As some of you might have guessed, this journal is connected to the Pixar movie UP ( I refuse to say "Disney's Movie" because they can't come up with these kinds of stories anymore even if you smack them across the face. ) UP is about an old-timer named Carl and a 8 year old cub-scout boy who travel to South America in hopes of fulfilling Carl's late wife's dream of living in a secluded mountain known as Paradise Falls. To get there, Carl rigs up his house to be cast and floated away by thousands of balloons, left over as his part-time job as a balloon salesman.

The story is very connected to adult life and situations as well as childhood humor. When I first saw it in theaters, the first 10 minutes of the movie shows how Carl grew up with the company of his new friend ( soon to be ) wife. It shows him as a scared and quiet kid and his friend who was very loud, wild, and has a ( almost like ) Peppermint Patty physical appearance. Their dream is to travel to Paradise Falls like their great admirer Adventure Charles Muntz. They grow older and soon his wife passes away. The way that they show the series of events without dialoged is a bit too grown up for a child to understand. However, they captured the emotion and drama perfectly.

Anyways, there is so much symbolism in this movie that its hard for me NOT to type it out. For those who have seen the movie, you would understand. For those who didn’t see the move, BAD DOG! VERY BAD DOG!

Characters and symbology:

Carl: The main character in the movie. After his wife passes away and he grows older and worse tempered, he has one last chance to fulfill his promise to his wife, Ellie by going to Paradise falls. He does this with balloons tied to his house. He soon manages to float away to his destination, but not alone.

Carl, unlike any character, has a square body: very sharp and rough. He sold balloons when he was young, so a square and a circle together shows how much Carl is a "enclosed/boxed in" character when he gets older compared to a high floating free balloon. His hearing-aid ( that malfunctions now and then ) symbolizes his "deaf-ear" towards the world and how he tones it out now and then. His four-prong cane ( walking aid ) which has four tennis balls for feet, symbolizes his attachment to the ground. However the tennis balls ( round objects ) shows a small sign that later on, he wont need the walking aid anymore due to his understanding of freedom. ( After he gives it away, you no longer seem him with his walking aid anymore ).

Russelll: The young, eight year old ( Asian-looking ) boy scout that has a high sense of adventure, freedom and childish ways, represents a side of Carl that was lost when his wife died. Russell is very round and colorful much like Carl's balloons ( so again with the circle and the square ). Russell always tells Carl though his naive actions and childish whines that there is more to life than just your house. Russell befriends with a giant colorful bird and a dog later on in the film. Its an expression that if you let yourself open and free, good things will come to you. Russell is constantly saved by Carl, showing that Carl takes care of whatever is left of his young self, even to the "death" later on in the story.

Carl's wife, Ellie: Ellie was a big part of Carl's life. She was the exact opposite of him when they were young. He was shy and quiet, but she was loud and very out going. She was also a huge fan of Charles Muntz, who is a famous explorer who rode on a zeppelin named "The Spirit of Adventure". Her dream was to be like him and travel to South America to live on the top of the mountain "Paradise Falls". She made Carl's promise that they both will go there one day when they are grown up. As they got older, life got in the way by its ups and downs, so they were stuck in their house. Later, Ellie dies of natural causes, leaving Carl alone. He keeps mementos of Ellie throughout the house, which later on, Ellie IS the house to him, thus why he always carries it around in his journey.

Carl's House: The story wraps around the journey between Carl and his house which he spent his entire life with his late wife. It is also the first house that he met her in. When she died, Carl keeps things around the house that Ellie left behind. Throughout his journey, Carl tried to keep the house in one piece, trying not to damage anything on it because it reminds him so much of his late wife. They way that Pixar shows that Carl ( and sometimes Russell ) is carrying the floating house by an attached hose is a symbol of "Carrying one's past wherever one goes." ( Or, more clearly, the man with the world over his shoulders. ) Carl portrays this rather clearly because he is always slouched over as he walks, pulling a few ton pound house with him. When Russell helps, he gets too tired and sometimes frees himself from the pulling. This is also a way of showing that Russell ( Carl's free spirited side ) doesn't want to have the burden of dragging along the past and should just free himself of his troubles. Later on, Carl looses the house and just says to Russell "Its just a house." This is a moment of complete freedom from his past.

The Rare Flightless bird, Kevin: Kevin is a very large "dodo" that befriends Russelll and follows the two characters together. Kevin is hunted down by Muntz's dogs so the bird is always on the run and gets Carl and Russelll in trouble. Later on, Kevin turns out to be a mother, who needs to get back to her babies.

Kevin is very colorful like Carl's balloons. Now and then, she would try to eat Carl's walking aid, which shows that Kevin is trying to free Carl from his "groundings". This connection between Kevin and Ellie is very clear throughout the movie. In Carl's house, there is a small model of a colorful bird that Ellie bought for him. Basically, Ellie is also the bird. Kevin is very wild and runs quickly, which is connected to Ellie's young and wild side. Now and then, Kevin would perch itself onto of Carl's house, fully connecting to it. You have two symbols representing Ellie in these moments.

Dug the Dog: Dug is a dog with a collar upon his neck that allows him to talk in several languages, made by his master Muntz. Dug...is not the brightest bulb in the box, but he is a lovable character. He befriends both Carl and Russelll as he "tries" to find the colorful bird his master wants captures. He finds the bird, but has not moral strength to take it prisoner. He BEGS the bird to be his prisoner. Dug is the wanna-be hero of the movie, but later on becomes the Alpha male of the group of Muntz's dogs.

Dug, even though he is stupider than dirt, is actually the smartest character in the group. He is very simple, very soft and plain. he is also the kindness and "helpless" character. He is another side of Russelll, his ADHD side. Dug is a symbol of Carl's kindness and politeness that the old man has lost after the Ellie's passing. Carl, after much toil, excepts Dug and Dug becomes "Man's best friend".

Charles Muntz: In the very beginning of the movie, Muntz was a famous explorer who rode on his zeppelin "The Spirit of Adventure" ( hint hint ). After he fails to prove that a rare bird exists, he was cast out and vows that he will return with the bird no matter what. Several years past and you soon see Muntz again, very old and having a Triangular shaped figure. Muntz loves dogs and has a few dozen of talking canines he trained throughout the years ( God knows how he breed so many dogs... ) throughout the year's, Muntz searches for Kevin, wanting to capture it and take it back, fulfilling his promise to the world. Throughout the years, he becomes senile from isolation and smelling too much dog fur ( I believe ). Even though Carl is Muntz rolemodel and huge fan, Muntz ends up attacking Carl in a misunderstanding that Carl stole Muntz's bird and sole purpose for living.

Muntz, even though the bad guy, is the negative part of Carl ( which all movies try to symbolize with the main character and the bad guy ). Muntz is driven by holding on to his promises and past by collecting what belongs to him, much like Carl and his house. Muntz's peg-shaped body is a symbol for Carl's force to be so grounded and bitter. Its like a nail that holds Carl down and forbids him from ever being free form his troubles. Muntz soon dies when his feet get tangled in some of the balloon's that snap and pull Muntz off his zeppelin to his death. The house soon follows, which shows Carl's release from his burden of his past.

Carl and Charles...there is a connection there as well in the name.

Charles Muntz's zeppelin: "The Spirit of Adventure". This CANT be shown any clearer in this movie on what this represents. When Carl was traveling to South America, it wasn't an adventure. It was a chore and a promise he made. He had no fun traveling to his destination when he was with a boy, a bird and a dog. When Carl looses his house and gains the zeppelin after the defeat of Muntz, he becomes happy and sets his eyes on the sky. He portrays that adventurous side that only Russelll had throughout the movie, thus gaining the "Spirit of Adventure and Fulfillment". The zeppelin soon becomes his new home as he travels everywhere with it.

Alpha: Alpha is a Doberman that is owned by Muntz. He is the leader of the dog pack. Even though he is very menacing, vain ( and testicle-less ), he downfall is his malfunctioning collar that causes him to have a high pitch voice rather than a very down-toned voice. Alpha is very sharp and skinny while Dug is round and fluffy. This again shows the complete opposites of both the "hero" and the "villan". After Alpha gets his head stuck in the "Cone of Shame", Dug becomes Alpha of the group. This shows a small hint of maturity in Dug, but not much. He just leveled up a little.

Alpha is a symbol of the dog's evil and violent side. He is very demanding and can be a bit Hitler-ish from time to time. After Dug took over, Dug soon became the symbol for all dogs to just be playful, stupid and enjoy life. These were things that they couldn't do when Alpha was in control.


That’s basically it. A very simple and well-written movie that has a lot of symbology that only a well educated child or adult can get. A lot of people just go to enjoy the movie and not pay any mind to any connecting elements. I can't help but try to find and understand connecting elements and symbology in Pixar movies. They hide them well, but yet, when you find them, it’s like watching a whole other movie all together.

I recommend watching UP. My mother took her dying father to see it ( which might be his last movie ) and he saw much of himself through Carl. What’s also funny, is that Carl and my grandfather almost look the same. My grandfather has a big Jewish nose and square jaw much like my grandfather has, so I can see why he saw much of himself in Carl. Plus my grandmother ( his wife ) died years ago and he has become rather sullen over the years. I was happy that he actually went to go see a movie with my Mom and that movie was UP.

Thoughts? …… SQUIRREL!

- Ookami Kemono