Symbolism - Deep Thoughts

In every movies, whether it is accidental or intentional, there will be some sort of symbolism that has been hidden along side with the content of the movie. Even though there are countless scenes that have symbolism, I would like to point out these three little spots. 

First of all, I would like to share a little thought of mine about Carl's house filling with full of balloons. For me, this really represents a dream of theirs. The image of balloons can be said likely to be Carl's life, it may blow at anytime and pretty much the end of him. But in the movie, the presence of the house filling with thousands of balloons  is the hope to fulfill the task that he and his late wife have always dreamed of.  With perseverance and determination to fulfill his and his late wife's ambition, Carl has tied a lot of balloons to his house to dream that someday it will help him go to the paradise island, And in the end, the trip that he had put so much effort into, it has become true.

“We came up with this image of a floating house held aloft by balloons, and it just seemed to capture what we were after in terms of escaping the world. We quickly realized that the world is really about relationships, and that’s what Carl comes to discover.”    -Pete Docter, Director/Writer

Second, in Up, we can see Carl and Ellie holding hand when they read books and smile at each other. That gesture represents not only love but also the sympathy of thought that they have for one another. Couples hold hands as a sign of deep connection, and also as a display of their relationship. Physical contact is a large part of human relationships, providing comfort and a feeling of closeness, so holding hands is a simple, symbolic way of showing fond feelings towards loved ones. 

The couple holds hand when reading book

Even when they look up to the sky talking about their life

Lastly, the house symbolizes his wife, and Carl carries the house on his shoulder means that he loves his wife so much that he wants to be with her everywhere if possible. That is why at the end of the movie the house ends up being  at the falls where she wanted to live. By the end he realizes its just a house and that he will always have his wife in his heart and he sets out to love Russel like a father would love him.

Source:
https://thedreamofpixar.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/up-themes-relationships/