Disney/Pixar’s Up preview
The overall premise for Up is the idea of feeling overwhelmed and wanting to escape from it all, a feeling that we can all relate to, hence the visual metaphor of the floating house. The main character, 78 year old Carl Fredrickson, is based largely on this idea, but in a very deep and poignant way. The first 20 minutes or so of the movie develop Carl’s character in a manner that Pixar hasn’t really touched before, and it was impressive, although somewhat difficult at times, to watch… Largely because at the beginning, Carl comes to embody that sense of unfulfilled dreams that on some level, most of us feel. As producer Jonas Rivera explains,
“Jokes and gags are funny, but what’s the emotional thing that’s going to stick in someone’s heart and stay with them for hours, days, years… And so that’s what we were looking for, something that really resonates with people. And I think ultimately, the humor will play better if it has that foundation of emotion.”
When you get personally involved with a character, you become more attuned to everything that they experience. Sad things are sadder and funny things are funnier. It takes a masterful touch to make this kind of involvement work in a self-described “action comedy adventure,” but Pixar made it happen.
Up will be the first Pixar movie available in Disney 3D.