Editor's note: Today marks the debut of a WND "double feature," as news editor Drew Zahn examines the messages and merit of popular movies in the "Popcorn and a (world)view" column, which reviews new releases, and the "Still in theaters" column, which does the same for slightly older films you can still catch at most first-run cinemas.
As a natural born critic – of movies, restaurants, sermons, and so forth – I can typically find fault with anything and everything (just ask my wife).
Which is why I'm so surprised to be launching this column with a review of a film that had so few faults to find.
"Up" is the latest offering from Pixar Animation Studios, makers of other children's gems, such as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E." And like several of Pixar's award-winning films, this tale of a 78-year-old widower's quest in the surprise company of an 8-year-old boy is a movie adults will enjoy as much as children, in this case, probably more.
In addition to the giggling youngsters sitting around me in the theater, I was surrounded by dads guffawing and nearly falling from their seats, moms wiping tears from their eyes and grandpas waxing nostalgic and wishing they could build the kind of mentoring relationship that the gray-haired Carl Fredricksen character establishes with the movie's young "wilderness explorer," Russell.
In fact, it is the insight and honor with which this film treats Mr. Fredricksen (the boy even addresses the old man by that title, never taking up the too-familiar tone of calling his senior by the first name) that makes "Up" so unique and praiseworthy.
Absent from "Up" were the typical, cliché messages too often woven into many children's movies:
- Family may fail you, but you can always count on your friends (see "Surf's Up," "Chicken Little")
- Parents only have rules because they don't understand; children really know what's best (see "Racing Stripes," "Finding Nemo")
- Adults are essentially buffoons and fodder for ridicule (see "Home Alone")
- Humanity is a destructive plague. It's up to you, young one, to save the planet (see "WALL-E").
Instead, "Up" is filled with original and creative dialogue, unexpected humor and astonishingly real characters, especially the two leads: a young boy struggling to become a man in the absence of a father figure and an old man living with one lingering regret and the fear he may not have enough left to fulfill his promises.
The film evokes an endearing empathy for the elderly, granting viewers – especially young viewers – a rare glimpse into what it's like to live in the sunset years of a very full life.
In one scene, for example, viewers will rile with frustration and anger, when Mr. Fredricksen's precious mailbox, still stamped with the handprint of his youthful bride from years ago, is accidentally destroyed in the name of "progress," a powerful moment that can help even youngsters understand the compelling values that underlie many elderly people's resistance to change.
Viewers best beware, however, as the scene suddenly strikes at the heart when Mr. Fredricksen lashes out and accidentally injures the man who broke the mailbox. When he then, in shame and fear, runs to the sanctuary of his house and pulls the curtains closed, peeking out at what he has done, movie watchers can feel the fear that lurks in the loneliness of being an aged widower.
Such honest and insightful treatment of any adult in a children's movie is a rare and precious theme.
That same cinematic integrity, however, is also applied to the movie's lovely musical montage of the Fredricksens' marriage. In a series of scenes where no dialogue is needed, the movie depicts a couple that thrives in marriage though a lifetime of romance, disappointment, heartache, the forming and breaking of dreams and even the tender moments of death – all with an uncompromising message: The journey of marriage and love is a joyful, fulfilling adventure.
"Up" may be an animated film, but it is not a cartoon. It is a serious piece of cinematic work. "Up" touches briefly, but respectfully, on hard themes: infertility, death, abandonment, adultery, loneliness and others. And still, the very real elements don't make the movie dark or detract from its uplifting, positive messages on marriage, mentoring, keeping promises and honoring the elderly.
Content advisory
- "Up" does contain some mature themes, but they are brief and handled with sensitivity to children
- The movie is also remarkably free of sexuality and profanity, even devoid of the juvenile "butt and booger" jokes that frequent many children's films
- Despite the presence of a fossil hunter, the film does not touch on evolutionary, environmental or other politicized themes often found in children's films
- The film also avoids religious or overt occult references or imagery
- The film contains several scenes of cartoon peril that would likely be deadly in the real world, and may spark fear in smaller children
- A character in the film, it appears, falls to his death, an unresolved question and unusual plot choice that will leave several viewers wondering if it is appropriate in a children's film.