UP

Carl is a shy, quiet boy. Ellie is his friend. They are fans of Muntz the explorer. They grow up and get married. Carl sells toy balloons and Ellie is a zookeeper. They want to save their money to visit Paradise Falls, but Ellie gets sick and dies.

Carl lives alone. He does not want to move out of his house into a retirement home. He turns his house into an airship.  He uses thousands of helium balloons to make it fly. A young boy called Russell goes with him.

There is a thunderstorm. The house is near a large ravine opposite Paradise Falls. They hope to reach the falls before the balloons deflate. They meet a large bird who is trying to reach her chicks, and a dog named Dug who has a special collar so he can speak. Russell calls the bird Kevin.

Carl and Russell meet a pack of dogs. They go to the dogs’ master. He is a very old man. He is Muntz the explorer. Muntz is a bit crazy. He wants to catch Kevin the bird. 

They run away, but Muntz’s dogs chase them. Muntz catches Kevin the bird and Russell is angry.

Alone in his house Carl looks at some photos and finds a note from Ellie. She tells him to go on an adventure.

He looks for Russell, but Russell is floating away with some balloons to find Kevin. Many of the balloons on Carl’s house have burst, so Carl takes the furniture out of the house so it can float up again. Russell is captured by Muntz, but Carl rescues him and Kevin. Kevin goes back to her chicks and Carl and Russell fly home to the city in the airship. The house lands on the cliff near Paradise Falls just as Ellie wanted. Russell wins a special badge for helping old people.