The Morality of 'Up'
Jeffrey Weiss
Correspondent
Posted:
05/30/09
I love a good cartoon, so when I saw that the Tomatometer rated "Up" at 98%, I dragged my wife to the new movie.
You can find the film critic details for the latest from Pixar/Disney elsewhere. (My very short take: Visually stunning. More for the kids than last year's incredible WALL-E, but parents won't be bored.)
Grist for my mill here, however, is that "Up" is a morality play with a lesson or three slid in amongst the jokes and the animation. Assuming that kids will see it, they'll see it many times. And those lessons may nudge behaviors.
What are those lessons? (And I think I can do this without giving away any plot points that aren't already in the reviews.)
1) "Up" is a profoundly anti-materialistic movie. Things have value only insofar as they contribute to the betterment of "people" (which include in this flick at least one talking dog and a giant semi-sentient bird). This is the most radical takeaway, I think. Much of the movie builds on the sentimental value of objects and then literally dumps that idea out as so much needless ballast.
2) Honors and accomplishments are equally meaningless unless they are for the betterment of other people. Overly focusing on public acclaim and reputation for purely selfish reasons can turn an otherwise good person bad. And by "bad' I mean "murderous." "Up" does not pull its punches about what it means to turn evil.
3) The film nods, perhaps intentionally, towards at least two lessons from Dr. Seuss stories: Horton's: "I said what I meant and I meant what I said." (Here, it's translated into "cross your heart.") And the Grinch's act of impossible physical strength at the moment of emotional growth. The Grinch's heart "grew three sizes that day" as he saves the sled filled with Christmas toys. Carl Fredricksen, the geriatric grouch of "Up," performs a similarly impossible feat as his humanity reawakens.
4) Animals are "people." The aforementioned dog and bird aren't simply funny characters like Mickey and Goofy – basically humans in "costumes." The critters in "Up" are recognizably animals, with non-human characteristics. But they are just as worthy – even more worthy – than some of the human characters. So yup, there's an environmentalism message here.
5) Old people are not scary. Different, yes. And creaky in a variety of physical and even mental ways. But well worth getting to know.
6) And finally: Never give up on your dreams. They may not come to pass in the way that you'd hoped. And they may be mixed with heartbreak and disappointment, but they may also carry rewards that you didn't expect.
Parents, you tell me what you think the effect is from a movie like this on your kids. Like Carl in "Up," I'm short on first-person experience with this question. Do these messages sneaked into the plot resonate with them now? And will they have long-term impact, mixed as one ingredient into the cultural stew that children consume?
Will an adult's politics be shaped by what they view (and read) as a child? Is it possible to ever connect the dots so directly?
You can find the film critic details for the latest from Pixar/Disney elsewhere. (My very short take: Visually stunning. More for the kids than last year's incredible WALL-E, but parents won't be bored.)
Grist for my mill here, however, is that "Up" is a morality play with a lesson or three slid in amongst the jokes and the animation. Assuming that kids will see it, they'll see it many times. And those lessons may nudge behaviors.
What are those lessons? (And I think I can do this without giving away any plot points that aren't already in the reviews.)
1) "Up" is a profoundly anti-materialistic movie. Things have value only insofar as they contribute to the betterment of "people" (which include in this flick at least one talking dog and a giant semi-sentient bird). This is the most radical takeaway, I think. Much of the movie builds on the sentimental value of objects and then literally dumps that idea out as so much needless ballast.
2) Honors and accomplishments are equally meaningless unless they are for the betterment of other people. Overly focusing on public acclaim and reputation for purely selfish reasons can turn an otherwise good person bad. And by "bad' I mean "murderous." "Up" does not pull its punches about what it means to turn evil.
3) The film nods, perhaps intentionally, towards at least two lessons from Dr. Seuss stories: Horton's: "I said what I meant and I meant what I said." (Here, it's translated into "cross your heart.") And the Grinch's act of impossible physical strength at the moment of emotional growth. The Grinch's heart "grew three sizes that day" as he saves the sled filled with Christmas toys. Carl Fredricksen, the geriatric grouch of "Up," performs a similarly impossible feat as his humanity reawakens.
4) Animals are "people." The aforementioned dog and bird aren't simply funny characters like Mickey and Goofy – basically humans in "costumes." The critters in "Up" are recognizably animals, with non-human characteristics. But they are just as worthy – even more worthy – than some of the human characters. So yup, there's an environmentalism message here.
5) Old people are not scary. Different, yes. And creaky in a variety of physical and even mental ways. But well worth getting to know.
6) And finally: Never give up on your dreams. They may not come to pass in the way that you'd hoped. And they may be mixed with heartbreak and disappointment, but they may also carry rewards that you didn't expect.
Parents, you tell me what you think the effect is from a movie like this on your kids. Like Carl in "Up," I'm short on first-person experience with this question. Do these messages sneaked into the plot resonate with them now? And will they have long-term impact, mixed as one ingredient into the cultural stew that children consume?
Will an adult's politics be shaped by what they view (and read) as a child? Is it possible to ever connect the dots so directly?