Up

With a ten-year-old child in the house, my Disney immersion has been thorough. And predictable.

Until Up (Disney Pixar; Blu Ray 4 Disc Combo Pack $19.99). I will admit that I did not expect the beautifully crafted love story that the aforesaid ten-year-old and I both thoroughly enjoyed.

He called it a heart-puller.

Up is the tale of Carl Fredricksen, beautifully voiced by Ed Asner. We first meet Carl as a young, shy boy with the heart of an explorer. The young Carl meets Ellie and through a series of screen shots we watch them, accompanied only by music, grow up together, fall in love, get married, make plans, suffer despair, dream dreams, work, grow old and, then quite sadly, Elle passes before all those dreams they dreamed are realized.

Director Pete Docter creates a seamless montage of a life well lived, and loved, that is so artfully crafted that if it ended there, you would have already been told a remarkable story of life, love and longing.

The ten-year-old has repeatedly stated that his favorite part of the movies was how the director showed the passing of time through Carl’s neckties. Neckties whose style and color changed with the decades and with his age until, as an older man, he sports the iconic grumpy-old-man bowtie.



But there is more. And I have to say, if you are not able to predict the outcome of a Disney film, what follows is a bit of a spoiler. Though it falls far short of telling the enormity of this grand adventure tale.

Carl, at 78 years of age, has had the breath of life taken from him with the loss of Ellie. All that remains to him is their home – a lovely Victorian the younger couple rescued from disrepair lovingly bringing her back to whimsically colored life.

It is a happy home where Ellie’s biggest dream – the chance to visit Paradise Falls in Venezuela is illustrated above the fireplace. With Ellie gone and big corporate developers leveling the neighborhood around their home, Carl becomes sadder as do we the viewers.

A run in with the developer and those kind folks at Social Services and it is time for Carl to move to a planned living community.

Carl’s big escape comes courtesy of a very large bouquet of helium filled balloons in a Technicolor explosion that is beyond gorgeous courtesy of blu ray technology and a big ole’ flat screen television.

Big enough to lift the home up, away from the developer that would destroy it. Away from the old folks home that would destroy Carl.

Away from the disappointment and loneliness of living life with out his beloved girl.

As the home elevates, the sun shining through the multi-hued balloons, projecting their colors onto a young girl playing in her high-rise condominium, is nothing short of magnificent.

It is a visual reminder that hope and dreams are never truly lost.

Carl, settling into his chair high above earth’s boundaries hears a knock at the door. On the other side is the round peg to Carl’s square hole, Russell (Jordan Ngai).

Carl had sent Russell, who is working on his “assist the elderly” Wilderness badge, on a wild goose chase to find a Snipe. Russell, looking under the porch is accidentally hefted into the air when Carl takes his leave.




Their airborne journey takes Carl, Russell and Elle – who is represented by the Victorian home that Carl clings to - to Venezuela where they touch down on the top of the Tepuis, formidable, flat – or mesa - mountaintops whose environments are a combination of alien rock formation, mist, clouds, winds and other inhospitable conditions.

Only they land a good two to three days walk away from their destination alongside Paradise Falls.

Wrapping the still aloft home’s garden hose around his chest and tossing Russell a line, Carl begins the task of leading the house across the Tepuis, a journey in which we see Carl emerge from the despair of losing his wife through an encounter with his childhood hero, now turned evil madman, Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer).

We also encounter Dug, the talking dog, Muntz’s evil pack of talking dogs from which Dug escaped and Kevin the rare, beautifully plumed, exotic bird that Muntz is manically tracking.

In true Disney fashion, the hero prevails beyond what we would expect, the child finds happiness, the bird manages to escape Muntz, Dug gets a new master that is kind and gentle and the villain disappears into the clouds over the Tepuis.

And Ellie’s house finally sits, just like in the picture over the fireplace mantle, at the top of Paradise Falls.

The Good: Watching trailers and reading reviews of Up one expects the film to be simply beautiful to watch, and it is. What is really incredible is how Docter opted for restraint and simplicity of design to tell this very complex, multi-leveled story.

Visual cues are subtle, but very telling. Carl’s entire persona is square, downtrodden. The nose to big, the smile downturned, the eyes squinted and barely visible.

Russell, at the age of eight, is optimistic. His dad is “missing” however he is able to recollect the simplistic times of happiness that he had with him. In keeping with his outlook on life, Russell is round, buoyant, bouncing and filled with life’s promise.

The Bad: Nope. Not one.

Mandatory Extras: The UP Blu Ray extras are robust and as enjoyable as the film itself.

The first of three extras viewed was the Pixar short Partly Cloudy (run time 5:46). This dialogue free short tells the story a little black cloud who, unlike his brethren clouds that create puppies, kitties and babies for the storks to deliver, instead creates porcupines, crocodiles, electric eels and head-butting baby rams. The comedic role is his beleaguered stork that is shocked, butted, snapped upon to the point of exhaustion and an ever-diminishing coat of feathers. A beautifully done cartoon.

Dug’s Special Mission (run time 4:42) gives us a bit of Dug’s back-story before meeting Carl and Russell and having the best day ever. While Dug’s story is not imperative to the films enjoyment, I have to admit that knowing a bit more about Dug made him a much more central character in the film, not just the “bit” tossed in for the funny.


The demise of the Disney Villain is usually artfully handled so as not to traumatize little Mary. In “Alternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz” (runtime 4:55) we are treated to a bit of the behind-the-scenes process that goes into “offing” a Disney villain.

With those three great extras, one might be satisfied, however, I loved and will watch again and again, the “Adventure Is Out There” (run time 22:16) short documentary that follows the filmmakers – from the art crew to director Peter Docter – to the Tepuis in Venezuela.

The goal of this journey was to allow those creating the film to gain a firm grasp on the enormity of their size, the other-world rock formations created by winds buffeting against eons of sediment layers, some of which have worn away quickly then others, creating magnificent natural sculptures, and the severity of the weather on top of these mountain.

Now, it is time to return to the film to watch eight additional documentary pieces including Carl’s story in “Geriatric Hero” (6:23), “Canine Companions” (8:27) that focuses on Dug and the other talking dogs under Muntz’s command and “Russell: Wilderness Explorer” (9:02) that offers insight into this slightly annoying, but really well intentioned little boy.

We learn more about the film’s flightless bird in “Our Giant, Flightless Friend Kevin” (5:06). The “Homemakers of Pixar” (4:34) show how models of Carl and Ellie’s Victorian home were created to ensure that its movements in flight were real and then “Balloons and Flight” (6:26) looking into the usage of balloons in flight, including Muntz's airship, the Spirit of Adventure.

If you have not had enough, the documentary “Composing for Characters” (7:40) analyzes how the characters personalities were developed while “Alternate Scene: Married Life” (9:12) explains the thoughts behind Carl and Ellie’s opening montage and allows viewers to see the scenes clipped in editing.

There are plenty of other things. Trailers, commentaries, a DVD and Digital copy of the movie that combines to create a truly heartwarming and entertainment experience that goes well beyond the movie.

Above and Beyond: The Global Guardian Badge Game takes players on a multi-layered geographical journey where players travel the world and collect Wilderness Explorer Badges by answering questions about countries found on interactive maps. It’s a fun game for the family and will let you know exactly how deficient your world geography skills are! Thankfully on “learning mode” you can pick up the props you need to get that badge!