Pete Docter directed three of my top five Pixar movies, so clearly I dig his work. But I’m also reluctant to revisit them due to the emotional trauma they inflict on me.
I think this was my kid’s 3rd time through Up, but her first time watching it with me. And I don’t think I’ve seen it since 2009 — before I had a kid, before I was the sole adult living in my house, before I was in my 40s (and I’m not in my 40s for much longer). Unsurprisingly, it hit differently this time.
I don’t know that I recognized the villain of the movie before. Sure, there’s that explorer guy, but he’s more an avatar of the villain than the villain himself. The villain is stubbornness, and a specific kind of stubbornness that both Asner and Plummer exhibit — an empty, boulder-like refusal to accept change or to give up on a plan.
Carl even looks like a rock, which is such a delightful bit of character design.
BTW, top five Pixar:
- Wall-E
- Inside Out
- Monsters, Inc.
- Up
- Turning Red? Toy Story 3? Not sure.
