Character Analysis
They say no man is an island. Well, whoever “they” are…they've never met Carl Fredricksen. He’s private, stubborn, and crustier than a slice of week-old sourdough.
Go Ahead, Make Carl’s Day
Carl isn’t your average action hero. He’s…an old man. “And not a tough Clint Eastwood-with-a-gun old man,” explains film critic Tom Long; “this guy's a broken-down, portly, creaky, box-faced ancient grump.” He’s retired, he’s a widower, and his hobbies include unhappily riding his stair chair, watching TV with the shades drawn in the middle of the day like a hermit, and yelling at people to get off his porch. Dirty Harry, he is not.
But here’s the thing: Carl’s old age is his greatest asset. He’s smart, he’s resourceful, and, most of all, he has nothing to lose. The construction company wants to take the house he made a home with Ellie? Fine. He’ll just attach a million balloons to it and fly away. What’s the worst that could happen? The guy’s already older than dirt, and he’s all alone.
Deconstructing Carl
Ellie’s death leaves Carl searching for meaning in his life. He may be grumpier than Oscar the Grouch before he’s had his morning mochaccino, but he wasn’t always such a cranky old codger. When Up begins, Carl’s a kid. He’s shy and kind of dorky, but he’s also a huge Charles Muntz fanboy. Lil’ Carl digs adventure and dreams of being an explorer just like his idol. When he meets Ellie, a similarly adventure-obsessed kid, they become BFFs almost instantly. They get hitched, dream of traveling to Paradise Falls, but life keeps getting in the way. Despite all the disappointments, they’re happy together and devoted to each other.
But when Ellie dies, so does Carl’s hankering for adventure. He retreats into their brightly colored house, and slams the door on society. If the modern world has no use for Carl, then Carl has no use for the modern world. He doesn’t go full-on Grey Gardens, but he does slide into a crazy old recluse persona with relish, pouring prune juice in gas tanks and lobbing dated insults at the construction crew. He misses Ellie. He still talks to her.
Simply put, Carl’s stuck in a rut. What he needs is a good kick in the pants, and he gets it from the threat of Shady Oaks. Moving to a retirement home would end Carl’s independence and put a zeppelin-sized dent in his dignity. That’s why Carl revolts. Dinner at 4 o’clock and Wheel of Fortune reruns? Carl’s not going out like that.
His Mission, If He Chooses to Accept It
Carl’s journey to Paradise Falls may be motivated by his desire to do right by Ellie, but, in the end, he gets a lot more out of the trip.
For starters, he gets a new family. Russell may start out a chatty, chubby pain in the butt, but by the end of the film, he’s the son Carl and Ellie were never able to have. When Carl commands Russell to stay in the house while he saves Kevin, it’s not because Russell’s an annoyance, it’s because the kid’s become precious cargo. “I don’t want your help,” Carl says. “I want you safe.” Carl’s love for Russell is deep and true. He even serves as his stand-in father, literally substituting for Russell’s deadbeat dad at Russell’s Wilderness Explorer ceremony and taking him out for ice cream.
But wait—there’s more!
Carl doesn’t just get a de facto son, he gets a dog, too. Dug is the slobbering embodiment of the biggest lesson that Carl learns on his quest: love is all over the place and you just have to knuckle up and let it in. While Dug adores him from the jump, it takes Carl a long time to warm up to Dug. He spends most of the movie trying to drive Dug away, just like he does everyone else.
But here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter how long it takes Carl to wake up. What’s important is that he does, period. He opens his heart—and his house—and lets Dug in. “Can you stay?” Carl replies to Dug’s request to take him in. “Why, you’re my dog, aren’t you? And I’m your master!” Dug, just like Russell, shows Carl that having an adventure isn’t worth a hill of South American beans if you don’t have your friends at your side.
A Grinch No More
In the end, Carl returns home a changed man—and not just because he crushes Muntz like a geriatric Dwayne Johnson. In his quest to find Paradise Falls, Carl finds a reason to go on. He realizes that the greatest adventures lie in the littlest moments, like hilltop picnics and counting red and blue cars. The formerly cantankerous old coot finally understands that his whole life has been one fantastic voyage after another—and there’s still time to add pages to his Adventure Book.
Carl’s Timeline