This Way "Up"

I'm a big Disney Pixar patron. That's why I kept a mental note to watch their latest movie, "Up" on the big screen and not let it lapse into DVD or BluRay-hood before I see it. Well, Fourth of July was my chance to catch it before it went up, up and away.

I even love the featurettes they include before the main film starts. This time, it's called "Partly Cloudy." It's clever how they stick to the theme of the main movie, which involves the sky. I confess, I got teary-eyed at this featurette! Who knew clouds can make me cry? Thank goodness the movie theater was nearly deserted! It's a touching story of finding true friendship despite being the "cumulo-nimbus" type, and it also takes the baby stork myth high up into the stratosphere.

"Up" is an uplifting story of fulfilling that one adventure you always wanted to experience. For balloon salesman Carl, it was a childhood dream he shared with his beloved wife Ellie, who more than anything wanted to live in a house on top of Paradise Falls in South America. The movie makes references to its being in Venezuela, but it's obvious that they modeled it after the real Angel Falls. Sadly, Ellie predeceased Carl, leaving him to explore the exotic Venezuelan wilderness on his own...that is, until overzealous wilderness boy scout Russell comes knocking on his door and becomes the unexpected stowaway on his flying house.

How did he get his house to fly? Helium! Lots of it! I think it's many a child's travel fantasy: to go high up in the clouds with a balloon. As a child, I used to think that balloons could travel to faraway lands when you accidentally let them loose. I didn't know then that they could deflate and fall on the ground. Balloons would be one of the things I instantly doodled on my notebook as a student. I also grew up watching that Biblical time-traveling cartoon "The Flying House," which I thought was an awesome way to teach religion to kids.

Carl and Russell seem like the most unlikely of travel partners, but in the end, they were what each other exactly needed. They saved an adrogynous, mystical bird from being a trophy bird in captivity by Carl's childhood-hero-now-aging-bird-predator. They also found Dug, an adorable, multilingual hunting dog whose loyalty turns to them after realizing the evilness of his former master. The dogs' talking collar is just hilarious. When will they actually manufacture collars like that?

And my tears welled up again countless times through this movie, right from the start actually--when Ellie and Carl just grew old together in their little house, their Paradise Falls fund always diminished whenever things came up, how Carl eventually bought plane tickets to Venezuela to surprise Ellie, only to end up losing her. Life itself is an adventure, and Ellie had it all documented in her scrapbook called "My Adventure Book," which Carl continued.

How wonderful it must be to share life's adventures with someone, because I've always believed that it's who you're with that makes the journey memorable and worthwhile. And who knows, you just might be upgraded to first class, zeppelin-style, like Carl and Russell were, from mere helium balloons.

I've seen the "Up"-inspired luggage tags at the Disney Store. Cute, but pricey. I hope the price will go from "up" to "down!"

[movie poster from disneydreaming.com; luggage tag image from disneystore.com]