Narrative Analysis of: Up (Pixar 2009)

Structural moments in Up:

Act 1: We meet an old man called Carl and we get to see his life spent with Ellie, his wife. It is very sad towards the end of the montage because he becomes a widow and we understand his grumpiness and sympathize with him.

Act 2: We see that Carl’s house is in the middle of a construction sight and they want to demolish it. we then meet a scout called Russel who wants to assist Carl for a badge. Carl finally follows his life long dream and floats away with his house to Paradise Falls.

Act 3: Carl finds out that Russel is on board and wants to drop him off but they hit a storm and Carl is knocked out. When he wakes up they find themselves on a cliff opposite Paradise Falls and a trek is ahead of them.

Act 4: As the head towards Paradise Falls Carl and Russel’s bond gets stronger. They stumble across an extremely rare bird and they call it Kevin. they also meet dug the talking dog and a pack of other talking dogs. They lead Carl and Russel to Charles Muntz Carl’s child hood hero but he turns out to be a villain and wants to capture Kevin. They try to escape and Carl looses his house in the process.

Act 5: Lastly Kevin is returned to her chicks and Carl and Russel with Dug go home where Russel finally gets his last badge which turns out to be the Ellie badge that Carl had worn since he was a young boy. Carl lives on happy and without loneliness he is a changed man compared to the start of the film.

Character types:

• Carl – Carl is the main character in the film who changes throughout the film like Scrooge in A Christmas Choral.
• Russell – Russell gives Carl a wake up call and helps to change him for the better. he is the hero of the film.
• Dug – Dug is a helper in the film that helps and guides when problems are encountered.
• Charles Muntz – Charles is the antagonist who turns on them after acting as a hero. He creates problems for Carl and Russel throughout the film.

Conflicts and themes:

• There is a theme of loneliness in Carl’s life after Ellie dies.
• The conflict of letting the past go and moving on with Carl when he has to let go of his house.
• The conflict between Russel and Charles Muntz about Kevin.
• The conflict for Carl between the Charles Muntz he taught he knew and the Charles Muntz he now sees.