Several generations of children had been conditioned into believing that cartoons are brainless entertainment — kid stuff. But if you think about those animated films based on the works of the Brothers Grimm, those are the grimmest.
And then there are those that push for violence and the animators behind Popeye are among the guiltiest. However, I still believe that for as long as there is parental guidance and the children are taught well both at home and in school, they should grow up to be responsible people of this world — regardless of what they watch on TV (porn and scenes depicting extreme gruesomeness and violence at an early age, of course, are out of the question).
Most cartoons, if you ask me, actually contain valuable lessons in life. These define the good and the bad for the children and as they grow up, they learn what is in between. In the real world, things aren’t just in black and white. There are hues that make for interesting living.
Growing up in a home with a working mother, I was passed on from nanny to nanny (and for a long time, my maternal grandmother). My constant baby-sitter, however, was the television set and I watched mostly cartoons. Yes, Popeye was regular viewing fare, but I’d like to think I didn’t grow up with streaks of Popeye violence in me. All I have now are Popeye arms (they just grow without me working them out, believe me).
Until I was well into my mid-teens, I continued watching cartoons and that got my family worried. (I am the youngest and they didn’t think I would mature — I actually didn’t.) So that they don’t get upset anymore, I would just lock myself in the room when I watched my cartoons and switched channels whenever I hear the older ones approaching (thank you, my ever-reliable remote control).
Doing film reviews eventually as a career gave me the best excuse to still be watching animated movies and be unapologetic. That’s the same excuse I use if I have to watch sex films.
Done in 3D, the film initially features Carl and Ellie initially as kids who share the same dream — going to the mythical Paradise Falls somewhere in South America and living there. The succeeding scenes are done so fast, some viewers aren’t even given the chance to realize Ellie was a girl (she has a ribbon on her head as a giveaway, but this isn’t very visible) and the audience initially gets shocked when the two get married when they turn adults.
Just as fast are the scenes showing them as a young couple, still dreaming of flying to Paradise Falls. They are unable to do that. But most painful is the fact that they can’t have children — and I start to get teary-eyed over that. But what causes my lachrymal glands to finally burst is when Ellie dies and leaves Carl alone — old and withered, That really makes me sad and tears now threaten to fall again as I write this and I can’t stand that I’ve been crying over a cartoon!
The story of Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) doesn’t end here. He becomes grumpy, gets into trouble and is about to be sent to the old folks’ home. But that doesn’t happen: On the morning they are supposed to take him, Carl, who made a living selling balloons in the park at his prime, makes his old home fly into the sky by attaching it to thousands and thousands of helium balloons.
This is where the real adventure begins, but he is not alone. An American-Chinese kid named Russell joins him by accident and together they explore the wilderness of South America and interact with an odd assortment of animals, including a human being, the defamed explorer of his youth, Charles Muntz.
At this point, Up should have provided everyone with what most moviegoers expect from a film: Drama and romance (the Carl and Ellie part when they were young) — plus action, suspense, adventure and most especially, humor.
While Up isn’t your laugh-every-minute type of fare, it is still totally engrossing — maybe it helps that every character is engrossing, even the chocolate-gobbling flightless bird Kevin, who also turns out to be a girl.
As for Russell, I know of some people who are annoyed by him. In contrast, I like this kid. No, I wouldn’t say he is little Mr. Charming. But compared to kids in other film features, he doesn’t cause so much trouble (except when it came to saving Kevin). And then there is the matter of making him Chinese because this is another acknowledgment by the film’s creators that America now co-exists with other races, especially those originally from Asia.
My only beef against Up is the depiction of Charles Muntz. How could he look so much younger than Carl when he was the latter’s childhood hero? But that is my only complaint about the film. It’s one movie I could see again and again — although I’m not pushing for it to be included among the list of Best Picture nominees in next year’s Oscars because doing that is hysterical.
However, it is no doubt a fine film product that got me too involved in the situations and I continue to worry about the characters long after I’ve seen this film. Add to that the fact that I still mourn the death of Ellie.
Like I said earlier, no animated feature had tugged at my emotions this much — until I saw Up. Did it reawaken the child in me? On the contrary, it has served as a reminder that I am just decades away from being an old grumpy man like Carl — starting to lose his loved ones until I am just alone in this world.
Now, I am not crying anymore. I am starting to weep.