Up (2009) – Married Life Film Analysis

Composer:

Michael Giacchino, born October 10, 1967, is the composer of “married life” from the Pixar film
“up.” He is an American composer who writes music for both films and video games, some of his
famous works include The Incredibles (2004), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Jurassic World (2015)
and Up (2009). After high school, Giacchino studied at the School of Visual Arts and graduated with
a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in film production. However, his career started when he signed up
for an internship at Universal Studios. He then took a job at Disney Interactive as a producer and
contributed towards the music production of many Disney games. Giacchino’s first success was in
1997 when he composed the score for the video game “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” which became
one of the first video game scores to feature a full orchestra. In 2003, Giacchino wrote the score for
Pixar’s “The Incredibles” which went on to win two Grammy Award nominations for the Best Score
Soundtrack Album and Best Instrumental Composition. The film “Up” was released in 2009 and won
the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Era:
The piece Married Life was written in 2009 and is set in the modern era. During the modern era of
music, music style is a constantly changing topic. Composers have begun to use different styles of
music to fit the storyline, themes and context of the film. For example, “Married Life” from the Pixar
Film Up borrows musical elements from the 1930’s and 1940’s such as muted horns to help convey
feelings of the characters and assists in telling the story of the film.
This specific part of the film does not use any words and relies solely on the music to tell the story.
This is similar to the silent era. The silent era was a time in which films were accompanied by music
to help create a certain atmosphere or to create tension and suspense for the viewers. Whilst Married
Life is played, the film plays a montage of the life of Ellie and Carl but without any words. This can
be seen as the film incorporating elements of the silent era into the film.

Structure:
The form in “Married Life” is theme and variations. The theme that is constantly heard throughout the
piece is Ellie’s theme. This is because at this point in the film, the music is used to tell the story of
Ellie and Carl. Ellie’s theme variates throughout the piece to convey different emotions for the
audience and tells a different part of the story. This is done when the theme is played with a different
style or with different instruments. The first time that Ellie’s theme is heard in the piece is at the
beginning right after her wedding. The theme continues to carry on whilst showing Ellie and Carl
moving in together, however there is a slight change in it when Ellie and Carl hear the news that they
are unable to have children and start a family. After Elli passes in the film, the theme stops, this shows
that she is no longer apart of the film. However a new melody begins after, which symbolises a new
beginning for Carl without Ellie. When Carl thinks about Ellie even after she passes, Ellie’s theme
comes back on, this is symbolic of the thoughts and memories that Carl shared with Ellie.
Instrumentation:
The piece “Married Life” uses a wide variety of instruments to tell the story of Ellie and Carl. Some
of the instruments included in “Married Life” are the strings, trumpet, piano and harp. The piece
incorporates instruments from the 1930’s and 1940’s such as the muted horns, dancing strings and the
piano. When played together, the instruments are able to distinctly depict the emotions felt by the
characters in the film. For example, at the beginning of the piece, when Ellie and Carl are getting
married, there are many instruments playing upbeat and lively to convey the emotion of happiness and
the excitement of a new beginning. However, when Ellie and Carl are told the news about not being
able to have children, it is only the piano playing. This is done to create a tense and devastating
atmosphere for the audience and helps to convey the sadness and grief that Ellie and Carl are
experiencing.

Tempo:
This song is written in ¾ time, making it a waltz. In the beginning of the piece, the tempo of the song
is fairly fast. This is because it is a new beginning for both Ellie and Carl when they get married. This
conveys the happiness felt at the start of their life together. When Ellie hears the devastating news that
she is unable to have children, the song abruptly stops and the tempo slows down. The slow down in
the tempo, shows the sudden stop in their lives and the obstacle they are currently trying to overcome.
After Ellie and Carl recover from the shock of not being able to have children, they begin to start
saving for a trip instead. When this happens, the tempo begins to pick up again. This is a way of
showing the audience that Ellie and Carl have found a new way to be happy and have overcome the
fact that Ellie is unable to have children. It also gives the audience a sense of hope for Ellie and Carl
and shows that they are still able to get on with their lives. There is another drop in the tempo when
Ellie passes away. The music suddenly stops and only the piano can be heard. This shows the halt in
Carl’s life after the passing of Ellie. The tempo has helped significantly in telling the story of Ellie
and Carl and helps convey the emotions and the plot of the story.

Melody:
The piece “Married Life” starts off with an upbeat melody when Carl and Ellie are getting married.
Not too soon after, a theme called “Ellies theme” surfaces. This continues while showing Carl and
Ellie moving in and beginning to start their life together. When Ellie receives the news that she is
unable to have children, there is a dramatic change in the melody. Ellie’s theme is still playing
however it is only played by the piano to portray Ellie’s emotions of sadness and sorrow. Another
change in Ellie’s theme is seen when she is in the hospital and extremely ill. The melody slows down
and sounds lighter, this shows that Ellie is getting weaker and she may not be with Carl any longer.
During this, the piano plays an F major chord but with an added 7 th. This causes the music to sound
sad and influences the viewers to empathise and feel the emotions of the characters in the film.

Dynamics:
Dynamics in the piece “Married Life” are used to help communicate the feelings and moods of the
characters in the film. They can also be used to help the audience interpret the meaning of the film
and what might be going on. For example, the piece starts off mezzo forte whilst the couple are getting
married and moving in together. It quietens down a little after that and shows that they are much more
comfortable together and are enjoying their life. when Ellie receives the news that she will not be able
to have children, there is a dramatic decrescendo and the music changes to solo piano. This changes
the atmosphere for the audience and conveys the emotion of sadness. However, after this, Ellie and
Carl begin to start saving for a trip, the dynamics pick back up; symbolising the hope that Ellie and
Carl still have and that they are carrying on with their lives after the sudden stop.

Relevance of the piece to its context and themes within the film:
Married Life tells the story of Carl and Ellie and their journey together. This piece is able to tell their
story with no words and purely through the piece by using musical elements such as dynamics,
melody, tempo and instrumentation. These elements are able to effectively convey the emotions and
story of the characters without words through the way that they constantly change to create a different
atmosphere or feeling for the audience and helps the viewers interpret the scene and what is going on.
For example, when Ellie is ill in the hospital, Ellie’s theme slows down significantly and only the
piano is playing, creating a miserable feeling for the viewers and causing them to predict the death of
Ellie. Another example is after Ellie and Carl begin saving up for a trip. The music picks up again
which shows that Ellie and Carl still had hope even after hearing the news about Ellie not being able
to have children. This is another situation in which the tempo is used to assist in creating a story and
conveying a message in the film.

https://robertgsanders.wordpress.com/2017/11/29/married-life-continued-explorations-musical-
analysis/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMarried%20Life%E2%80%9D%20keeps%20a%20consistent,whose
%20sounds%20immediately%20recall%20a
https://www.rotoscopers.com/2014/05/06/how-the-married-life-opener-elevates-up-to-animations-
greatest-heights/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjAFMNkCDo&t=104s

https://michaelgiacchino.com/biography/

https://prezi.com/frim4ynyn-bc/film-music-analysis-up/

https://sites.psu.edu/bmacdowellpassion/2016/09/09/7/

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-giacchino-mn0000887990/biography

https://wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/1500%20webbook%20modern%20artmusic/Modern
%20ArtMusic.htm#:~:text=The%20Modern%20Era%20has%20been%20a%20period%20of
%20turbulent%20change,aspects%20of%20melody%20and%20harmony.

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/modern/