Before we get to the old man, however, we meet the boy he outgrew. Young Carl is introduced in a movie theater watching a newsreel of his hero, the great South American explorer and adventurer Charles F. Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer), a dashing sort given to piloting his own dirigible to such exotic locales as South America's Paradise Falls.
On the way home, Carl runs into a feisty, irresistible gap-toothed girl named Ellie (a wonderful Elie Docter, the director's daughter) who is as enamored of Muntz and his "Adventure is out there!" motto as Carl is. Carl is happy to bask in her energy, not only for the day but for a lifetime.
The bulk of "Up," however, takes place after Ellie's death, with Carl as a cantankerous widower with bushy eyebrows over square black glasses and a squarer jaw.
He is so alone now, not only emotionally but also physically -- the little house he and Ellie shared is totally surrounded by an enormous modern high-rise development.
When circumstances seem to be forcing Carl out of the house he loves, he takes the kind of drastic action open to a former balloon salesman: he pumps up the helium and off he goes, heading for Paradise Falls, he hopes, and the kind of adventure Ellie always dreamed of but never had.
There's just one problem, though: He has a stowaway. That would be an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell (voiced by Jordan Nagai), a roly-poly package of chubby determination who is nothing if not resolved to get the "assistance to the elderly" merit badge he is in desperate need of.
Pesky, persistent and goofy, Russell is, no surprise, the perfect foil for Carl's crankiness. Together they head off on a series of adventures neither of them could have predicted.
After all, who predicts talking animals, a giant multicolored bird who loves chocolate and a dog named Dug (amusingly voiced by co-director Peterson) who just wants to belong?
Though "Up" does so many things so well, the quality that stays with you longest is its fearlessness in the face of emotion. This is a film that is heartfelt enough to restore your faith in whatever needs restoration. --
'Up'
MPAA rating: PG for some peril and action
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Playing: In general release
