Perfect.

Rating: 10/10 (7 March 2020)

There are very few movies that I can classify as being pretty much perfect. It is so refreshing to watch this movie. It has such a beautiful and original story. Plus Micheal Giacchino's absolutely gorgeous score. When I was thinking about what makes this movie so great I came up with 3 things. 1st: The opening sequence 2nd: The symbolism and 3rd: The characters
The opening sequence:
This film deserves an entire section just for that montage at the beginning. It is so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. It is so perfectly woven together. How it starts with Ellie waiting for Carl to get up the hill and then it switches with Carl waiting for Ellie. And that's what makes this montage so good. You go from feeling happy to sad in an instant and it feels completely natural and you don't feel jolted around. Like when they are decorating their baby's room and it is light and colorful and then the "camera" pans over to a dark and gray room that feels small and without any dialogue and you can perfectly understand that it is a miscarriage.
The symbolism:
I absolutely love the symbolism of this movie. For example after Carl chooses the house over Kevin and he finally makes it to Paradise Falls, the audience doesn't feel satisfied. When Carl goes through Ellie's adventure book and see's that she actually did fill in those pages that she was saving because that was her adventure and she writes to Carl "Now go have another one." This is when Carl's ark is finally complete and he throws out all the stuff weighing the house down. Signifying that his memories were weighing him down and that he is letting go of them. It helps the audience understand the story better and it makes the scene more emotional and the audience feels that satisfaction that wasn't felt at the beginning of the sequence.
The Characters: The other two things I've talked about could not be happen without the audience being able to buy into the characters. The characters in this movie are memorable and real. What makes this movie so good is that you can buy into Carl's character the first second you see him in that theater. Probably one of the best character moments in this movie is when Carl and Russel are sitting by the camp fire and Russel tells Carl about his memories with him and his dad and when he says "Phyllis says I bother him to much" to which Carl replies "You call your mom by her first name!?" Then Russel says "Phyllis isn't my mom" Its at that point where Carl realizes that Russel isn't just trying to be a Senior Camper he is doing it so he can get those memories back with his dad. But Carl knows that that wont happen because Russel's dad left him. This scene doesn't just develop Russel as a character it is the point that starts to change Carl's heart.
This movie makes me laugh every time. Smile every time. Cry every time. The story was so carefully written and the animation is beautiful. 10/10 this movie is Perfect.