Carl is a young boy with dreams of emulating his hero Charles Muntz
Carl meets Ellie and they promise to live a life of adventure
Everyday life seemed to get in the way of their plans
Carl is an old man and the hero of the story. He plays a reluctant mentor for Russell and ends up learning something from him.
Attaching balloons to his house and taking off for one last adventure
A near death experience in the thunderstorm and it carries them away to a far off place near Paradise falls
Carl struggles to get his house to Paradise falls as he has to tow it along and endure the constant nattering and clumsy behaviour of Russel the wilderness explorer
Russel and Ellie are Carl’s inspiration. Carl and Ellie never had children but they loved each other dearly, when Ellie died, love also died in Carl’s life and it takes Russell to appear in his life to awaken it again.
The distraction from his goal is Kevin the bird. When Carl meets Muntz, he’s excited, however he shifts between trying to get his house to Paradise falls to rescuing Kevin.
Russell tells Carl a story about sitting on the curb counting cars with his father. Russell admits that although this sounds boring, sometimes the boring things in life are the things he remembers and loves the most. Up until this moment, Carl has seen Russel as an annoying kid but now he sees Russell as lonely boy seeking love and attention because he doesn’t get it from his dad.
Russel is upset with Carl because he had to save his house from burning down and in doing so, allowed Muntz to capture Kevin. Russel abandons Carl and flies off to rescue Kevin
Carl flicks through Ellie’s book and discovers that far from living an unfulfilled life, their relationship was her life’s greatest adventure and she encourages him to live on and have another.
He throws all the excess weight out of the house and gets it back in the air and goes after Muntz. Now he’s a changed man, he’s excited and filled with passion instead of being a grumpy old man and he’s ready to take on the final challenge ahead.
Fighting with Charles Muntz as he rescues Russell, Kevin and Dug
About to be killed by Muntz and Dug the dog knocks the controls and throws the blimp to one side allowing the old man to escape
The crossing of the return Threshold
He returns home with his new friends and allies, Russell, Dug and the rest of the pack
His has achieved the dream of the house by the falls but also he’s achieved happiness by living in the now.
He sits on the sidewalk counting cars with the Russell, something boring but better than an wild adventure because he’s with someone he loves
Up is a perfectly structured, it’s a love story which spans virtually Carl’s entire life.