Home Is Where the Heart Is: Pixar's Up Response

Pixar’s Up has been and always will be one of my favorite Disney films. I just cannot get enough of Russell and his cute little lisp. I also can’t get over how much Carl resembles one of the history teacher’s from my high school named Mr. Nappo. They are literally the same person in every way possible (looks wise and personality!). In Dennis Tylers, "Home Is Where the Heart Is: Pixar's Up", I thought he brought up two very interesting points about the film that I never paid close attention to before reading his article.  

 The first point of Tyler's that I found interesting was the idea of a gender role reversal in the film. In the beginning of the movie, when Carl and Ellie first meet when they are kids, Ellie is the more adventurous and brave one while Carl is the more passive one who likes to sit back and watch. This becomes obvious again when later in the movie they are getting married and Ellie grabs Carl aggressively to kiss him to make it official, leaving Carl a little blushed and embarrassed on the alter. These character traits remain consistent throughout the montage of their life together. Ellie is always the one willing to take risks and be proactive and Carl sort of follows along in her footsteps. This is definitely not typical of Disney films, as we know. Usually, the male characters take on the traits that Ellie portrays and the female characters (usually princesses) are much more like Carl. This is one of the aspects of Up that I really like. I love the fact that Ellie is the crazy daring character. It's refreshing for a change to have the woman take on that kind of role in a Disney film. I also think it’s incredibly cute how Carl follows her around like a puppy dog, doing what ever he can to make her smile. I feel like most of the time it is usually the girls trying to please the husbands.

            The second point of Tyler’s that I found interesting was his point about the normal lifestyle Carl and Ellie live. The families in Disney films are either members of the extreme upper class and live in palaces with servants, or in the extreme lower class and live in the streets scourging for their next meal. In Pixar’s Up, Carl and Ellie are the “depiction of normalcy – a white middle income couple” (Tyler 273).  They both work at the zoo and make moderate incomes. Neither Carl nor Ellie are heirs to thrones and have the responsibility of ruling a country looming in the backs of their minds. They live normal lives that many of us can compare to our reality. Russell also comes from a realistic family background that many kids can relate to. His parents are divorced, his dad has a girlfriend, and he spends his days trying to impress his dad and get his attention by being the best wilderness explorer he could be. I think a lot of kids with divorced parents go through this stage at some point, trying to gain the approval of a parent.
            For these reasons I think Up serves as one of Disney’s most relatable movies that has been made thus far.