Cinema Hype

Warning: the following contains spoilers for Up.

At my screening of Up last week, I was taken by the all-around thoughtful and honest take on the death of a loved one. That’s something families can appreciate, I thought—kids, in particular, can probably benefit from some healthy discussion on the topic, and Pixar handled the whole thing with an admirably light touch. Interestingly, though, there’s one other character death in the movie that may be just as important, in a way, but is far less lovingly rendered and far less carefully dissected: the destruction of Charles Muntz. The bad guy.

At the climax of the movie, in the middle of a harrowing hand-to-hand fight scene, Muntz is knocked off of his zeppelin (don’t you hate it when that happens?), plummeting to his death. He probably deserves it, but that’s it—we don’t see what happens to him. There’s no redemption, no slap on the wrist, and no comment from the heroes about what’s happened. In my screening, a few people in the theater laughed.

Tell me, readers: what do you think about this? Has this always happened in kids’ movies? Or is it a shift away from the classic Scooby Doo-style “and I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you kids!” incarceration scene, or even a grudging chance at redemption for the bad guys? What about villains that aren’t quite human, like in many vintage Disney films? Is it worse for, say, Ursula or Maleficent to bite the big one than it is for Jafar?

Inquiring minds want to know. Or at least consider.

Up, Charles Muntz, death, Pixar, The Little Mermaid, Litttle Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Scooby-Doo, Scooby Doo

When it comes down to it, Up is kind of controversial, as family movies go. It is, after all, mostly about an elderly gentleman whose wife has just passed away. And, yeah, there’s an eager little kid and a house buoyed by balloons and a trip to South America, but it’s hard to escape the Life Lesson mixed in with the fun: sometimes, moving on is hard. Wouldn’t kids–or, rather, people in general–rather chill with reanimated toys? Or talking bugs? What about a lost fish kid and his freaked-out fish dad? Yes. Yes, most of us probably would prefer to spend two hours with a cute but solitary robot than with a grieving old man. Up mostly makes it work anyway, but the results come across—pardon the pun—a bit on the heavy side.

The story of Carl Fredricksen–with his wife, Ellie, and without her–plays out in ways that are both unusually beautiful and surprisingly standard. The very best parts of the movie have no dialogue at all (perhaps this is something Pixar does unusually well, a la Wall-E?); small segments of the old man’s story are narrated almost entirely by Michael Giacchino’s excellent and sensitive score. But then, it’s also a standard crotchety-old-man-learns-to-live-via-obnoxious-whippersnapper story, which is where we get both the fun and a bit of the predictability. Although Carl learns to care for his stowaway, Russell, we never exactly see why, other than the fact that Carl would be a huge jerk if he didn’t let the kid in a little. Maybe Russell doesn’t need a ton of backstory–we see who he is immediately, with his almost-complete Wilderness Explorer sash and his eager-beaver attitude–but there’s no real, discrete moment of bonding for the two of them, so that the formula of the movie isn’t quite fulfilled in the characters.

This is not to say that Up isn’t touching, or fun, or appropriate for families, or anything else. It’s a bit more adult than some other Pixar movies, and it speaks gently but honestly about death, but it’s still a good time, including an adventure plot that you don’t see much of in the trailers. The Pixar crew continues to show off their smart sense of humor and impeccable comic timing in a way that should appeal to all ages—the non-human characters are especially good for comic relief. Furthermore, the scenes in the flying house are gorgeous and wonderfully creative, and likely to give more than one kid ideas (parents: keep an eye on your handy-dandy helium canisters!). Much of the story doesn’t actually take place in the house, but hey, the wilderness of South America ain’t bad either, as adventure settings go. Even the villain–voiced by Christopher Plummer, one of the only celebrity voices in the film–is fun in a vintage-y, mustache-twirling kind of way. So, despite the heavy subject matter, there’s plenty of fun to be had. It’s a balance: if you’re looking for a thoughtful movie that everybody in the family will like, Up should make everybody laugh (and maybe spark some conversation on the way home).

One final note: If you or anybody you know are afraid of dogs, you may want to skip this one; a vengeful (but articulate!) pack of guard dogs plays a pretty big role here, and seemed traumatic to a couple of kids in my screening.

Up, Pixar, Christopher Plummer, Michael Giacchino, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, animated movies, animated, movie reviews