Now back in North America, Carl comes to Russell’s scout badge ceremony to present him with the “Ellie Badge.” This symbolizes his new adventure: becoming a father figure to Russell. Carl, Russell, and Kevin fly Muntz’s airship back home. Carl’s house drifts away from him after losing too many balloons to fly. He saves Russell and Kevin, and Muntz trips on some loose balloon lines attached to Carl’s house, subsequently falling to his death. Now go have a new one.” Carl tears up and realizes he must rejoin Russell and rescue Kevin… but Russell is already on his way to save Kevin himself. Ellie’s voice narrates a note that she wrote in the book saying, “Thanks for the adventure. Climaxĭepressed and disheartened, Carl takes a moment to himself and looks through he and Ellie’s old photo album. Russell is beside himself that Carl “just let them take Kevin.” Carl finally accepts that he must let go of his old adventure (his house, his wife) and embraces his new adventure with Russell. Carl runs to save it, leaving an opening for Muntz and the dogs to re-capture the bird. Muntz and the vicious dogs of the pack find them again and light Carl’s home on fire. Dug sets out to find Carl, Russell, and Kevin, but he’s being tracked by Muntz via the GPS on his collar. One of Muntz’s dogs, Dug, is good-natured, unlike the others in the pack.
He finds the bird on top of his house just outside of Muntz’s house. Plot Point TwoĬarl learns that Muntz wants to hurt Kevin and realizes that Muntz isn’t the kind of person he once thought he was. And as fate would have it, Muntz is a famous explorer who was Carl’s childhood hero. Carl, Russell, and Kevin are pursued by the aforementioned dogs, who take them to their master, Charles Muntz.
MidpointĬarl learns that Russell’s father is absent from his life.
Russell, Carl, and Kevin continue to Paradise Falls, unaware of the trouble that Kevin will bring. Carl wants nothing to do with the bird, but Russell embraces it, affectionately naming it Kevin. A giant, rainbow-colored “snipe” bird stumbles upon Carl and Russell after escaping a pack of ferocious dogs. Now on the ground, Carl and Russell begin a three day trek to the falls. Russell helps Carl navigate through a rough storm and the two land in South America, not far from Carl’s beloved dream destination, Paradise Falls. As Carl ascends toward the clouds, we see that Russell is clinging to the porch of the floating house. When two retirement home employees come to take him, Carl unleashes hundreds of helium-filled balloons that are attached to his house, lifting it up into the sky. Carl is summoned to court, forced to give up his house, and then sent to a retirement home. Carl loses his temper and strikes the worker. After meeting Russell-a quirky Boy Scout who will end up driving much of the plot-Carl witnesses a construction worker knocking down the mailbox he and his late wife painted. Inciting Incidentĭue to the nature of the setup, the inciting incident comes later than usual in the Up script (though it’s still in the first act). A now-iconic, tear-jerking montage condenses the peaks and valleys of their life in just a few minutes, ending with Ellie’s death. They both hope to one day travel to the beautiful Paradise Falls in South America. UP STORY BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE OF THE UP SCREENPLAY ExpositionĪ shy young boy, Carl Fredricksen, unexpectedly meets a wild young girl named Ellie who shares his love for adventure.