Erin and Rachel wallow through an elderly man’s grief journey with Pixar’s critically acclaimed Up (2009). They argue the beautiful art and cute sidekicks aren’t enough to redeem this (admittedly beloved) film, especially since the (admittedly moving) love story invokes the classic “dead wife” trope. We’ll keep sailing our balloon house onto the next one, please and thank you.
Episode Summary
Erin and Rachel wallow through an elderly man’s grief journey with Pixar’s critically acclaimed Up (2009). They argue the beautiful art and cute sidekicks aren’t enough to redeem this (admittedly beloved) film, especially since the (admittedly moving) love story invokes the classic “dead wife” trope. We’ll keep sailing our balloon house onto the next one, please and thank you.
Episode Bibliography
Adler, S. (2008, August 7). 'Up' And Coming: 3-D Pixar Movie Tells A 'Coming Of Old Age' Story, Director Says. MTV. https://web.archive.org/web/20100318060539/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1592302/story.jhtml
The Associated Press. (2009, May 12). Q&A: Pete Docter. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/qampa-pete-docter-83783/
Berardinelli, J. (2009, May 26). Up (United States, 2009). ReelViews. https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/up
Block, A. B. (2009, November 17). Anatomy of a Contender: ‘Up’. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/anatomy-contender-91440/
Brooks, X. (2009, March 19). Curtain will go Up on this year's Cannes with 3-D yarn | Cannes 2009. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/19/up-first-animation-to-open-cannes-film-festival
Chen, D. (2009, May 28). Marketing Up's Asian-American Lead Character. SlashFilm. https://www.slashfilm.com/503927/marketing-ups-asian-american-lead-character/
Coconut Press. (2023, August 16). The Making of Up: Pixar Travels to Venezuela 4k. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXCHlcrMgLY
Corliss, R. (2009, May 7). Going Up. TIME. https://web.archive.org/web/20090513203932/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1896685-1,00.html
Corliss, R. (2009, May 28). Up, Up and Away: Another New High for Pixar. Time Magazine. https://time.com/archive/6688401/up-up-and-away-another-new-high-for-pixar/
Docter, P. (Director). (2009). Up [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios.
DVDFilmBonus. (2023, July 16). Up 2009 ( Pixar ) Making of & Behind the Scenes. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPQuzPm73fo
Erikson E.H., & Erikson, J.M. (1982). Life cycle completed. W.W. Norton & Company
Freer, I. (2009, October 3). Up. Empire Online. https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/movie-2-review/
Hartlaub, P. (2009, May 27). Oakland's Fentons Creamery in Pixar film 'Up'. SFGate. https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Oakland-s-Fentons-Creamery-in-Pixar-film-Up-3297072.php
Hauser, T. (2016). The Art of Up. Chronicle Books LLC.
Hogan, R. (2009, June 1). Pixar’s Up review. Den of Geek. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/pixars-up-review-2/
Horn, J. (2009, May 10). up, up and away. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-may-10-ca-up10-story.html
Hornaday, A. (2009, May 29). Up. The Washington Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20091027073954/http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/up,1156226.html
Khoo, I. (2015, July 13). Pregnancy Loss: The Surprising Movie That Understands Miscarriage. HuffPost Canada. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/pregnancy-loss-the-surprising-movie-that-understands-miscarriag_n_7786224
King, S. (2009, May 28). Jordan Nagai, 'Up'. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20121106123435/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/28/entertainment/et-jordanpete28
The Korean Face of Pixar's Latest Star. (2009, June 3). The Chosun Daily. https://www.chosun.com/english/people-en/2009/06/03/NXQOOEMZNUTRQNAZ7NTDTTGBUU/
Ksieh, K. (2009, May 29). Jordan Nagai as Russell in UP. Channel APA. https://web.archive.org/web/20121110102130/http://www.channelapa.com/2009/05/jordan-nagai-as-russell-in-up.html
Media Action Network for Asian Americans. (2009, September 2). ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUP PRAISES DISNEY/PIXAR'S "UP" FOR CREATING ASIAN AMERICAN PROTAGONIST. MANAA. https://web.archive.org/web/20090902105114/http://www.manaa.org/up_press_release.html
Meinel, D. (2014). Empire is out there!?: The spirit of imperialism in the Pixar animated film ‘Up’. Traces. NECSUS. https://necsus-ejms.org/empire-spirit-imperialism-pixar-animated-film/#_edn12
Meinel, D. (2016). Pixar’s America. Palgrave MacMillan. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-31634-5_7
Morgenstern, J. (2009, May 14). Reaching for the Sky, 'Up' Fails to Soar - WSJ. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124226358415817813
Piane, C. (2010, April 9). EWP Honors Pixar Films And Jordan Nagai At 44th Anniversary Visionary Awards 4/19. Broadway World. https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/EWP-Honors-Pixar-Films-And-Jordan-Nagai-At-44th-Anniversary-Visionary-Awards-419-20100409
Press Release. (2009, November 8). Interview: Pete Doctor on Disney/Pixar’s UP. Major Spoilers. https://web.archive.org/web/20100208140509/http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/27376.htm/
Rechtshaffen, M. (2009, May 12). Up - Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter. https://web.archive.org/web/20120315171219/http://www1.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/up-film-review-1003972156.story
Schilling, V. (2019, September 15). Boy Scouts ‘have been one of the worst culprits’ of cultural appropriation. ICT. https://ictnews.org/news/boy-scouts-have-been-one-of-the-worst-culprits-of-cultural-appropriation/
Tell Me More Staff. (2013, September 9). Angry Asian Man Not So Angry : Code Switch. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/09/09/219725276/angry-asian-man-not-so-angry
Up (2009 film). (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(2009_film)
Wooden, S.R., & Gillam, K. (2014). Pixar’s boy stories: Masculinity in a postmodern age. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Young, S. (2020, January 16). Exploring the dead wives in family movies trope. Nerdist. https://nerdist.com/article/dead-wives-family-movies-dolittle/
Zacharek, S. (2009, May 29). Up. Salon. https://www.salon.com/2009/05/29/up_review/