Movie Review of Disney's Up

by Lewis Robinson

The 2009 Disney movie Up takes the audience on a journey that they will remember long after the credits have rolled. The movie follows Carl, a man who has been working toward a dream of exploring the mysterious and breathtaking Paradise Falls.

The movie starts with a newsreel that is playing in a theater where a young Carl is on the edge of his seat as he watches his favorite explorer, Charles Muntz, head to South America in search of a mysterious bird near Paradise Falls with his canine companions. It is here that the famous phrase 'Adventure is Out There' is introduced to the audience watching the film, and it is the first clue just how much Carl values adventure.

Disney movies have a habit of making stories not turn out the way it is thought they will turn out, and this movie is no exception. Audiences see Carl meet Ellie and go on an entirely different adventure as they both try to get to Paradise Falls throughout the course of their life together. Unfortunately, they hit trouble along the way, including finding out that Ellie is unable to have a child and Ellie getting deathly ill just before they are supposed to finally make the journey to the falls.

This movie hits on a lot of important topics that are not usually addressed in Disney films, and most of them are touched on without any words exchanged on screen. Ellie's infertility and her resulting depression, while only portrayed for a short time, serve as a silent acknowledgement of the pain of people who suffer in silence from fertility issues and the resulting emotional and psychological turmoil. Showing a couple from the beginning of their lives to the end of one person's life, though it might just seem like everyday humdrum, shows the strength of their relationship as they endure hardship and having to put their dreams off together. Many couples do not have this experience, and they can learn a thing or two from this silent montage. Carl and Ellie have a lot of things happen to them, but they support one another through it and work as a team as they build their life together.

Up also shows the unfortunate reality of how merciless corporations can be when they are trying to obtain property from older people who live alone. Just because someone is older does not mean that they are senile or weak. For instance, take when Carl outsmarted the people who were waiting to take him to the retirement home. All he said was that he wanted to say goodbye to his house and they let him take the time he needed, not realizing that he was enacting his plan to release the balloons and take off.

When Carl eventually gets to Paradise Falls, along with Russell, a scout who he had previously ignored and ended up on his porch after the house took off into the sky, and Dug, a dog who can talk through a translator in his collar, they make an unexpected discovery in the form of Charles Muntz, still living and with a pack of faithful canine companions. It is here that Carl learns that it is not always good to meet your heroes, as Muntz's motives for finding the elusive bird, known as Kevin, to be self-serving and evil. Carl and Muntz must have had access to good exercise, diets and a heck of a mobilify supplement, because their fight would not have been nearly as gripping or action-filled between two average people in their same age group.

Up is a dynamic movie, chock full of lessons that every person should look for and learn from. It is the perfect package of story and teaching, fun for the whole family and should be considered a modern classic.