The Importance Of Romantic Relationships in Movie Up

Think about your most satisfying relationship. This relationship can be romantic or platonic, but for it to transcend a mere acquaintance relationship, it must include three qualities: Investment, Commitment, and Trust. In the Disney movie “Up” there are multiple different interpersonal relationships that could be analyzed, but the two relationships that I would like to hone in on are between Carl and Ellie, as well as, Carl and Russel. Carl is the main character in the film, who is trying to navigate life after his wife Ellie passed away. Since her passing, Carl has not had any close relationships with anyone, for he lost most of his motivation to live. However, Russel, a Wilderness Explorer, came into Carl's life to show him that it is okay to have personal relationships even though his wife is gone. Throughout the film we get to see how the Investment, Commitment, and Trust between Carl and Ellie is relearned by Carl as taught by Russel.

In Chapter 8 of the Interpersonal Communications: Everyday Encounters, Investment is defined as “ What we put into relationships that we could not retrieve if the relationship were to end. When we care about another person, we invest time, energy, thought, and feelings in interaction.” To create a meaningful relationship there has to be some kind of investment. During the opening few scenes of  “Up” Carl is introduced to his later wife Ellie where they begin to demonstrate investment into one another. Ellie shares stories of the adventures that she has been on and the plans for her future adventures, she took him to picnics, and she ‘wore the pants’ in the relationship. A lot of the memories that Carl and Ellie made stemmed from the intuitive and investment that was made by Ellie. Carl felt loved and safe with Ellie, so when she passed he closed himself off to everyone else and didn’t allow anyone else to invest into him. When people offered him help he denied it, and he even went as far as saying that the developers could have his house, but only after he died. It wasn’t until Russel showed up that he became open again. At first Carl was very against the idea of allowing Russel to help him, but due to the extensive circumstances Carl had no choice but to use Russels help. Once Carl became more familiar with Russel their relationship became a mutual flow of investment. For example, Carl invested his time into Russel by helping him deliver Kevin back to her babies. On the other hand Russel searched for the ‘Snipe’ under Carl's porch even though it is a made up creature. Each of the two characters (Carl and Russel) both had pre-judgements of each other and once they opened themselves up emotionally to the investments of the other person, their relationship thrived.

The next requirement for a meaningful relationship is commitment. Commitment can be defined in many ways, but the textbook simplifies it down to “The decision to stay in a relationship.” The textbook goes into greater detail about how commitment is less of a feeling and more of an active decision  that we must make everyday. In the montage at the beginning of the movie it shows the love story of Ellie and Carl and how they committed their lives to one another. They got to know each other as children and later committed to each other through marriage. Every morning Ellie would tie Carl's tie for work and help him wash the windows. Even after Ellie died Carl made a commitment to her by taking care of the house. He thought of the house as a symbol of their love and if he didn’t take care of the house he somehow thought he was no longer taking care of Ellie. As the film progressed and Carl was dragging the house towards Paradise Falls, he kept on looking up to the house and whispering sweet little messages at the house addressing it as Ellie. His commitment to their relationship transcended the boundaries of her life. Although Carl still was committed to Ellie, she was no longer alive to commit to him, so Russel took the place of Ellie in regards to showing a commitment to Carl. Russels commitment is clear. Russel clung to the front porch of Carl's house to show Carl how committed he was to him. Yes, Russel was trying to get his ‘assisting the elderly badge’, but he stuck by Carl's side through all of the trials they faced.

The last quality needed to create a satisfying relationship is trust. Trust can be the hardest to obtain because it is not a concrete or tangible item it is more a feeling or theory. The textbook defines trust as “Believing in another’s reliability (that he or she will do as promised) and another’s effort to look out for our welfare and our relationship.” Just like investment and commitment Ellie and Carl were professionals. Ellie told Carl all of her adventure secrets, trusted him to comfort her when she had a miscarraige, trusted him to take her to Paradise Falls, and to help her through life. Carl did nothing less but the same for Ellie; he trusted her to make his life an adventure, and once she was gone he trusted her memory to live on and guide him. Just like with the other two topics, Carl’s ability to trust another human was diminished to almost zero. As the movie progresses it is clear that Russel becomes very trusting of Carl. Russel trusts him to help Kevin return to her babies, be Doug's master, and even return home safely. On the other side of the spectrum is Carl, who is very distrusting of Russel. He thinks of Russel as an annoying little kid, however there are two moments that prove the trust is mutual between both Carl and Russel. The first instance is when Russel begins to tell Carl about some of his favorite memories with his dad. Carl can tell that Russel loves his dad in the same way that Carl loves Ellie. They create a sense of trust when sharing vulnerable parts of themselves with one another; this is an example of how self-disclosure can create a breeding place for trust . The final instance of trust in the film and what I would argue is the most important aspect of the film is the badging ceremony. During the badging ceremony Russels dad fails to show up, so Carl goes on stage to grant Russel his assisting the eldery badge. Instead of giving Russel the cloth patch Carl gives him the soda cap badge that Ellie made him when they were kids. This badge symbolizes that Carl trusts Russel and considers him an important member of his life. Carl being able to share the memories he made with Ellie with another person shows he is finally emotionally available again.

The movie “Up” takes the audience on an emotional journey about love and loss. Carl, the main character, loses the love of his life and is forced to relearn how to be compassionate. With the help of Russel he learns how to have satisfying relationships again.