carl from Up was a man who lost three loves of his life: his wife, child, and his childlike adventure. he stays comfortably in his home, ignoring the outside, letting his fear of change keep him sour. he spent his whole life enamored with ellie - and that's the reason i cry.

he is jaded from heartache, staying in his home where ellie's soul continues to live in each room, her chair, and every echo of her laughter steams against each wall into a memory that carl refuses to let go. this was a love that people will spend a lifetime searching for.

so carl's fear was change, was to let anyone take his museum of ellie, because he was afraid if anyone got close to his internal sanctuary, ellie would disappear, disrupting his only connection to the person that understood and loved him to the fullest extent. she inspired him.

in the opening scenes, you can see how every little thing connected them as soulmates. the mailbox, their home, his balloons, their sense of adventure together, their sacrifices they shared, the imagery in clouds, their neverending compassion and loyalty.

and within 15 minutes into the movie, those four piano keys resonates in all of our hearts, because we have, or will, or do have that one person who will change us at least one in our lives, and that is our ellie.

a reason why i value carl's character development, and why i treasure this movie so much, is that there is strength and there is power in acceptance, letting go and acknowledging that there is love in this world, unique to every human being.

his adventure kept going and it took him a while to realize that ellie didn't stop that.

it was ellie that made him keep going.

love doesn't die after ellie, her soul kept carl going.