Adventure is out there

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2016)

This movie is about an endearing adventure between unlikely companions that become friends. Ed Asner voices the character of Carl Fredricksen, an elderly gentleman that faces his future without his beloved wife Ellie. Carl meets the character voiced by Jordan Nagai, Russel, a young boy trying to earn a badge for Wilderness Explorers when Russel knocks on Carl's door. Through unfortunate circumstances, Carl was being forced into an elderly home, and he decided he was going take chances and float his home to Paradise Falls to fulfill a promise he made to Ellie. He connects helium balloons to his house to achieve that promise, but life teaches him the lesson of letting go of the past and moving on with his life.
Unbeknown to Carl, Russel was at the house when it takes off and Carl had no choice but to let him in. Carl is so focused on keeping all his precious mementos of his life with Ellie that Carl gets them to South America. While trying to walk his house to the Paradise Falls, Carl and Russel meet a bird that Russel calls Kevin and a dog, voiced by Bob Peterson, named Dug. Dug's owner, Charles Muntz, voiced by Christopher Plummer, has been searching for this bird to clear his name that he was alleged to have created. His catch phrase was "Adventure is out there," but he was unable to let go of the search for the bird. He was left holding on to his past, and never made any new adventures. Meeting Charles, causes Carl and Russel to freeing Kevin from Charles' blimp and they make memories together. Carl realizes that Ellie's adventures with Carl meant everything to her, and after looking in Ellie's My Adventure scrapbook he reads that she wants him to make new adventures when she is gone.
This movie uses balloons as a motif. When Carl and Ellie first meet, Carl has a blue balloon. He accidentally lets it go when Ellie startled him. Ellie brings the balloon back to him and that is where their friendship begins. They also use balloons during the picnic when Carl buys tickets for them to go to Venezuela. He has balloons tied to the picnic basket. Carl also sits by himself with a blue balloon at her funeral. Of course, Carl uses balloons to float his house which begins his new adventures with Russell.
Another film technique that this movie uses well is montage. To show the life of love that Ellie and Carl share together they show brief moments of their lives. They get married, buy the house where they first met, the fun they had, the desire to expand their family, the devastating news that they could not have children, and all the moments up to Ellie's death. They give you the lifetime of them together without this being the main focus on the movie. They also show a Carl and Russel montage at the end. They show that Carl was able to make new adventures.
Another Disney Pixar movie that shares the theme of letting go would be Finding Nemo. When Marvin has to let his past fears of danger go to help his son, Nemo, that was caught by a scuba driver. Marvin and Carl both learn that by letting go, they too can find the adventure that is out there.