Guest blogger: Katie 1

Disney Pixar’s movie, Up, is just a joyful movie to watch. You know how there’s always that one lonely old man on the corner of the street who’s always grumpy. In the movie, this man is Carl. Once you learn the reason why Carl’s so grumpy and impatient, you really understand why he is the way he is. However, Carl’s life takes a turn when he decides to literally fly his house (using balloons) to a place where his deceased wife had always dreamed of it being. To his surprise, he accidentally carries along the cheerful, energetic, Wilderness Explorer, Russell. Together the two of them journey through places unheard of while trying to return Russell safely home. Throughout the movie, you notice Carl warming up to Russell’s liveliness, which was similar to his wife’s personality. Russell, although at first treated coldly by Carl, never seemed to lose spirit, and always stayed positive. Because of Russell’s character, a theme to Up was evolved. The theme presented is to go out and try new things. There were many instances where Carl showed Russell how he used to venture in the past, and there were many instances where Russell was able to persuade Carl to do new things. With the help of Russell, Carl was able to live a little and step out of his comfort zone. Manhola Dargis, from the New York Times, said, “Passages of glorious imagination are invariably matched…” and I’d have to agree. The sky is the limit when it comes to imagination. You see talking dogs, giant colorful birds, and balloons flying a house. As an overall opinion, this movie is definitely worth watching. Even though Up starts with one of the saddest introductions, as you continue watching, you forget the sadness and find yourself smiling until the very end of the movie.