I Don't Want To Be UP

I went to see UP today. It was upon my sister's recommendation and I honestly wouldn't have gone to see it if she didn't speak so highly of it. I'd seen the trailer numerous times before and thought to myself, 'Okay, I guess I'll skip this one'. But as the famous saying goes, 'Never judge a book by its cover'. I guess in this context it would be, 'Never judge a movie by its trailer'.


Movie trailers are often misleading. Usually, it's the other way around, where the trailer makes the movie seem so thrilling but when you actually watch the movie, you wish you'd stayed at home watching lizards crawl.


----------------- The voice (Ed Asner) and the character ------------------

This time however, it was totally unexpected. I think it's great that the trailer gives nothing away. I went into the cinema not knowing what to expect and came away simply awed by it. I can smother the producers with praise for the superb artwork and the clever use of colours to match the mood in the scenes. I could also tip my hat off to the excellent characterization but that would be missing the point; for the best part of UP is its story.

--------------- The character and the voice (Jordan Nagai) --------------

UP is essentially a story of life - the life of a man and a woman, who were both once a boy and a girl. I love how they made the characters speak less as they turned the pages of them growing old together. It's exactly what I believe true love should be. We don't need words to tell the other person how we feel or know how the other one feels; we just need to look at each other and let the silence speak the words we feel. Sometimes, the silence sings more beautifully than words can ever say. I knew a love like that once...

Throughout the entire hour and a half, my eyes were fixed upon each scene that unfolded before me. I laughed, I cried. The more I watched, the more I wanted to be like Carl Fredricksen. I wanted to meet a girl like he did. I wanted to fall in love so innocently as he did. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with the one I love, just as he did. Even if I ended up alone in the end, it would all be worth it.

I love the wonderful lesson in UP. It's one that we should all learn. No matter how old we are, we can all learn to be a kid again. It's something I'm doing right now and it's something I hope I'll still be doing for all the years I'm alive.


The movie really made me think of my own life. The only thing is that I'm not as lucky as Carl Fredricksen. He found Ellie as a young boy; I've been looking for true love for as long as I can remember. It's been so long that it's gotten to a point where I've stopped looking. Now, I'm just waiting... waiting for it to come my way. And I'll keep waiting, for as long as it takes.

A lot of people feel I have high expectations for love but actually, what I want is really simple. For all the fun that I might have if I were to float my house UP in the sky, I don't want to be UP. I just want to be on the ground... lying quietly with the love of my lifetime.

"The real adventure of life is the relationship we have with other people, and it's easy to lose sight of the things we have and the people that are around us until they're gone." - Pete Docter