites and shortly after their first meeting a montage takes over. The two marry and move through life’s triumphs and hard troughs. Lately it seems that Pixar’s creators take their biggest leaps, their most innovative steps, at the start of the film. In Wall-E it was the first twenty minutes that brought gasps to the adult viewer, a harkening to the age of silent films..jpg)
In Up it is the same. Walking through the life of our protagonist is heart wrenching and soul searching. It sets up the film’s motivations clearly, yes, but it does so much more in connecting us to characters we have just barely met. Pixar clearly shows us that lengthy exposition is unnecessary to create a powerful emotional connection.
Upon a turning point in his life and the ever encroaching boundaries of modernity and re-development, Carl decides to abandon his life and follow a childhood dream. The vehicle for Carl’s departure is the house he has shared with Ellie and his fuel happens to be helium within many, many balloons. Presented in 3D there are a few moments in this film that are visually arresting. Other than the early short that accompanies Up, the image of the Fredricksen residence pulling itself up from the confines of the earth is really unmatched by any other moment in the movie. As the balloons all unfurl themselves from the chimney stack the cacophony of colors is more than the eye can take in. The colors rise in concert and then slowly lift the house away from its moorings and into a life of childhood adventure. Pixar’s films are always visually splendid, but the use of color and the visual itself of a house floating away reminds one of the old “Baba Yaga” tales.
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Unfortunately for Carl, he cannot seem to get away with the isolation he desires. As his house lifts from its earthly shackles it takes along Russell, a most unwelcome guest in the Fredricksen household. Russell badly needs to earn his “helping the elderly” badge and so found himself on Carl’s doorstep. The sidekick moves from functioning adequately to falling on the verge of annoying. He seems to be the moral compass for Carl, a vocalization for Carl’s inner dialogue at times as well. Pixar unfortunately cannot seem to get the balance right through the film’s ninety minute running time. The addition of another silent side-kick (Kevin the bird) and another talkative side-kick (Dug the dog) make for a lopsided film when it comes to dialogue. Regrettably, Dug’s incessant speaking turns from cute to annoying as well. Through the latter end of the film some of the nicer moments are when Carl actually speaks up, Russell displays an economy of words, and Dug, sleeping, shuts up. It is a hard thing to say, but the sweeter and emotionally poignant moments of the film occur when everyone can just keep quiet for a moment, particularly our stock characters.
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It is no shock to state that Carl and Muntz eventually cross paths. Action ensues and the movie takes a formulaic turn to its end, but there are still moments though. Though Carl turns into an action hero the geriatric fight scene demonstrates for one short moment the reality of our characters on screen. Then things quickly descend into unrealism and explosions. That is not a bad thing per se, it just happens to be antithetic and anti-climactic after such a stellar opening of emotional maturity.
Up is good, missing the “great” boat because of unfulfilled dreams that are set out at the opening page. One does come away from the film with a sense that Pixar has matured emotionally from their last endeavor. The simplicity of love has transcended into the understanding of finality. The way the film handles death and a miscarriage is absolutely… stunning. The way it handles the fact that life goes on? Even adult films have trouble navigating this most basic fact of life. Dreams are an integral part of our lives and Up demonstrates that in its simplicity, through the Fredricksen’s lives. For all of this though, the film deviates into an action-adventure, where only for brief moments our original themes re-appear. Up is much like its characters, the kid with parental issues and the dog with master issues, it is unfortunately hamstrung by its creators and their choices.
