Scene #2: Married Life

This is the nineteenth entry in a series in which I'll countdown my 20 favorite scenes from the last 10 years in movies. To catch up more with the idea of this project, to see the other entries on the countdown, and to find out how you can contribute, click here.

It doesn't take a lot to make me emotional in movies, though I don't openly weep often. Theaters must release trace amounts of tear gas into the air before showing any Pixar movie, however, because without fail, I've cried at least once during each of their non-Cars films going all the way back to Finding Nemo.

But I've never cried in a movie, Pixar or otherwise, like I did during this scene from 2009's Up.



My goodness, everything about these four minutes is just perfect. The score, by Michael Giacchino, is incredible and gets to you in all the right places. The innocence and sincerity in Carl and Ellie's relationship is so spot-on that it doesn't even need words for us to believe it. And that shot of Carl sitting alone at her funeral with a balloon in hand is a heartbreaker.

Alright, before I start crying just thinking about this scene, I'll stop. I'm sure most of you feel the same way I do about it, and I'm guessing a lot of frequent readers of my blog might have expected it to be #1. It almost was, but I have to say it'll be pretty hard to argue with my choice when you read it tomorrow night.