As a kid, Disney films were magical. Every frame hand drawn, and the subtlest differences were not picked up on until you watch The Little Mermaid for the two hundredth time (as an adult) and see that Ariel's hair moves differently in each frame as it blows in the wind when she's pining away for Prince Eric.
Pixar of course, has come a long way. I watched Up at the cinema tonight wearing 3D glasses styled like Ray Ban's Wayfarers. The experience was unbelievable, and yes, I did reach out a few times to do the "grabby thing" because it was so surreal. Imagine watching Cinderella in 3D when the carriage turns back into a pumpkin!
Ok, my point is, that Disney has indeed come a long way from Walt's animations, and even the storyline's are stronger. Fairytale princesses falling in love with long lost princes are no longer enough to capture a child's imagination. The classics I grew up with told me that beauty is only skin deep and if you grow beautiful on the inside, you will always find true love... Or that being born with riches means nothing if you are a prisoner of said riches... Or simply, always expect your step mother to be an evil, cackling mistress.
Finding Nemo was about dreaming big and never losing hope and that being little is OK. The Incredibles, one of my all time favourites, teaches us the importance of family values, and again, that being different is actually kinda cool.
Now we have Up, the happy/sad tale about a bitter old man, but we get to see why he's bitter, unlike many other Disney characters who turn out like him. Carl, the 78 year old protagonist in Up is a symbol of tradition in a time where modernity and development find tradition decrepid and outdated. He is to the very core, the American Dream; the Willy Loman of Disney if you will. He is a family man, a doting husband, and at the beginning at least, a failed dreamer. He dreams big, but his dreams never seem to materialise.
*Look away now if you haven't seen the film, and I INSIST you see it!*
Until the Men in Suits threaten to destroy everything he has spent his lifetime building. The Men in Suits who offer Carl "double" the amount they offered "last time" for the little plot of land his house rests on, represent everything that is new, shiny, modern and scary to America. They are the multi-national corporations who brought America's economy to it's knees back in 2008. They are the American Dream gone wrong through greed. When the camera zooms in on Carl sitting on a bench gripping the slip of paper which reads "Court Summons", he looks like a fragile old man who has lost his fight with the world. Yet another comment on how the big guy takes what he can from the little guy, because the next scene is of Carl being dropped off in a police car outside his home. He is handed a leaflet for a nursing home by the police officer, who drives off leaving Carl on his doorstep, alone.
Another poignant moment is when Carl and Ellie's savings jar for their "Adventure" keeps getting broken into for various repairs around the house or for other day to day necessities such as the replacing the car tyre. Disney does not gloss over the fact that these days especially, money is hard to come by. As a member of the audience you so wish for Carl to break the jar for the last time for household repairs, but the jar-breaking is a metaphor for the couple's heartbreak each time the hammer smashes into the glass.
Disney really got the story right again. In all of four minutes, Carl's life story is summarised at the beginning, ensuring your heart goes out to this lonely and closed-off character. He could easily come off as aloof, miserable and plain mean at times, but the four minutes which director Peter Docter allows for the audience to connect with Carl and Ellie are precious and intimate. As always, the story is about following your dreams and never to give up on them because The Spirit of Adventure within us never dies.
So go and see it, but don't expect it to be as carefree and jolly as Disney's other animations, this is a long way from Toy Story or Monsters Inc. Up is in my opinion Disney's first animation aimed mainly at adults. Dug the Dog and Kevin may provide the laughs, not to mention heart-of-gold and cute-as-a-button eight year old Russell, but Carl's life story is really the centerpiece of this film, and just like in real life, Carl goes through hard times.
Oh... one last thing - did I mention that Russell is Disney's first animated and non-typecast Asian character? Thank you Disney!
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