"Up" is unusual for an animated movie because it celebrates the life and heroism of an elderly man, Carl Fredricksen, (voice by Ed Asner), a widower who fulfills his deceased wife's desire to go to Paradise Falls in South America. The movie traces the couple's meeting, their marriage, their life together, and her passing. Now in old age his house is the only one left in the middle of a big construction site. He refuses to sell the home because this was where he and wife Ellie lived.
Carl is a curmudgeon like Mr. Magoo who gets himself in trouble by physically reacting to the building guys trying to buy his house. He's going to be taken away to an institution and lose his house.
An eight-year-old boy, Russell a Wilderness Explorer Scout, comes to his house, hoping to earn a merit badge for assisting the elderly. The old grouch relents finally and gives the kid the make-work task of finding a bird, a snipe.
The night before they're going to take him away, Carl (he had been a balloon salesman) ties his house to thousands of balloons, and it flies away to Paradise Falls. He can navigate it like a blimp. When the house got pulled away from its foundation, Russell was trapped under the porch and is now airborne with Carl.
When they arrive at the Falls, Russell befriends a big rare bird, and a good dog joins them. Bad dogs with collars containing talking devices chase them led by an evil Doberman, Alpha.
At the beginning of the movie we see a Carl as a boy watching a movie newsreel about his hero Charles Muntz (voice of Christopher Plummer) who flies a dirigible on his explorations. At Paradise Falls Carl meets up with the now mad Muntz, controller of the scary dogs, who wants the big bird. Carl's childhood hero has become his nemesis.
Carl is resourceful and ingenious, but Russell is a klutz. As the movie progresses, the two are like action heroes performing unbelievable feats. The bond that develops between the old man and boy is a lasting one. Animated movies have come a long way: the stories have serious elements such as death, plots are more complex, the characterization is fuller and richer, and in this film the celebration of old-age is a great strength. This may be a breakthrough movie with its three-dimensional portrayal of a wily, courageous senior citizen.
Get more detail about Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray].
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