Analysis Of The Relationships Between Russell And Carl From The Up Movie

Up is an animated Pixar film released in 2009. Directed by Pete Doctor, it tells of the story of an old man called Carl Fredrickson, and his adventures to Paradise Falls, a land lost in time. This essay’s topic is to examine Carl’s relationship with Russel, who is a wilderness explorer who accompanies Carl in his adventure. This essay shall look at the relationship the two share, before during and after the action of the movie.

At the start of the Film, Carl thinks that Russel is nothing but an annoyance.

This is because when Russel first knocks on the door, Carl looks very annoyed about leaving his television, and must talk to someone, as he is a very solitary person. We know this because you never see him talk to anyone except out of necessity. He is also very impatient with Russel. Also, he sends Russel on an adventure to find a Snipe, which he thinks is an impossible task, which you can see with his smug expression after he sends Russel away.

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He is also displeased when Russel hitches a ride on his floating house, because he must think about cancelling his adventure, which is not something he wants to do because he wants to honour Ellie. Another factor is that Russel reminds Carl of Ellie because Russel has the same yearning for adventure. This similarity makes Carl dislike Russel, as Russel Brings up a feeling of loss. In conclusion, at the start of the movie, Carl is grumpy, impatient and does not like Russel.

While at Paradise Falls, Carl slowly warms up to Russel. We see this when Russel and Carl are talking about Russel not seeing his father very often, Carl feels apologetic towards Russel after Russel says that “Phyllis isn’t my mother”. At the same time, Carl agrees to let Russel keep Kevin and Dug, which he had previously been opposed too, which is shown when he uses the tennis ball and chocolate to make them leave previously in the film. Also, Carl crosses his heart for Russel, which shows their bond, and Carl only used to do it for Ellie, so it must be special for him. This is because he treasures anything to do with Ellie, which is shown in the way his house is organised, even after her death, with multiple of everything. In conclusion, Carl slowly warms up to Russel while at paradise falls.In the rescue at the end of the movie and after it, Carl becomes a father figure to Russel. A father figure is supposed to support and look out for someone. Both are true with Carl, who throws out all his personal belongings, including the two chairs that he and Ellie shared many memories in, just to save Russel. Also, when he saves Russel and puts him back inside the house, he goes looking for Kevin, just for Russel, and after Russel says he wants to go with him, Carl says “I don’t want your help, I want you safe”. This proves that Carl is looking out for Russel’s health and wellbeing. Carl supports Russel emotionally at the end by appearing at his wilderness explorer ceremony, to take away his sense of loneliness.

In conclusion, Carl has become a father figure to Russel by the end of the movie.This essay’s goal was to summarize and examine the relationship between Russel and Carl Fredrickson. It has done that by separating the movie into time periods. In conclusion, this essay has shown the relationships up and downs and shown why they are great characters.

Works cited

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