This Near Pure Evil was headlined on January 2024.
“
Adventure is out there!
„
~ Muntz's famous catchphrase before going insane. noicion
“
They called me a fraud, those… (exhales). But once I bring back this creature, my name will be cleared. Beautiful, isn't it? I've spent a lifetime tracking it. Sometimes years go by between sightings, I've tried to smoke it out of that deathly labyrinth where it lives. You can't go in after it. Once in, there's no way out, I've lost so many dogs. And here they come these bandits and think the bird is theirs to take. But they soon find out that this mountain, is a very dangerous place.
„
~ Charles revealing his obsession to Carl and Russell right before turning against them - also his most famous quote.
“
You know, Carl, these people who pass through here, they all tell pretty good stories. A surveyor making a map… a botanist cataloging plants… an old man taking his house to Paradise Falls… now that's the best one yet. I can't wait to hear how it ends.
„
~ Charles Muntz revealing his true nature after years of being in Paradise Falls and the numerous amount of explorers he killed.
“
Enough! I'm taking that bird back with me, alive or dead!
„
~ Charles Muntz's breakdown as he attempts to kill Carl and his last words before his death.
Charles F. Muntz is the main antagonist of Pixar's 10th feature-length animated film Up.
He was once a famed explorer and a member of the National Explorer's Society. After being accused of fraud and revoked of his membership, Muntz spent seventy years to show proof of the existence of a tropical bird to prove his innocence, driving himself crazy in the process of fixing his alleged mistake.
He shot and killed multiple explorers in the past solely out of mere suspicions they were after the bird that he was going to bring to the United States, collecting their helmets as trophies.
Upon finding out that Carl Fredricksen and Russell knows the bird he was after, that they named Kevin, at the Spirit of Adventure blimp, he revealed his true nature to them before threatening to kill Carl like he did to the explorers.
He set Carl's house on fire, nearly burning it down, which was a very personal act on his part as he knew how important the house was to Carl since he had explained why he came to Paradise Falls earlier at the blimp, forcing him into a double bind between saving Kevin or the house, to which Carl chose the house.
He tried killing Carl with a sword to get Kevin after tying Russell to a chair in an attempt to have him fall to his death when they infiltrated the blimp.
He tried to kill Russell, Kevin, and Dug with a rifle as well as shooting Carl's house with it before Carl showed Kevin chocolate to distract him, leading him to fall to his death as he tried to chase after the three.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
He has a sympathetic backstory of being a famed explorer who was falsely accused of fraud, causing him to become desperate to prove his innocence and atone for it by trying to find the bird that he knew existed, and driving himself insane and paranoid due to the loneliness he had for seventy years stuck in Paradise Falls searching for it with only his pack of dogs for company.
He was genuinely affable toward Carl and Russell initially when he first saw them, only dropping it after he learned that they have Kevin.
He genuinely cares for his dogs, as Beta mentioned that he would have been furious if he learned that Alpha sent Dug out alone and take away their treat privileges, and he is visibly mournful when he mentions the large number of dogs over the years that left and never returned during his hunt for the bird.
Trivia[]
In one of the endings from the first draft, Charles Muntz was going to redeem himself after talking to Carl about the loss of his wife and how he empathized with Charles over the loss of his reputation. Had this been the final version, Charles wouldn't be NPE, and he would be IH instead (which he previously was).
✓
Near Pure Evils
