113) Up

Up (2009)

Director: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Starring: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, Bob Peterson

We had our second last Reel Dialogue for the year this evening at Turramurra Uniting Church. This time the film we looked at Pixar's brilliant animated film Up.

78 year old widower Carl Fredrickson (Asner), to avoid being sent to a retirement home and separated from his house, which has become his connection to his late wife, uses thousands of helium balloons to transform the house into an airship. His destination is the mysterious Paradise Falls, a place he and his late wife Ellie had dreamed of journeying to since they were children inspired by adventurer Charles Muntz (Plummer). Once on his way Carl finds that he is not alone, with young Wilderness Explorer Russell (Nagai) accidentally stowing away. A storm sees them descend within sight of Paradise Falls so the pair have to walk the low floating house the remainder of the way. Their journey is interrupted by an encounters with a rare bird and an evil Muntz, who is still seeking to capture it.

Much like with Pixar's previous effort WALL-E, the first act is simply breathtaking, with the rest of the film struggling to achieve the same heights. In particular the first act of Up contains a beautiful, dialogue-free montage, only a minute or two long, which covers Carl and Ellie's entire life together. It covers their marriage, purchasing and renovating their home and their saving for their dream trip to Paradise Falls constantly being thwarted by life's little interruptions. But most significantly this montage includes the news that Carl and Ellie were unable to have children, as well as Ellie's passing. Unlike the infamous death of Bambi's mother, in this case death is not the result of an act of evil or even an accident, rather it is just a part of life. This montage is probably the most gut-wrenchingly emotional couple of minutes of film I've seen in a film, the fact that it is so early in an animated family film means that it hits you like a sledgehammer. Unlike the tear-jerking final scene in Toy Story 3, which felt a bit manipulative for mine, this montage is done with such amazing subtlety that it is just beautiful. For mine, this was a really significant moment in the history of digital animation. Early on, computer animation attracted criticism for the glassy, lifeless eyes of its characters. Eyes play such a key role in expression that it made digital characters difficult to emotionally engage with. This scene, done without dialogue, relies completely on the visual expressions of the characters to convey what is going on, and it does it just as well as any live action actor could. It is one of those scenes in a film which will stay with you forever.

I have an enormous respect for the creative team at Pixar's willingness to put the story first. In a period in which most blockbuster film, particularly children's and family movies, are dictated by their merchandising and cross-promotional potential, making a film whose main character is a crotchety old man, with an overweight, socially awkward, slightly simple child as his sidekick was a very bold move (though the talking dogs do provide something for the kids, but even they are well written). But while they may not have sold as many action figures and toys as something like Monsters Vs Aliens did, they've ended up with a far superior film. In a way that is not very common today, Pixar seems to be all about the film rather than all about the package, and they continue to kick arse at the box office.

As a pleasant coincidence would have it, today is actually Fathers Day, which made Up a very relevant film to be watching. The film has a lot to say about the role of the father and the father figure. Carl and Ellie, of course, were unable to have children. Russell has an absent father who seems to have little interest in being a part of his life. The relationship that develops between Carl and Russell, one of a surrogate father and a surrogate son, is really lovely and speaks of the importance of father figures and male role models as opposed to simply biological father, an important message on Fathers Day, a celebration which can often be seen to exclude a number of people.

For me it is too hard to call which is better between Up and WALL-E. They both sit at the top of the pile not just for Pixar but I'd say for animated film in general. I was really pleased to see this film get a Best Picture nomination at this years Academy Awards (only the second animated feature ever to do so) even if it was likely only as a result of the category being expanded to ten nominations. It was easily one of the best films of 2009, and while the Academy is still not quite at the point where it would feel comfortable giving Best Picture to an animated feature, I think you could have made as good a case for Up winning the award as any of the nominees.