June 3, 2012

Today: “UP”

LIFE questions A tool for Connecting the Word to Life.

Looking UP… (A few suggested questions for personal reflection or life group discussion on “UP”.)

Carl Fredricksen: Do you want to play a game? It's called See Who Can Go the Longest Without Saying Anything.

Russell: Cool! My mom loves that game!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 2:9-10

1.Think about UP. What were the moments that stood out to you? How did they make you feel? How will they cause you to think about things differently in the future?

2. For what do each of the movie’s characters long? What do they want most? 1. Carl Fredricksen 2. Russell (the boy) 3. Kevin (the bird) 4. Charles Muntz (the explorer) 5. Dug (the dog).

3. How does Carl’s longing change? How is this change symbolized?

• Kids: What kind of adventures do you dream of having? • Why didn’t Carl want to sell his home and get a nicer newer home

in a quieter neighborhood? Why was that old broken down home so important to Carl? What were some of the losses Carl had faced over the years? How does Carl help you understand some of the “Carls” in your life?

• How does Russell help Carl see things differently? How do you think having Russell in his life helped him open up to Kevin the bird and Dug the dog?

• Russell describes a memory of his dad, then says, “It might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.” What does he mean by this? How does it relate to Ellie’s “Stuff I Am Going To Do” pictures?

• Ellie’s pictures in the Adventure Scrapbook that Carl discovers at the end of the film help him realize the two of them didn’t need to take a big adventure together to make their life together valuable. Did this help you think about your life, and the relationships and journeys in it any differently?

Interesting Trivia: The film has received universal critical acclaim, with a rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes (the best reviewed wide-released film of 2009 on the site), and grossed over $731 million. Worldwide.

Up won Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a nomination, following 1991's Beauty and the Beast.[6] Up was awarded the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score in 2010.

For personal reflection: