Scribblage

Lessons from Up!

If you haven't seen the film, don't read this entry.

But if you have, you, along with many others, have probably either almost or actually did shed a tear or two during this heart-warming tale.  I have to say, the first fifteen minutes of this film are genius--storytelling at its best!

Up! is the story of man named Carl, who is out to fulfill a "cross-your-heart" promise he had made to his wife, Ellie--his childhood sweetheart.  All their lives they had dreamed of adventure and the hope of one day moving to Fantasy Falls.  But their dreams of adventure kept having to wait after each little setback--and life is many sure of them!  After years, and now well aged, Carl and Ellie finally make the move but an even bigger setback comes their way--Ellie dies.

Alone and threatened with retirement home living, Carl takes life into his own hands and literally uproots his home and goes off to do that which he could not do with Ellie while she was still with him.

The rest of the film is pretty much dedicated to the whole journey to Fantasy Falls.  Along the way Carl is caught up with some unexpected visitors that come into his life--a young wildnerness scout named Russel, a dodo named Kevin, and a dog named Doug.  At first they are interruptions, obstacles to his journey, but as the movie unfolds there is a valuable lesson to be learned.

There comes a point in the film where Carl is flipping through a book that his wife had left him behind, called "My Adventure Book".  It is filled with childhood dreams and aspirations, with a page dedicated to "Things I am going to do".

We all have things that we want to accomplish in life, dreams that we've held on to.  Carl and Ellie had their dreams, but life was always too busy to make them a reality.  But unbeknownst to Carl, sometime before she passed away, Ellie had managed to fill in the rest of that book.

What Carl assumed he could fill in the pages with--adventures to be had, things to be seen, experiences, experiences, experiences--Ellie had filled with pictures of them together.

The scene makes a poignant observation:  It's not the experiences you'll have or the things that you'll do in life that make it worthwhile, but only the people you are with and those who you help along the way.

"Thanks for the adventure, now go have new ones!" - Ellie

Great film, some quips about it, but will leave you with this:  We only really have one adventure to live.  Live it with others.  Live it in love.