.png)
| UP Blends the Perfect Balance of Emotions |
| Written by Stan Robinson on Friday, 29 May 2009 16:54 | |||
 Walt Disney is quoted with saying, “For every laugh, there should be a tear,” and the new Disney/Pixar film UP sticks to that belief and throws in action and adventure to boot for good measure. Carl (voice of Ed Asner), is a balloon salesman at the local zoo. He has always dreamed of going off on an adventure since he was a young boy. He watched news reels before feature films that chronicled the journey of his favorite explorer Charles Muntz, who set off to South American to find a fabled bird-like creature. As a child, he met his female counterpart, Ellie. She too dreamed of adventure. The two were perfect together. They ended up getting married and spent the rest of their lives by each other’s side. While Carl and Ellie were happy as can be as a married couple, life events always prevented Carl from taking Ellie on the exploration they had always envisioned going on. After decades together, Ellie passes on, leaving the now 78-year-old Carl to live alone. Developers force Carl off of his property and into a retirement home. That is when Carl decides to set off on that adventure and live out his dream. He ties balloons to his home and floats off on what is supposed to be a peaceful journey. One problem though; a pesky, but good natured 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer (think Boy Scout) named Russell gets trapped on his porch as the house floats away. The two land in South America and meet a variety of creatures that once again prevent Carl from having that private outing he always wanted. What starts as a romantic love story between two people continues on as a truly funny action adventure filled with wacky characters that speaks to what is important in life, where Carl learns the true meaning of “adventure.” Calculating the balance between humor and emotion is not an exact science says UP Director/Writer Pete Docter, who joined Pixar in 1990 and has also directed Monsters, Inc and worked on such films as Wall-E, Toy Story, and A Bug’s Life, “In terms of the basic approach, we try to tell a compelling story, you want to fall in love with these characters, make them interesting, engaging and relatable. Whether they are monsters, fish or whatever… there is something you recognize about your own life that is happening on the screen.” But UP isn’t your traditional Pixar story. It crosses genre boundaries and does so with ease, “It’s a more poetic story, there’s an oddly nonlinear dreamlike quality about it. The whole idea of a house floating with balloons is preposterous to begin with, but we tried to create a world where it was believable and emotionally correct,” Docter says. Designing the perfect balance of emotion first requires a basic premise of a story, which often starts with just basic elements. “Bob Peterson (the head writer and co director) and I were playing around with the idea of a grouchy old man and a floating house,” Docter explains. “Then we worked backwards and said, ‘How did he get there? What led him to float his house away? Where is he going and why?’” Docter went on to say, “We start to lock in on certain elements that we like, such as this wonderful life he and his wife led together, adventure, then you start to think out what is the theme. In this case it is redefining what adventure means. He (Carl) worries he failed his wife because they never had an adventure, they never got to go to south America, met fantastic creatures, saw scenic vistas and then he realizes he had the greatest adventure, which was their life together. Then you start to figure, the force of antagonism has to work with that. Carl just wants to be left alone. Russell, the bird, the dog, all of these elements that try to reach in and say connect with the world again. You want to build all that to support that main theme.” “We also focus on the acting once the story is in place. The animators are our actors,” says Producer Jonas Rivera. “They focus on … the believability of emotions. We sit and argue for hours and hours over the timing of a sigh or exhale, to make it feel right.” “For me, one of the things I was most proud of was when we went out and did an audience screening, it was the first time we put it (the film) in front of an audience. And all of those things we had been talking about; the theme, the characters, were in place. I wondered what people were going to say when the house floats up and he leaves the world and flies away. Afterwards, we had these focus groups and not one person asked about. I was like how cool, they believed this crazy moment in the film because they believe the emotional set-up. They bought everything we wanted them to emotionally. To me, that proved emotionally we were on the right track.”
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Trackback(0)
Comments (0)
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Arts JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT SPECIAL SUMMER PRICES OFFER VALLEY FAMILIES AN AFFORDABLE OUTING
Fresh, innovative, and an awe inspiring crowd-favorite is the best...
|
Beer When you walk into Stogie Cutter Cigar & Craft Beer Lounge, you immediately think of a great neighborhood pub. There is a nice, fri...
|
.jpg)
Music The ALL NEW Joe's Grotto Music Venue is changing the face of live music on the North side! But before we introduce you to the new Joe's...
|
Valley Sports CATCH THE VISION CELEBRITY GOLF CLASSIC April 30th 2010 to Benefit Arizona Youth
Catch the Vision and the Legacy Resort and Golf club have announced plans for the Cat...
|
Latest Movies
 ‘Knight and Day’, a dynamic team for action! What happens when you pair an action actor known for... |
 |
 |
“The Yellow Handkerchief”, a story of newfound love… “The Yellow Handkerchief”, a story of newfound l... |
.jpg)
Follow us
