Toon Talk: Up Lifting

Towards the beginning of Up, Pixar’s tenth feature film and their first to be screened in 3-D, there is a sequence that will surely stand as a triumph of cinematic storytelling — animated or otherwise — for years to come.

We have been introduced to the young Carl Fredricksen, a boy whose quietness masks a soul yearning for adventures (like those of his idol, ace explorer Charles Muntz). Carl has met his polar opposite in Ellie, a chatty tomboy who shares his dreams of a life of thrill seeking and excitement. Time goes on and, as young adults, we see the two wed and plan for their future, one that will hopefully, some day, include a home-sweet-home in some exotic locale. But, as life would have it, mundane obstacles along the way delay their plans to another day … a day that, alas, never arrives for Carl’s beloved Ellie.

Alone and embittered, the now elderly Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) feels that the world has passed him by — literally, as a bustling city has sprung up around him, including a pending skyscraper that threatens to engulf his very home (à la the 1952 Disney short The Little House). Yet, when push comes to shove, Carl takes a bold action to finally fulfill his promise to his dear Ellie. And here is where Up really takes off ...

UPDATE: Up is now available on DVD and Blu-rayfrom Amazon.com.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Up at LaughingPlace.com.