Given the cute and funny trailers for this movie, I expected a silly kids movie. Not so. Up is unexpectedly touching, incredibly sad at points, and makes a huge statement about the importance of family, however you happen to come by it.
In a nutshell, the movie is about a man named Carl who ties helium balloons to his house in order to fulfill his departed wife's greatest wish: To live next to Paradise Falls in South America. Upon liftoff, he discovers a young boy named Russell on his front step, and together they journey to Paradise Falls.
This movie had me tearing up at parts, most unexpectedly when the balloons lift Carl's house. The sight of the house soaring through the city is just so beautiful, especially in 3-D; expect plenty of requests to do it to your own house.
The continued presence of the departed Ellie in the plot is also incredibly touching; perhaps more so than children, adults understand what it is to love and lose, and Carl's quiet suffering and determination to fulfill Ellie's greatest wish is deeply moving.
Family is a key theme in this movie, and Russell, a child of divorce, is a walking billboard for it. With a father present only through expensive gifts, like the GPS Russell loses in the trailer, the movie makes a valid argument for the importance of raising children as a community, and having multi-generational support. It also raises the issue of elderly in the community being misunderstood or marginalized as having nothing to offer; Carl's fight to save his house from development underscores the vulnerability of seniors, and his adventures in South America explore how much they have left to give to younger generations.
Overall, this film has two sides: The brightly coloured, funny, animal-filled children's movie, and the poignant movie about loss and letting go for adults. Surprisingly, the two mesh together perfectly.
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