Film Review • Character & Storytelling

Opposing characters depend on each other usually, the film Up's (2009) antagonist and protagonist depend on each other too.

Carl the protagonist grew up viewing the films antagonist, Charles as a hero, Charles is introduced straight away through a film Carl is watching, he is shown to be an adventurer and dog lover. He is sent off on his own mission, capturing the 'beast alive'.

Carl we see grow up, through a scene at the beginning right after he watches the video, which could be news of the time. He then meets Ellie who seems to become the love of his life, and they share a dream.
We watch their time together until she is gone and he is old and alone, the whole time they kept trying to save up to go to south america, to get to 'Paradise Falls' but life keeps getting in the way and they have to keep spending their money, they're dream is kept alive but put more on a backburner as they grow older.

So we see that Carl is alone, and you could assume that the dream is gone but it is very much still alive.

We see Carl start a day as a grumpy old man, who still cares very much about his house and the memories of his wife that live there, even referring to the house as Ellie.

We get a lot more exposition of Carl than Charles, which leads you to route for him more.
In the first 20 minutes you know that Carl wants to fulfil Ellies dream and that Charles wanted to capture a creature alive.
Both wants aren't necessarily evil but the clashing of them is what causes the drama.

When the two characters meet, they get along but when Charles finds out Carl has the creature he's after he becomes more sinister. Since we're following Carls journey we're on his side, but if we were following Charles journey you can see how Carl is in his way.

Neither character has a need, other than survival, which Charles is doing quite comfortably and Carl has his house with him and he seems to be doing it quite well considering he's an old man in the wild.

If neither character met its unlikely they would have gotten what they wanted, even though in the end Carl is the only one that gets what he wanted, as Charles want has become an obsession over the years of living alone with his many dogs, which leads to his end.
When someone has lost all sense and are willing to use a shotgun against a child they are clearly a villain, even if they were not originally so, but for the time the story is happening he is the villain.

Carls views change as Rustle reveals his fatherly issues to him, as well as the rest of the film is going, he ends up being more of a fatherly figure to Rustle. Charles view only gets more obsessive as stated earlier.

This film might not be a typical hero's journey but I wanted to see if I could pick out the parts, as some are in most films.
Joseph Campbell's Heros Journey in this film:
(these are all theoretical)

Call to adventure
The dream Carl and Ellie shared throughout their lives.

Supernatural aid
Carl's Balloons attached to his house.

Crossing the first threshold
Having the house in the air and needing to navigate a storm.

Belly of the whale
Meeting Charles, and seeing how obsessed he is over capturing the bird.

Road of Trials
Trying to move the house over to the falls, and dealing with Rustle.

Meeting the Goddess
This could be where Carl met Ellie early on, or when he found her scrap book once the house was where they wanted.

Temptations
Letting Charles leave with the bird.

Atonement with the father
Rustle and Carl's relationship as the film progresses, at the end he seems like grandfather and grandson.

Apotheosis
When He found Ellie's scrap book once the house was where they wanted.

The ultimate boon
He got his house to the falls where he wanted it.

Refusal to return
Rustle going to help the bird, and Carl's willingness to keep Rustle safe.

Magic Flight
Facing off against Charles.

Rescue from without
When Charles is in Carl's house with a shotgun, trying to get the bird back.
The bird jumps through the window and when Charles jumps, he gets caught on the string of the balloons and falls.

Crossing the return threshold
Carl gives up his house and letting it drift down, he has control of Charles blimp.

Master of two worlds
Carl now has control of Charles blimp, his dogs, released the bird back to where her house is, and appearing at Rustles ceremony.

Freedom to live
The final shot is of Carl and Rustle counting cars like him and his dad used to, and then showing the house on the falls like on the pieced together picture shown several times throughout the film.
The credits have images of how they spent time together after the story collecting more badges and just being like a family.