Up is a story about a 78-year-old balloon salesman, Carl Fredricksen, trying to fulfill a lifelong dream. He ties a plethora of balloons to his house to fly away to South America, but he finds a stowaway in the form of a small child named Russell. Through this adventure, Up explores adulthood and how it is achieved. The transformation of Carl in Up proves that adulthood is not achieved until one accepts parenthood; Carl, therefore, represents our human aversion towards responsibility as well as the inevitable acceptance of it.
In the beginning of the movie, Carl is infantilized through various methods, and is shown to be a surrogate infant to Ellie. First, the relationship montage in the first reel shows Ellie constantly dressing Carl, but never the other way around. This shows Ellie as the “leader” of the relationship, while Carl is the “follower.” Usually, the male is the leader and the female is the follower, but it is not the case in this relationship (Stokes, Web).
Moreover, Carl is made to appear like an infant while Ellie is designed to appear like an …show more content…
After Ellie’s death, Carl is not open to the idea of fathership and rejects it. Carl’s rejection of “fatherhood” demonstrates his initial aversion to responsibility. Carl’s first rejection occurs after Ellie dies. After the tragedy, Carl lives a lonely life, choosing to not participate in his community. He does not seem to have any close family members nor any close friends. His lack of both underscore his loneliness, which is the consequence of not being involved with his community. He also reverts to a childlike state and refuses to take responsibilities. For example, when he accidently hits a worker, instead of owning up to the problem, he runs back into his house like a child. (Stokes,
In the beginning of the movie, Carl is infantilized through various methods, and is shown to be a surrogate infant to Ellie. First, the relationship montage in the first reel shows Ellie constantly dressing Carl, but never the other way around. This shows Ellie as the “leader” of the relationship, while Carl is the “follower.” Usually, the male is the leader and the female is the follower, but it is not the case in this relationship (Stokes, Web).
Moreover, Carl is made to appear like an infant while Ellie is designed to appear like an …show more content…
After Ellie’s death, Carl is not open to the idea of fathership and rejects it. Carl’s rejection of “fatherhood” demonstrates his initial aversion to responsibility. Carl’s first rejection occurs after Ellie dies. After the tragedy, Carl lives a lonely life, choosing to not participate in his community. He does not seem to have any close family members nor any close friends. His lack of both underscore his loneliness, which is the consequence of not being involved with his community. He also reverts to a childlike state and refuses to take responsibilities. For example, when he accidently hits a worker, instead of owning up to the problem, he runs back into his house like a child. (Stokes,