Is Carl in an afterlife and is Russell the reincarnation of Ellie?

This movie is full of weirdness, the balloon house for starters and everything surrounding that logic, Russell is able to steer it through a storm and find Carl's destination of Paradise Falls. Carl goes from infirm to strong and agile and fast. They coincidentally meet Carl's childhood idol Muntz, who is still alive and is a recluse in a blimp with talking, flying dogs... and Muntz is hunting a fantastical creature that Carl had made up in his imagination, the snipe named Kevin.

All of this is weird, yes, but what's more is that it points to the idea that nothing after the first 10 minutes is real. It seems more like a dream sequence.

At first, I thought that maybe Carl just keeled over dead or blew his own brains out, but I'm guessing that all those canisters in the yard, they were used to blow up the house (maybe on purpose or by accident, but most likely on purpose since he waited for people to show up so that he could take them out in the blast), which would explain why Russell is in the afterlife with Carl... Russell was on the porch when the house exploded. Together, they have to work through their karma and wrap up unfinished business.

So, when you see the "balloons" come out, and the shadow overtakes the two guys at the door and rocks their van, it's actually the explosion from the house coming out the top of the house, ripping the house off its foundation, killing the two guys, maybe that little girl in the apartment next door, too.

In addition, could Russell be the reincarnation of Ellie?

"Baba Booey! Baba Booey!"