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Up (2009)

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Up 2009 poster

May 13, 2009 (Cannes)
May 29, 2009 (United States)

Up is a 2009 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Bob Peterson, and produced by Jonas Rivera. Docter and Peterson also wrote the film's screenplay and story, with Tom McCarthy co-writing the latter. The film stars the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, and Bob Peterson. The film centers on Carl Fredricksen (Asner), an elderly widower who travels to South America with wilderness explorer Russell (Nagai) in order to fulfill a promise that he made to his late wife Ellie. Along the way, they meet a talking dog named Dug (Peterson) and encounter a giant bird named Kevin, who is being hunted by the explorer Charles Muntz (Plummer), whom Carl had idolized in childhood.

Originally titled Heliums, Docter conceived the outline for Upin 2004 based on fantasies of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating. He and eleven other Pixar artists spent three days in Venezuela gathering research and inspiration. The designs of the characters were caricatured and stylized considerably, and animators were challenged with creating realistic cloth. Composer Michael Giacchinocomposed the film's score. It was Pixar's first film to be presented in 3D format.

Up debuted at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2009, and was released in the United States on May 29. The film received critical acclaim for its screenplay, animation, characters, themes, narrative, Asner's vocal performance, Giacchino's musical score, and the opening sequence. Organizations like the National Board of Review and American Film Institute named Up as one of the top ten films of 2009. It earned $735.1 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2009. Upwas nominated for five awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, winning two, and received numerous other accolades. Among these, it became the second animated film in history to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture, ultimately losing to The Hurt Locker. A short-form series, Dug Days, premiered on Disney+ on September 1, 2021.

Storyline[]

As a young boy, 10-year-old Carl Fredricksen idolizes explorer Charles Muntz. After he is accused of presenting a fake giant bird skeleton from Paradise Falls in South America, Muntz returns to the falls intent on clearing his name by capturing a living specimen. Carl meets fellow Muntz fan Ellie, who confides her desire to move her "clubhouse"—an abandoned house in the neighborhood—to a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls. The two later marry and live in the rebuilt house, with Carl working as a balloon salesman and Ellie a tour guide at the zoo. After Ellie suffers a miscarriage, she is declared infertile and the couple decide to refocus and begin saving for a trip to Paradise Falls. However, they are constantly forced to spend their savings on more urgent needs. Years pass and Carl decides to arrange the trip as a surprise for Ellie. On the day that Carl plans to tell Ellie, she falls ill and is hospitalized, dying soon after.

Some time later, Carl, now retired and in his late 70s, stubbornly holds out in the house while the neighborhood around him is replaced by skyscrapers. After Carl injures a construction worker during a mishap, the court deems him a public menace, requiring his relocation to an assisted living facility. However, Carl resolves to keep Ellie's promise, turning his house into a makeshift airship using helium balloons and flying to Paradise Falls. Russell, an eight-year-old "Wilderness Explorer" who keeps visiting Carl in an effort to earn his final merit badge for assisting the elderly, becomes an accidental stowaway. Before Carl can land and send Russell home, they encounter a storm that propels the house to South America.

The house lands on a mesa opposite Paradise Falls. Carl and Russell harness themselves to the still-buoyant house and begin to walk it across the mesa, hoping to reach the falls before the balloons deflate. Russell encounters a giant, colorful flightless bird, whom he names Kevin. They then meet Dug, a Golden Retriever who wears a special collar with a device that translates his thoughts into English; he joins them on their trek despite Carl's objections.

A pack of fierce dogs wearing the collars take Carl, Russell, and Dug to their master, the now elderly Charles Muntz. He invites them aboard his dirigible the Spirit of Adventure and talks about his search for the bird. Carl realizes Muntz’s obsession with finding the bird has driven him mad, to the point of killing innocent travelers whom he suspected of seeking the bird for themselves. When Russell notes the skeleton's resemblance to Kevin, Muntz sees them as thieves and becomes hostile. The dogs pursue Carl, Russell, and Dug until Kevin saves them. One of the pursuing dogs bites Kevin’s leg as she flees, injuring her to the point where she can’t stand on her own. They reach safety from the dogs. Russell urges Carl to help Kevin get home and reunite her with her chicks, and he agrees, but then Muntz (who tracks the group down through Dug's collar) captures her. He starts a fire beneath Carl's house, forcing him to choose whether to rescue it or Kevin; Carl chooses his home.

At the falls, Carl looks through Ellie's childhood scrapbook and discovers that she filled in the blank pages with photos of their marriage, accompanying a note written from her hospital bed, thanking him for the "adventure" and encouraging him to have a new one. Reinvigorated, he goes outside, only to see Russell set out after Kevin using a leaf blower and some balloons to fly. Carl lightens his house by throwing out furniture and keepsakes, allowing it to fly again. Muntz captures Russell, but Carl and Dug board the dirigible and free both him and Kevin. When Muntz pursues them to the tethered house, Carl lures Kevin back to the airship using a piece of chocolate. Muntz leaps after them, but his leg catches on balloon strings, and he falls to his death. The house descends out of sight, at which point Carl decides to let it go and live on the dirigible with Russell and the pack of dogs.

Carl and Russell reunite Kevin with her chicks before returning home in Muntz's airship. Russell receives his "Assisting the Elderly" badge, and Carl presents Russell with a grape soda bottle cap that Ellie gave to Carl when they first met, which he now dubs "The Ellie Badge". Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Carl, the house lands on the cliff beside Paradise Falls, fulfilling his promise to Ellie.

Also See[]

Movie Trailer[]

  • Up (2009) (Trailers)

Sound Effects Used[]

Image Gallery[]

Audio Samples[]

External Links[]

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