UP
Delightful, heartwarming adventure for the whole family.
Should You Watch It?
Yes. UP is a beautifully made animated adventure filled with crazy hilarity, thrilling suspense, enchanting characters, and tender emotion. Its central relationships give the adventure a warm human heart, while its message honors love, sacrifice, courage, and caring for others.
You will encounter a floating house, a giant bird that craves chocolate, talking dogs, and a villain who will stop at nothing. Some moments may be too scary or intense for younger children, but the filmmakers repeatedly relieve that tension with comedy and heartfelt action.
Take your family to see UP if you want an entertaining, creative movie with a strong moral center and something meaningful to discuss afterward.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCarl, a 78-year-old widower, decides to fulfill his late wife’s lifelong dream of visiting Paradise Falls in a remote Venezuelan jungle plateau. He turns their house into a blimp using hundreds of helium-filled balloons.
But Carl is not alone. Russell, an exuberant young boy scout seeking his final scouting badge, becomes an unexpected companion. Together, they reach Paradise Falls and discover an adventure filled with unknown dangers, surprising creatures, and an unlikely friendship.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means UP is an exceptional family film, and the source review’s enthusiasm is well earned. The movie combines brilliant wit, laugh-out-loud comedy, hairbreadth escapes, thrilling suspense, and extraordinarily tender moments.
Its intentional symbolist visual style recalls Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. Pete Docter and Bob Peterson provide a strong script, and Docter’s direction gives the story both creative energy and emotional weight.
The film is not perfect. Russell’s father being too busy for his scouting activities is left unresolved, and some viewers may find the action-filled third act slightly too frenetic or long. These are minor flaws in an otherwise terrific animated classic.
The Worldview
UP presents a strongly Christian and moral vision. It values loving and caring relationships, marriage, heroic action, sacrifice to help others, and the willingness to release old burdens in order to receive new life. The story also includes references to marriage in a church, a funeral in a church, and an afterlife in Heaven.
The film’s central allegory presents letting go of sins and burdens as a path toward new life. Its message is that the best adventures are found with the people we love. That emphasis aligns with biblical teaching about laying aside what weighs us down: “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” (Hebrews 12:1).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong Christian, moral worldview promoting letting go of your sins and burdens to find new life, loving and caring relationships, heroic action, sacrifice to help others, marriage, and other Christian, biblical values, with references to getting married in a church, having a funeral in a church and an afterlife in Heaven; no foul language but a couple of “darn” words; light action cartoon violence such as child and animals in peril, a scary thunderstorm, snarling leader of a pack of dogs whose frightfulness is undercut by some very funny comedy, dogs chase giant bird, dogs chase characters, dog bites bird’s leg, villain tries to kill protagonist with a sword, villain chases protagonist and his new friend, characters in danger of falling from great height, a villain is shown falling, villain and three of his canine minions try to shoot down floating house with boy in it, boy almost falls from open ramp of dirigible balloon, protagonist gets angry and injures a man with his cane, and characters often attached precariously to a hose which swings wildly at dangerous heights; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, light miscellaneous problems such as protagonist lies to send annoying boy on a wild goose chase, crotchety old man and boy’s sadness that his father has become too busy for boy’s scouting activities is not resolved.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Carl’s journey involves releasing old burdens and opening himself to new relationships. What burdens might keep a person from receiving new life?
Hebrews 12:1 · 2 Corinthians 5:17Carl and Russell become unlikely friends and learn to care for one another. What does love look like when caring for someone becomes inconvenient?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Philippians 2:3–4The story values sacrifice and heroic action on behalf of others. How can courage and selflessness appear in ordinary family life?
John 15:13 · Philippians 2:4Russell is saddened that his father is too busy for his scouting activities. How can families show children that they are seen, valued, and loved?
Psalm 68:5–6 · Ephesians 6:4The Final Word
UP is funny, creative, exciting, and extraordinarily tender. Its few flaws do little to diminish a heartfelt adventure about love, sacrifice, friendship, and finding new life. For families of all ages, this is WORTH THE TRIP.
