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directed by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
screenplay by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson
story by Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy, Bob Peterson
starring Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, Jerome Ranft, John Ratzenberger, David Kaye, Elie Docter, Jeremy Leary

Rarely does a film maintain such an emotional depth that is readily featured in the tenth animated feature from Pixar Animation Studios. The film uses consistent themes of mourning and loss that are coupled with tremendous hope and aspiration to create a vision that most likely and deservingly will garner serious Academy Award consideration.

The story begins with young Carl Fredricksen (Asner) who worships the famed adventurer Charles Munz. He meets an energetic young girl named Ellie (Docter) who shares his enthusiasm and the pair become fast friends and eventually marry. The film uses montage to silently document their lives together which feature a stunning scene where Ellie is informed that she will not be able to have children. The simplicity of the moment lends a heartbreaking aspect to the scene and informs the rest of the film. When Ellie dies Carl is grief stricken and he never truly gets over his loss. He speaks to her and is reminded of a promise he made to her about taking them to a rugged locale in South America called Paradise Falls. When he is forced to move into a retirement home he takes decisive action and attaches thousands of balloons to his house and flies away.

There is something exceedingly lovely about escaping one's troubles especially via the vehicle that Carl chooses. He takes everything he owns, all his memories, his artifacts, his entire being up with him when he penetrates the sky. Yet he cannot escape the ghost of Ellie and maintains a constant discourse with the only woman he ever loved. Carl may seem quaint, a throwback to a time when the charming grouchy old man was more lauded in society. But, he's much more than that. He is a seeker who is searching for the one thing he was never able to give his wife. It's a quest for completion and Carl needs it to believe that his life has value after all.

Of course, one requires a sidekick for these productions and in this film it comes in the roly poly shape of Russell (Nagai), a Wilderness Explorer who requires a merit badge for Assisting the elderly in order to make it to the next grade. Naturally, these two find themselves embedded in conflict which eventually works its self out due to mutual

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