Tammy Kung

Music History 7
Discussion 1B
March 13, 2015
Adventure is Out There!
All I remember was crying. Movies have a unique way of evoking the viewers
emotions, such as how the movie Up made me cry when I first watched it. The score of
the movie influenced an emotional response in me to be sad when looking at a montage
of Carl and Ellies life, when it could just as easily have provoked a joyful reaction. This
ability is what makes movies so vital to society. The audience follows the action and
emotions of the movie and feel as if they are experiencing life-changing moments
alongside the characters. However, the purpose is not solely to experience, but rather to
use the storyline as a means to question and reflect on their own lives. The movie Up,
directed by Pete Docter, evokes this concept of self-reflection outside of the movies
reality. Through the use of the leitmotif Ellies Theme, Up encourages its audience to
revel in everyday life, emboldening the viewers to not look to the past for nostalgia but
instead to allow the past to encourage his or her future.
The movie Up, directed by Pete Docter and scored by Michael Giacchino, is about
an elderly man named Carl whos life has become monotonous and dull after the death of
his wife, Ellie. Ellie had always wanted to go to Paradise Falls, but before they could go,
she fell ill and passed away. Years later, when Carl is given a court order to move to a
retirement home, he blatantly refuses. Instead, he ties thousands of balloons to his house
and flies off, with a young Wilderness Explorer named Russell, to pursue the promise he
made to Ellie: to visit Paradise Falls. Throughout the movie, Michael Giacchinos score
provides an additional emotional element for the characters and helps the audience

understand the characters underlying feelings. A leitmotif is used throughout the movie
to portray the sense of adventure, which is a major theme of the film. This leitmotif is
draws inspiration from ragtime piano, with a syncopated rhythm, but is heard in various
different forms throughout the movie to create a more sentimental tone. It is typically
played with mostly string and percussion instruments. This leitmotif, Ellies Theme,
can also change depending on the mood and emotion of the scene. When the emotion is
more melancholy, the piano tends to be the prominent instrument, with the strings playing
background. The pianist uses the damper pedal to drag out the notes in order to create a
softer tone for the heavier mood. However, when the leitmotif is used to portray
happiness and hope, the strings overpower the orchestra and takes on the main melody.
The piano plays with staccato and provides a chorded rhythmic beat in the background,
allowing the leitmotif to become lighthearted.
Ellies Theme is first heard when Ellie is introduced as a child who loves
adventure at the beginning of the movie, but appears intermittently throughout in
different forms. At first, Ellies Theme may seem like it is connected to Carl and Ellies
relationship, but towards the end of the film, the theme plays when Carl sets off on his
own adventure. The audience then realizes that the theme was not played specifically for
Ellie and Carls characters, but rather, adventure itself. Ellies theme is heard every time
Ellie and Carl embark on an adventure together, such as when they play as children
together or when they get married. However, there are two specific scenes where Ellies
theme is played which aid in depicting Carls transition to life after Ellie.
After Carls adventure through Paradise Falls, he returns to his house and finds a
photo album started many years ago by Ellie when they first met as children. This photo

album, titled My Adventure Book, has many photos of Ellies childhood adventures,
and has a section towards the end of the book called Stuff Im Going To Do. Carl looks
wistfully at that page, as he knows that Ellie never got to live out her childhood dream: to
see Paradise Falls. However, as he is about to close the book, he realizes that there are
pictures in this section as well. Ellie, without him knowing, had put in photos of her life
with Carl, signifying him as her new adventure. Throughout this scene thus far, there has
been no music, only diegetic sounds such as paper rustling.
As Carl looks through Ellies Adventure Book, the leitmotif helps portray Carls
emotions of nostalgia. When Carl begins to look over the Stuff Im Going To Do
section, the Ellie theme plays. This time, it is a piano solo, with a slower tempo, to create
a nostalgic feeling. The single piano at the beginning is slow and soft, but as Carl flips
through the pages, it becomes louder and strings come in. It is as if Carl is delving deeper
into his memories, and they are becoming more vivid. Alongside this, the pictures shown
in the album begin as black and white, but as the scene continues, they become more and
more colorful. This visual combined with the string and piano leitmotif allows the
audience to relate on a more emotion level with Carl. When we hear Ellies theme played
previously in the movie, it has always been in a scene with Ellie in it. This is the first
scene where Ellie is not actually in the scene in person, but rather in photographs. Up
until this point, the audience has associated Ellies theme with Ellie and Carls life
together, so when it is played whilst looking through photos and memories, it creates a
nostalgic mood, similar to what Carl is feeling. Carl is stuck in the past, unwilling to
move forward. He reminisces about his times with Ellie constantly throughout the movie,
from small glances at Ellies chair during the beginning of the movie to his journey to

Paradise Falls. Carls main reason for going is simply because it was Ellies dream. He
made a promise to her and decides to see it through, though she is no longer with him,
showing his reluctance to move forward.
The music then dwindles down to barely audible in order to capture the emotion
in Carls mind. When Carl flips to the last page of the Adventure Book, he sees Ellies
note that she left for him, which reads, Thanks for the adventure- now go have a new
one! Carl contemplates this, as he picks up Russells, the young Wilderness Explorers,
sash of badges and looks between the badges and Ellies chair. The audience sees his
struggle to choose between Russell and Ellie, analogies to the future and the past and the
scene ends.
The leitmotif is used again near the very end of the film, but this time in a more
contrasting way, highlighting Carls growth and his new perspective on life. Previous to
this scene, Carl saves Russell from Charles Muntz, an explorer who is after Russells
exotic bird friend, Kevin. As this scene begins, we see Carl and Russell commandeering a
blimp after defeating Muntz, ready to fly back to the city. Russell asks Carl, ready? to
which Carl replies, ready! Carls eagerness and thumbs up confirms that he has fully
decided to take Ellies note to heart, and go on a new adventure. As soon as he says,
ready! the leitmotif, which was previously quiet in the background, suddenly plays
with a full orchestra, creating a swelling, grandiose feeling. The music is played like a
symphony, drawing on aspects of the Classical Hollywood Model, as the piece revolves
around the leitmotif. As Ellies Theme continues to play, the camera pans to Carls
house sitting on top of the Falls, signifying Carls decision to leave Ellies adventure
behind to finally embark on his own.

The large orchestra playing the leitmotif takes over the entire scene, scoring
against the visual. There is no room for any diegetic noise, as the grand orchestral score
encompasses the whole scene. This form is the loudest and strongest the leitmotif has
been throughout the entire movie, parallel to how Carls desire to seize adventure for
himself is overtaking his nostalgia for the past. Similar to how the overpowering
orchestra silences all other noise, Carl is relinquishing his burden of fulfilling Ellies
dream and is instead empowered to move forward in pursuing a new adventure. The
leitmotif is used to show how Carl uses the past to propel him into the future. The use of
Ellies Theme connects the first, nostalgic scene, to this liberating one. It inspires the
audience to realize that Ellies note in the first scene can be seen as her blessing for Carl,
and how it is the last push Carl needs to finally move forward.
The music aids in furthering the contrast between these two scenes, magnifying
the transformation that Carl goes through. In the first scene the leitmotif is soft and quiet,
which creates a nostalgic mood, but when Ellies Theme plays in this scene, it instills in
the audience a feeling of joy with the lively rendition of the theme. The music in this
movie, especially Ellies Theme as it is so adaptable, is critical to clueing the audience
into the emotion of the scene. The leitmotif instills a reaction in the audience of what they
should be feeling. This is similar to how films were scored in the Classical Hollywood
era, as the music of that time often served to connect the audience emotionally with the
film. In the second scene, Ellies Theme could have just as easily been played similar to
how its played in the first scene, to create a somber and sorrowful tone. Instead, the
composer chooses to play an elaborate, heartwarming and upbeat form, allowing the
audience to feel happy for Carl, instead of feeling sad.

The leitmotif, Ellies Theme, parallels Carls transformation. Throughout his

journey, he has discovered that he does not need to seclude himself to the world. The use
of the leitmotif at this moment provokes the viewer to self reflect. When Ellies Theme
was played previously, Carl was still a bitter, old man who lives his day-to-day life
routinely without any excitement. However, when it is played in this scene, Carl has been
reinvigorated. The leitmotif is similar to Carl in that it stills keep its unique features
while still being adaptable. Ellies Theme draws the viewers attention to this
transformative quality about Carl as the leitmotif is repeated throughout the movie. At the
end of the film, Carl releases his burden of fulfilling his promise to Ellie and uses it as a
catalyst to drive him into transitioning to his new life with Russell. The leitmotif is an
auditory trigger for the audience to think more profoundly about how Carls life is
relatable to theirs.
The movie, Up, can prompt the audience to think about their own lives and
question whether they can undertake a new adventure of their own. The filmmakers use
the character of Carl to state that an individual should not keep living in the past, but not
completely forget it either. Rather, you should allow the past and what you have learned,
to guide you as you move forward into the future. Hopefully, through the use of music in
movies, the audience will take away something from the movie that can be applied to
their own lives, and the film will inspire some self-reflection upon moviegoers.