Pixar Film Study - UP

Based on what we learned in class this week, we were asked to look at a pixar film and relate the information to it. For this exercise I watched the Pixar film UP, released in 2009. I decided to use this film because it was a good example of many of the concept that we learned in class.

The one aspect with relates most perfectly to this film is "the hero's journey" narrative style. The different aspects of this film in regards to the hero's journey are as follows:

Call to Adventure:

Mr. Fredrickson, the main character in the film, is a grouchy old man who, after losing his wife, seems to hate everyone and everything around him. After smacking a guy on the head with his cane, he is told by a judge he is to be placed in an assisted living home, and this is where the true adventure starts. As the men come to take him to the assisted living home he takes of in his house power by countless helium filled balloons where he floats away in search of a place called Paradise Falls.

Crossing the Threshold:

After being airborne for a while and settling into his comfortable chair, he surprisingly hears a knock on the door and finds one of the neighborhood kids, Russell. It is at this points that the world that he knows changed and the path he was hoping he he would follow would not be the same.

Supreme Ordeal:

As Mr. Fredrickson and Russell find themselves out of their known world, and into an unknown, they begin to encounter many strange things. These are things like a bird considered to be mythical and a dog that can converse to them. This talking dogs, takes the two to his owner (Charles Muntz), who is an adventurer Mr. Fredrickson recognizes from his childhood. A man looking for the bird the two had already encountered. Mistakenly, the deranged man believes the two are after this bird, which he had devoted much of his adult life in finding and bringing back alive. Muntz, as a result of this belief, goes after Russell and Mr. Fredrickson. The adventure goes from Mr Fredrickson finding his spot in Paradise Spring to keeping himself and Russell safe from a lunatic adventurer.

Road Back:

There is a point in the story where Mr. Fredrickson and Russell believe they escaped the crazed Charles Muntz. Just as this happens, of course, he appears again and attacks what, at the time, was the most important thing to Mr. Fredrickson. He sets his house on fire and steals the bird which had been following them. In a moment or sobriety, Mr. Fredrickson has to decide between saving the house, or their new friend, the bird. Russell gets mad and storms off to save the bird while Mr. Fredrickson, after some intense contemplative moments, decides to let the house go and help save the bird and also Russell who had run off on his own.

Resurrection:

In an act of heroism, Mr. Fredrickson enters the hideout where Charles Muntz stays. His personal acts of heroism, saving the bird, saving Russell, and eventually one of the dogs, begins. The adventure itself involves leaving behind most of his possessions, distracting a mad pack of dogs, a fight involving a sword at the hand of Muntz, and Mr. Fredrickson's walker, dogs attacking the group in airplanes, and many other crazy antics.

Return with the Elixir:

Due to his crazy adventure, Mr. Fredrickson is able to save Russell, save the dog (Doug), Save the bird (and return it to her babies), and in the process save himself, in a way. In the process he lost his house, but gained a blimp; became a father figure to Russell; and lose the grouchy exterior he had in the beginning. At the end of this story he ends up much happier because of the ordeal that he went through.

(*note: not all aspect of the hero's journey were covered, but the main plot point in the story were attributed to main points in the hero's journey)

Some of the narrative characteristics of for the Action/Adventure genre that were apparent in the film were many.

Although fighting it originally, Mr Fredrickson accepts the quest to save himself and the new friends he picked up along the way.

Mr Fredrickson also encounters the two problems a hero faces. the first is the external problem, or journey for the higher cause. This is where the other characters are introduced into his world and he has a need to nurture and take care of them. This is the greater good that he faces, which inevitably leads to him leaving everything he started out with. The second is the internal, or journey of personal growth. There are many ways this is established by Mr. Fredrickson, but one of the main ways this is done is how he grows from focusing his life on one aspect of it (his wife - which is now gone) to finding something/someone to replace that void left by her dying.

The selfless hero is willing to sacrifice and serve. This was mentioned above, but Mr. Fredrickson ends up giving up his house and almost all of his possessions for the good of the other characters.

At the end, good triumphs over evil. after some road blocks and several attempts to get in the way, Chalres Muntz, the bad guy, is beaten and overcome by the old Mr. Fredrickson, Russell is safe, the bird is returned to her babies, and they pick up a friendly dog along the way.