Up addresses tough issues

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2011)

The film Up is about the journey of a man named Carl Fredricksen, voice by Edward Asner, and a young boy named Russell, voice by Jordan Nagai (Docter, 2009). Carl Fredricksen married the love of his life and they both loved adventure, even as children. His wife's name was Ellie, and her dream was to live at a place called Paradise Falls and Carl promised her that one day they would live there. After Ellie passed away Carl set out on a journey to take their house to Paradise Falls and fulfill the promise he had made her.
While traveling to Paradise Falls in his house, which he had rigged to float by using balloons, he acquires a new companion named Russell. After a treacherous journey they finally reach Paradise Falls. While they are on the last leg of their journey, Carl and Russell have to deal with some unexpected complications. These complications involve a rather large bird, a very loving talking dog named Doug, Doug's not so loving dog companions, and their elderly master. The dogs' master is a man named Charles Muntz,voice by Christopher Plummer. Muntz thinks that Carl and Russell are trying to steal from him and orders them to be killed. Russell and Carl barely escape with their lives, and unfortunately Carl is not able to fulfill his promise to Ellie. Through Carl's journey he makes a very important realization. He realizes that sometimes there are more important things. For Carl, Russell and his safety was more important than getting his house to the top of Paradise Falls. He also realizes that even though he has lost his wife, he cannot stop living.
Carl realizing that there were more important things than his journey and that even after death life must go on saved Russell's life. When Carl understood that life must be lived and not forgotten, he made a large impact on a special young boy. Throughout the film Russell mentions his father, but he never has very much to say about him, except that he is hardly ever around. Carl became like a father to Russell, which was exactly what they both needed.
When I am thinking about the theme of Up, there is another movie that instantly comes to mind. The film P.S. I Love You starring Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, and Harry Connick Jr., has a similar theme to the film Up (La Gravenese, 2007). They both are about finding life after death, and about having to find your motivation to move past it. After Hilary Swank's character loses her husband, played by Gerard Butler, she has to find motivation to move past her husband's death and continue on with her life. This is exactly what Carl Fredricksen has to deal with when he loses his wife. In the end, both Hilary Swanks character and Carl find ways to go on living their lives and they also find ways to change the lives of others.
In the film Up, the directors use lighting to influence the emotions felt by the viewers in different scenes. When Russell and Carl reach Paradise Falls, the lighting used is bright and so are the colors used. This is done to give the viewers the feelings of happiness and jubilation. This scene varies greatly from the scene where Carl and Russell first meet Charles Muntz. In the scene the lighting is a lot darker and so are the colors. This is to give the viewers a hint at what is to come by Carl and Russell meeting Mr. Muntz. The directors also use background music to help add character to the film. When Carl is looking through the photos of him and Ellie, the music in the background contributes the feelings of sadness, happiness, and a hint of loneliness. During the scene when Carl and Russell are having dinner with Mr. Muntz, the music in the background adds a lot of tension to the scene that can be felt by the viewers watching. Another example is when Carl is trying to save Russell from Mr. Muntz. The background music in the scene adds excitement and anticipation for the viewers and has them waiting for what will happen next.
This film did a really nice job of expressing its theme. The directors put a very colorful and exciting story to it and made it come to life. Death can be a very hard thing to deal with, but death of a loved one does not mean that life is over. Each person must find their own motivation to carry on and go on living life. There are things in life that may seem extremely important to us, but sometimes we can be deceived. People can be tricked into thinking that something should be the most important thing to them, while it should really be something else. Just because something is important to you does not mean that it is alright to over look other things that may be of equal if not more importance.