Pixar's Up turns 10 years old this year and yet its opening sequence remains fresh in our memories for the sheer brilliance, emotion and beauty it conveys in a short space of time. Pixar has always been a champion for unique ideas and for stories that emotionally resonate with audiences and Up, directed by Pete Docter, encompasses that completely. On paper, the concept is bonkers- an old man travels to South America in his flying house accompanied by a young boy, a talking dog and a rare bird. And yet, by grounding the story in something so universal to human life- a marriage- it has become one of the most beautiful and memorable animated films ever made. If nothing else, it has one of the best movie opening montages of all time.
Up opens with a young Carl Frederickson meeting Ellie, a bright and energetic young girl who dreams of traveling to South America, like their shared hero Charles Muntz. We cut to their wedding years later followed by their married life all told without a word spoken.
During the development of the movie, Pete Docter revealed that the idea of having a 'silent' montage embued the sequence with a sense of nostalgia, reminicent of watching a silent home video or looking at a family picture. This nostalgia is made even more beautiful by Michael Giacchino's stunning score. Composer Giacchino is known for his work for Lost, The Incredibles, Rogue One and Spider-Man Homecoming. The piece 'Married Life' which accompanies Up's montage is undoubtedly one of his best scores and never fails to delight and sadden me. The nostalgia, joy, sorrow and beauty of life is all captured in the music and, by the end of the sequence, is utterly devastating.
Up's opening montage is a short story in and of itself. It tells the story of a marriage, showing elements of Carl and Ellie's mundane routine interspersed with major life events. It shows time slipping away, the briefness of life but also the richness of it. Hayao Miyazaki, the creator behind acclaimed Japanese animation such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo, is another filmmaker who excels at making mundane acts- preparing food, cleaning, waiting at a bus stop- utterly enchanting. Seeing Carl and Ellie clean their house together is relatable and real, but it also serves to provide a tragic contrast when Carl has to do the same thing later on, but without Ellie.
Speaking of major life events, the montage reveals that Carl and Ellie cannot have children, a tough subject matter to explore in a silent montage, let alone a children's film. Director Pete Docter tested the montage with and without that story element and found that the audience connected to Carl and Ellie's life more when they saw that their life was not perfect, that they had obstacles to overcome together.
Needless to say, the end of the montage is devastating. Giacchino's score slows, only the tinkle of a piano now. The colour of the preceding montage is drained away, only Carl's balloon left, something he holds onto desperately. It feels as though we have suddenly woken up from a dream to enter the harsh world of reality. In ten minutes, we have lived a whole life with Carl and Ellie, only through seeing snatches, snapshots of their life together. Just like Ellie's scrapbook, this opening montage is a collage of somone's life told through truly perfect storytelling.
Thank you for reading this article! I'm really looking forward to Toy Story 4 and next year is going to be amazing, with two original Pixar films set to release, one of which is directed by Pete Docter. Feel free to leave a comment below or through Twitter (@filmdomblog) or Instagram (cinematicwallflower).
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