4. The Opening Sequence - Up
The trailers for
Up showcased the film's lighter side of a breathtaking adventure on a faraway place. When people sat to watch it for the first time, I doubt many expected this heartbreaking prologue, which shows Carl's early life with his wife Ellie. Beginning with Carl as a small child watching a Charles Muntz newsreel in a theater and progressing through adulthood, we get to see Carl and Ellie connect through their sense of adventure and watch their relationship grow as they live life happily as a married couple. They experience all the ups and downs. They fix up a nice house for themselves. Ellie learns she can't have children. They get jobs working at a safari ride. They save up for a trip to South America, only to have to cut into their savings through various injuries and repairs (it's played for laughs). In old age, Carl feels guilty about never taking his wife on the trip and purchases tickets. Taking her on a picnic and readying to surprise her, Carl instead sees Ellie stumble, fall, and eventually die. Like I said, this is not what people were expecting when they went to see the latest Pixar film, presumably with little kids in tow. Michael Giacchino's remarkable score augments this to the point where it truly touches the audience. Even though there's no dialogue and all we've only just met the characters, it's still an affecting scene. There are entire movies that wish they had the depth and impact that these five minutes had on audiences.