Was Carl so fixated on getting his house to Paradise Falls that he never considered how he would survive there? Or did he intend to die there?
Is "Phyllis" (who isn't Russell's mother and claims he bugs the father too much), Russell's stepmother, babysitter, maid, sister, or Russell's father's secretary?
Does Russell's mother love The Quiet Game because she's neglectful, or is she just a normal frustrated parent?
Award Snub: It became the second animated film since Beauty and the Beast to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but it only won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. Many felt Ed Asner was also deserving of an award for his performance as Carl, with one critic going so far as to suggest he be the inaugural winner of a Best Actor in an Animated Feature category at the Oscars.
Cry for the Devil: Muntz is a murderous bastard and Fallen Hero with how Carl realizes immediately that telling him how to lure Kevin with chocolate is a bad idea, seeing his Psychotic Smirk. As we see in the opening, Muntz was once a respected scientist and explorer, who invented revolutionary technology. He then loses it all when scientists declare his bird skeleton a fraud and they strip him of his medals. Muntz vows to come back with a live bird, only for the task to take decades rather than a few months, with only talking dogs for company, leading him to Go Mad from the Isolation and kill anyone that arrives at Paradise Falls, accusing them of wanting his bird. Even as Muntz is hunting them down, Carl feels sorry for him because he knows the man was once a hero.
Delusion Conclusion: Many viewers believe that everything after Carl hits Steve is a dream the former has, pointing to the fact that everything up to that point has been realistic, only for things to take a sudden turn for the impossible (it would take many more ordinary consumer balloons to lift a house the size of Carl's).
Ensemble Dark Horse: Due to her Genki Girl personality leading to tons of funny moments and her sweet relationship with Carl, Ellie has tons more fans than her small amount of screentime would suggest.
Genius Bonus: When Carl goes down in the stair lift, the music is la "Habanera" from Carmen, which is about how love is unpredictable. Some of the lyrics are "if you don't love me, I love you, but if I love you, beware". Carl doesn't like Russell or Doug but ends up loving them both; and he loves Muntz, who will try to kill him.
Harsher in Hindsight: Muntz ultimately bows out near the end of the movie by falling to his death. His voice actor, Christopher Plummer, died from complications after a fall that injured his head.
Hype Backlash: Although nobody is going to call the film bad, there is some debate on whether or not the film deserves the high praise it gets from critics and viewers, with some arguing that, aside from the "Married Life" montage at the start, Up is, more or less, a typical Pixar film. A good typical Pixar film mind you, but not one that deserves to be regarded as Pixar's greatest, when there are plenty of other films from Pixar that are as good, if not better than Up overall.
Jerkass Woobie: Muntz—Unjustly labeled as a fraud and rejected by the scientific community, eluded by a stupid bird for sixty years, all by himself, going completely insane and paranoid... it's so tragic. Of course, murdering or even attempting to murder innocent people (his biggest fan and a child, no less) because he thought they would take his discovery away makes him a bit of a monster.
Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Charles Muntz is a beloved villain. However the Corrupt Corporate Executive who wants to buy Carl’s house to bulldoze it for his construction field is a pretty hated character. It starts off simple enough, with just wanting to tear down Carl’s home, which while a low move, is basically just business, as he did offer Carl large sums to buy it. But any integrity goes out the window once Carl accidentally draws blood on one of the construction workers to protect his mailbox, which he promptly takes advantage of to sue Carl, who ends up losing the case, and in the settlement, sends him to a retirement home while taking his house away from him.
Love to Hate: Charles Muntz. Sure, he lost his mind, is implied to have killed several tourists out of paranoia, and attempted to kill his biggest fan and a child all because of a bird, but many fans couldn't help but feel sorry for him, while at the same time finding him an engaging villain.
SQUIRREL!!! So much so that "squirreling" has since become shorthand for "getting easily distracted."
"Married Life" editsExplanationA type of video meme in which a screenshot of a youthful-looking character grows increasingly old and tired before fading out, as if dying, set to the snippet of "Married Life" corresponding with Ellie's death, riffing on the film's infamous Downer Beginning.
Dug's "I have just met you, and I love you."
Since this film, "cone of shame" has become a popular term for the conical e-collar used on pets.... even here!
This video riffing on Disney Channel's old BLAM! interstitials (basically old Disney cartoons re-edited to look like some sort of wacky caught-on-tape misadventure show) became one by virtue of it being included in the infamous "Important Videos" playlist, and due to the sheer Crosses the Line Twice nature of it covering the prologue up to the saddest moments of Carl and Ellie's marriage - while never breaking its Totally Radical tone.
Editing the movie's poster by replacing the "UP" with another word like "Down" or the Konami Code.
"I would like to award you the highest honor I can bestow."ExplanationUsing two images of the scene where Carl awards Russel a makeshift badge of a soda cap that Ellie gave him, with text on the bottom image saying whatever the poster considers an award. Another variant of this meme changes Carl's quote to "I would like to award you the lowest honor I can bestow" and has the text on the bottom image be something the poster considers disgraceful.
Dug is absolutely adorable, helped by his Undying Loyalty to Carl.
Kevin's babies too, they're like smaller more precious versions of their mother.
Moral Event Horizon: Though Muntz crossed it offscreen before the plot when he started murdering tourists who came to visit Paradise Falls, he cements himself as being Beyond Redemption when he tries to murder Russell in cold blood.
Ron the Death Eater: Construction worker Steve. Many fans think he deserved to be hit in the head by Carl due to the mishap with his mailbox, and blame him for causing Carl having to go to court and subsequently losing his house. What is overlooked, however, is the fact that Carl assaulted Steve, with him getting a gash in the head. Also, Steve likely had no way of knowing how important the mailbox was for Carl, and he was genuinely trying to fix it and felt awful it had been damaged, which was an honest accident on his part.
Signature Scene: The first ten minutes chronicling Carl and Ellie's life together. Widely regarded as one of the biggest Tear Jerkers in any Pixar film, both it and its accompanying song were so acclaimed they almost overshadowed the rest of the movie.
Signature Song: "Married Life" is pretty much synonymous to the film. If you want someone to start weeping, just play the tune and watch the waterworks.
The "Married Life" montage is sometimes referred to as Pixar's best short film, as it could have exactly the same impact if it were one.
It's also earned the nickname Cosgrove: The Movie from Freakazoid! fans who recognized Ed Asner.
Squick: Russel asking Carl if he should dig a hole to go potty in before or after might be hard to look at, depending on how strong your stomach is. Carl is visibly squicked out.
They Copied It, So It Sucks!: It has been accused of copying the 2005 French animated short Above Then Beyond where an old woman turns her house into a hot air balloon after getting an eviction notice.
Due to how well-loved this movie is, practically every Pixar film following it is compared to Up, leading to all sorts of reactions along the lines of, "It was good, but not as good as Up."
In a weird way, the prologue of the film can act this way to the rest of the film. It's not uncommon for people to say that the first 10 minutes were so well done the rest of the film can feel disappointing by comparison.
Unintentionally Sympathetic: Muntz could be read as this to some. While whether or not we're intended to like him is debatable, it's obvious that he's supposed to be in the wrong because it's implied that he killed tourists who came to Paradise Falls offscreen and tried to murder his biggest fan and a child. However, many fans found themselves feeling sorry for Muntz because of his sad backstory: he was unjustly labeled as a fraud and rejected by the scientific community, eluded by a stupid bird for sixty years, all by himself and lost his mind all because of a bird. Because of this, many fans found themselves even rooting for Muntz.
Unintentional Period Piece: First is Russell's standalone GPS; a boy of Russell's age today would have a smartphone with the same capability. Secondly is the age of Carl and Charles; if they were around 10 and 25 years old respectively in the mid-1930s (and the beginning of the film is specifically tied to that period), they would be c.85 and 100 in the late 2000s, and given that only a few thousand people have become centenarians since the beginning of the 20th century, the odds of them living even another 15 or 20 years are quite low.
Viewer Name Confusion: The main dog character is named Dug, but some people assume it's Doug.
It's very easy to feel sorry for Carl, especially at the end of the sequence chronicling his life with Ellie and their unfulfilled dreams.
Russell, when he was talking about his dad.
Dug is not accepted by the rest of the dogs (cone of shame! poor thing...).
Even Kevin the bird - remember when her leg was hurt? There's also an insane lunatic hunting her, has been hunting her constantly for decades, and is putting her babies in danger with the intent to capture them and do who knows what else afterward.
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