To be fair, I think Up might have been more traumatising for the adults who watched it than the kids. It deals with some pretty deep emotional issues between flying balloon adventures. And I don't care how old you are, the first fifteen minutes are among the most heart-wrenching I've ever seen, let alone in a film marketed towards children. It deals with the evolution of the relationship between our main character Carl and his wife Ellie. They meet as children, and together they plan out the exciting life they're going to lead. But little by little, life gets in the way of their plans, until Ellie dies and he is left a bitter, heartbroken old man. And despite having used up all of our emotional strength and being left exhausted, that's really only where the story begins. Although the beginning is the part that will have you reaching for a tissue, the entire film deals with issues of love, loss, and grief. Maybe not what all the kiddies were expecting when they saw the commercials, with comedic talking dogs and brightly colored balloons lifting a quaint little house into the sky. But hey, they've got to learn sometime that life is a perpetual disappointment and will never turn out the way we planned, am I right?
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
