Up

Up – Carl is an old man who has lived his life, but regrets not going exploring with his now deceased wife, Ellie. He escapes on an adventure by attaching hundreds of balloons to his house, but didn’t reckon on accidentally taking a young enthusiastic ‘Wilderness Explorer’ with him. Carl’s irritation at his stowaway isn’t going to stop him from getting to Paradise Falls, the place that he and Ellie dreamed of. But there are forces at play in the South American jungle that threaten them both. What will Carl abandon to achieve the dream just within his grasp?

Up (2009) – Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21206694

Rating: U

Running Length: 96 mins

Starring: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer

Genre: Animated, Drama, Comedy

REVIEW: ‘UP’

On first viewing of ‘Up’ as an adult it is perfectly normal to feel annoyed. What on Earth is Pixar doing by making your bawl your eyes out with the opening 10 minutes?! That just isn’t fair! Of course, this irritation at hitting you so hard in the feels soon dissipates because ‘Up’ is a masterclass in hooking you in with the most unusual of ingredients.

When Up was first announced as having a lead cast of an elderly man and his unlikely friendship with a young boy some eyebrows were raised as to how this would engage the target young audience. Whilst the sheer poignancy of the initial heart punch may go over the heads of small children, the grumpy old man that is Carl certainly does not. ‘Up’ gets the mixture just right by making him the living body of cantankerous, but still having enough heart behind the eyes to be endearing. This, combined with Russell’s upbeat do-good attitude (A ‘Wilderness Scout’ must be prepared!) makes for a delightful pairing. And once you get to spend some time with Doug, the talking dog, then that’s you entranced.

As an overall movie ‘Up’ does wander a bit in the middle. The structure of introducing a handful of new characters halfway through, in the guise of lost explorer Muntz and his talking dog pack, means that the pacing takes a bit of a knock. But even with a few scenes that meander around the core elements are so enjoyable that it’s fun to simply be with these characters. One of the best Pixar movies for kids and adults alike. If only it were possible to watch the opening without sobbing?

CONTENT: IS ‘UP’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Once the movie gets into a dialogue-less montage of Carl and Ellie falling in love, etc, be warned that there are some very sad scenes coming up all together, as below. The whole sequence is around 4 minutes 30 with lots of uplifting scenes in between.

As Carl and Ellie get married and build their lives together they get the desire to start a family. They make a nursery in their home, but the scene cuts to a crying Ellie in a doctor’s office. The implication is that they have lost their baby and are unable to conceive further. There is sad music and they comfort each other.

Carl and Ellie get older and older in montage sequences. When walking up a big hill Ellie stumbles and collapses. The scene cuts to a hospital where she is weak in bed and she comforts him. The scene cuts to Carl alone in a church as sad music plays. Ellie has died and he is clearly devastated.

Back in present day, Carl loses his temper when a mail box that he and Ellie made together is accidentally knocked over by a construction vehicle. The foreman for the construction is very apologetic but Carl doesn’t listen and smacks him on the head with a blunt object in anger. The foreman collapses in pain and there is a small amount of blood. Carl immediately regrets what he did but hides away and doesn’t apologise.

After the house has taken off and landed there is a scene with a bunch of scary growling dogs. This lasts a few seconds.

A boy has the urge to use the bathroom when there is none. The phrase “poo in the bushes” is used.

There is a brief clip of an animal called ‘The Snipe’ that uses a threat display directly at the camera. This is loud and aggressive and lasts a couple of seconds.

The scary dogs are present several times throughout the film. However, even though Alpha is depicted as mean and cruel, he has a collar which means he can ‘talk’ and the collar is broken, rendering his voice as squeaky and high pitched which undermines his threat level, comically.

A frog is used a bit like an alarm. It’s head is patted and it is squashed a little to make a ‘warning croak’.

The ‘bad’ dogs bark at Doug (the ‘good’ dog) who cowers back, intimidated. There is lots of snarling for around 5 seconds before the dogs are ordered back by a character.

Alpha’s voice collar is fixed and his voice switches to a deep and scary one for a brief part of the film. A character talks about how other visitors have been to this location before, and as he does so he knocks off mannequin heads that have caps and goggles. The implication is that he has killed previous explorers.

Dogs chase a boy and run right at him, snapping their jaws. Later, the dogs fall into a stream and are swept away. They are fine, but irritated.

The Snipe is hurt and it is explained that it misses its family. It caws, plaintively. A character is sad, empathetically.

The Snipe is snatched away and Carl’s house (which the movie has made very clear is dear to him because of Ellie) is set on fire.

Carl looks through a book with pictures of him and Ellie and the adventures they planned together. He is upset at what was lost and how he ended up as his is now. Sad music plays.

During a flying sequence, a hatch is opened and characters nearly fall through it. The whole climax of the film is full of risks associated with nearly plummeting out of the sky. There is a brief shot of Alpha ‘mauling’ Doug but no injury is caused.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘UP’ FOR KIDS?

‘Up’ is very child friendly. If your child has a phobia or aversion to dogs then the aggressive dog parts may cause upset. Similarly, whilst the opening ‘married life through the ages’ section may go over the heads of young children, it may also be a scene that required a big family cuddle to get through. Other than that, the sum of the silly dog voices, inventive use of balloons throughout, and the grumpy gramps leading the way all equal a treat for kids. We would recommend this movie as suitable for all ages with caution as to the dogs / opening as mentioned above.

• Violence: 2/5 (Carl strikes the foreman in anger. Muntz implies past violence)
• Emotional Distress: 4/5 (this may vary between adult and child but there are some heavy tearjerking moments)
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (one jump scare with The Snipe. Several scenes of aggressive dogs)
• Sexual Content: 0/5 (aside from maybe asking about where babies come from, nothing)
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 1/5 (Verbal threats. When Carl finds Russell clinging to his airborne house he mutters “I thought you were dead”. Early on there is talk of “ripping this right out of a library book” to audible gasps)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of inability to conceive children, building a life together, holding onto resentment, trying to achieve your dreams at the expense of everything else, standing up for yourself, living life through those you meet and not goals that exclude people, determination to achieve things even in later years, and forming a family of love.

Words by Mike Record