Disclaimer: I find any movie that shows people young and happy growing old depressing because it makes me think I might grow old. Up, the latest Pixar feature, accomplishes this in the first 5 minutes with a montage of the lives of Ellie and Carl from childhood sweethearts through old age and Ellie’s death. The story then begins with Carl lonely, retired, and isolated in his wood frame house surrounded by skyrise construction. Rather than go quietly to a retirement home, he launches his house with helium balloons to fulfill Ellie’s childhood dream of reaching the mythic Paradise Falls in South America. Accidentally caught along for the ride in the floating house is Russell, a chubby Wilderness Explorer trying to earn a merit badge for helping the elderly.
Carl and Ellie had dreamed of adventure as kids, but life with all its complications got in the way. In his determination to get to Paradise Falls, Carl forgets that adventure is not about the destination, but about the voyage. Needless to say, he learns that lesson with help from Russell, a large squawking rainbow-colored bird, and a talking dog named Doug. The dogs (and there are many) are equipped with collars that translate their thoughts into speech. This is a clever gimmick (A. L. Gurney pioneered it for the wonderful play Sylvia) and provides most of the movie’s laughs. But Up is more poignant than funny. Carl and Russell do find their adventure, and even though I didn’t see it in 3D my stomach was clenched during many of the aerobatic chase scenes (another disclaimer: I have a fear of any high place that does not have a barricade sufficient to stop me from jumping off). While it may be unfair to compare this to Wall-E (though both are animated, they really are different genres of movie), I will say that it is as touching, but less - I struggle for the right word - cheerful.