Up (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar
, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
and presented in Disney Digital 3-D
. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
, becoming the first animated and 3D film to do so. The film was director Pete Docter's second film, the first being 2001's Monsters, Inc.
, and features the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer
, Bob Peterson, and Jordan Nagai
. It is Pixar's tenth feature film and the studio's first to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D
, and is accompanied in theaters and DVD releases by the short film Partly Cloudy
.
The film centers on an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen and an earnest young Wilderness Explorer
named Russell who fly to South America by floating in a house. The film has received universal critical acclaim, with a rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes
(the best reviewed wide-released film of 2009 on the site), and grossed over $731 million worldwide, making it Pixar's third-most commercially successful film, behind Toy Story 3
and Finding Nemo
.
Up won Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film
and Best Original Score
from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture
, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a nomination, following 1991's Beauty and the Beast
. Up was awarded the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature
and Best Original Score
in 2010.
. Muntz vows to return there to capture one alive. One day, Carl befriends an energetic and somewhat eccentric tomboy
named Ellie, who is also a Muntz fan. She confides to Carl her desire to move her "clubhouse"—an abandoned house in the neighborhood—to a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls, making him promise to help her. Carl and Ellie eventually get married and grow old together in the restored house, working as a toy balloon
vendor and a zookeeper
, respectively. Unable to have children
, they repeatedly pool their savings for a trip to Paradise Falls, but end up spending it on more pressing needs. An elderly Carl finally arranges for the trip, but Ellie suddenly becomes ill and dies, leaving him alone.
Some time later, Carl still lives in the house, now surrounded by urban development, but he refuses to sell. He ends up injuring a construction worker over his damaged mailbox. He therefore is evicted from the house by court order due to them deeming him a "public menace", and is ordered to move to a retirement home
. However, Carl comes up with a scheme to keep his promise to Ellie: he turns his house into a makeshift airship
, using thousands of helium balloons to lift it off its foundation. A young member of the "Wilderness Explorers" (a fictional youth organization analogous to the Boy Scouts of America
) named Russell becomes an accidental passenger, having pestered Carl earlier in an attempt to earn his final merit badge
, "Assisting the Elderly".
After surviving a thunderstorm, the house lands near a large ravine facing Paradise Falls. Carl and Russell harness themselves to the still-buoyant house and begin to walk it around the ravine, hoping to reach the falls before the balloons deflate. They later befriend a tall, colorful flightless bird
(whom Russell names "Kevin") trying to reach her chicks, and then a dog named Dug, who wears a special collar that allows him to speak.
Carl and Russell encounter a pack
of dogs led by Alpha, and are taken to Dug's master, who turns out to be an elderly Charles Muntz. Muntz invites Carl and Russell aboard his dirigible, where he explains that he has spent the years since his disgrace searching Paradise Falls for the giant bird. When Russell innocently reveals his friendship with Kevin, Muntz becomes disturbingly hostile, prompting the pair, Kevin, and Dug to flee, chased by Muntz's dogs. Muntz eventually catches up with them and starts a fire beneath Carl's house, forcing Carl to choose between saving it or Kevin. Carl rushes to put out the fire, allowing Muntz to take the bird. Carl and Russell eventually reach the falls, but Russell is angry with Carl.
Settling into his home, Carl is sadly poring over Ellie's childhood scrapbook when, to his surprise, he finds photos of their married life and a final note from Ellie thanking him for the "adventure" and encouraging him to go on a new one. Reinvigorated, he goes to find Russell, only to see him sailing off on some balloons to save Kevin. Carl empties the house of his furniture and possessions and pursues him.
Russell is captured by Muntz, but Carl manages to board the dirigible in flight and free both Russell and Kevin. Muntz pursues them around the airship, finally cornering Dug, Kevin, and Russell inside Carl's tethered house. Carl lures Kevin out through a window and back onto the airship with Dug and Russell clinging to her back, just as Muntz is about to close in; Muntz leaps after them, only to snag his foot on some balloon lines and fall to his death. Snapped from its tether, the house descends out of sight through the clouds, which Carl accepts as being for the best.
Carl and Russell reunite Kevin with her chicks, then fly the dirigible back to civilization. When Russell's father misses his son's Senior Explorer ceremony, Carl proudly presents Russell with his final badge for assisting the elderly, as well as a personal addition: the grape soda cap that Ellie gave to Carl when they first met (which he dubs the "Ellie Badge"). The two then enjoy some ice cream together, sitting on the curb outside the shop as Russell and his father used to do, with the dirigible parked nearby (over a handicapped parking space, in keeping with the elderly motif). Meanwhile, Carl's house is shown to have landed on the cliff beside Paradise Falls, as promised to Ellie.
aided Docter and Bob Peterson in shaping the story for about three months. Docter selected an old man for the main character after drawing a picture of a grumpy old man with smiling balloons. The two men thought an old man was a good idea for a protagonist because they felt their experiences and the way they affect their view of the world was a rich source of humor. Docter was not concerned with an elderly protagonist, stating children would relate to Carl in the way they relate to their grandparents.
, Ollie Johnston
, and Joe Grant
(who all died before the film's release and thus the film was dedicated to them). Grant gave the script his approval as well as some advice before his death in 2005. Docter recalled Grant would remind him the audience needed an "emotional bedrock" because of how wacky the adventure would become; in this case it is Carl mourning for his wife. Docter felt Grant's personality influenced Carl's deceased wife Ellie more than the grouchy main character, and Carl was primarily based on Spencer Tracy
, Walter Matthau
, James Whitmore
, and their own grandparents, because there was "something sweet about these grumpy old guys". Docter and Jonas Rivera noted Carl's charming nature in spite of his grumpiness derives from the elderly "hav[ing] this charm and almost this 'old man license' to say things that other people couldn't get away with [...] It's like how we would go to eat with Joe Grant and he would call the waitresses 'honey'. I wish I could call a waitress 'honey'."
Docter revealed that the filmmakers' first story outline had Carl "just want[ing] to join his wife up in the sky. It was almost a kind of strange suicide mission or something. And obviously that's [a problem]. Once he gets airborne, then what? So we had to have some goal for him to achieve that he had not yet gotten." As a result, they added the plot of going to South America. The location was chosen due to both Docter's love of tropical locations, but also in wanting a location that Carl could be stuck with a kid due to the inability to leave him with an authority such as a police officer or social worker. They implemented a child character as a way to help Carl stop being "stuck in his ways".
Docter created Dug as he felt it would be refreshing to show what a dog thinks, rather than what people assume it thinks. The idea for Alpha's voice derived from thinking about what would happen if someone broke a record player and it always played at a high pitch. Russell was added to the story at a later date than Dug and Kevin; his presence, as well as the construction workers, helped to make the story feel less "episodic".
Carl's relationship with Russell reflects how "he's not really ready for the whirlwind that a kid is, as few of us are". Docter added he saw Up as a "coming of age" tale and an "unfinished love story", with Carl still dealing with the loss of his wife. He cited inspiration from Casablanca
and A Christmas Carol
, which are both "resurrection" stories about men who lose something, and regain purpose during their journey. Docter and Rivera cited inspiration from the Muppets
, Hayao Miyazaki
, Dumbo
, and Peter Pan
. They also saw parallels to The Wizard of Oz
and tried to make Up not feel too similar. There is a scene where Carl and Russell haul the floating house through the jungle. A Pixar employee compared the scene to Fitzcarraldo
, and Docter watched that film and The Mission for further inspiration. The character Charles Muntz comes from Howard Hughes
and Errol Flynn
. An inspiration for the name of this character was cartoon producer Charles B. Mintz
, who stole Walt Disney
's hit character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
, forcing Disney to create replacement character Mickey Mouse
.
the film's setting after Ralph Eggleston
gave him a video of the tepui
mountains; Venezuela and tepuis were already featured in a previous Disney film, Dinosaur
. In 2004, Docter and eleven other Pixar artists spent three days reaching Monte Roraima
by airplane, jeep, and helicopter. They spent three nights there painting and sketching, and encountering ants, mosquitoes, scorpions, frogs, and snakes. They also flew to Matawi Tepui and climbed to Angel Falls, as well as Brazil
. Docter felt "we couldn't use [the rocks and plants we saw]. Reality is so far out, if we put it in the movie you wouldn't believe it." The film's creatures were also challenging to design because they had to fit in the surreal environment of the tepuis, but also be realistic because those mountains exist in real life. The filmmakers visited Sacramento Zoo to observe a Himalayan Monal
for Kevin's animation. The animators designed Russell as an Asian-American, and modeled Russell after similar looking Peter Sohn
, a Pixar storyboarder who voiced Emile in Ratatouille
and directed the short Partly Cloudy
, because of his energetic nature.
While Pixar usually designs their characters to be caricatured, Carl was even more so, being only three heads high. He was not given elderly features such as liver spots or hair in his ears to keep him appealing, yet giving him wrinkles, pockmarks on his nose, a hearing aid, and a cane to make him appear elderly. Docter wanted to push a stylized feel, particularly the way Carl's head is proportioned: he has a squarish appearance to symbolize his containment within his house, while Russell is rounded like a balloon. The challenge on Up was making these stylized characters feel natural, although Docter remarked the effect came across better than animating the realistic humans from Toy Story
, who suffered from the "uncanny valley
". Cartoonists Al Hirschfeld
, Hank Ketcham
, and George Booth influenced the human designs. Simulating realistic cloth on caricatured humans was harder than creating the 10,000 balloons flying the house. New programs were made to simulate the cloth and for Kevin's iridescent
feathers. To animate old people, Pixar animators would study their own parents or grandparents and also watched footage of the Senior Olympics
. The directors had various rules for Carl's movements: he could not turn his head more than 15–20 degrees without turning his torso as well, nor could he raise his arms very high. However, they also wanted him to grow more flexible near the end of the film, transforming into an "action hero".
A technical director worked out that in order to make Carl's house fly, he would require 23 million balloons, but Docter realized that number made the balloons look like small dots. Instead, the balloons created were made to be twice Carl's size. There are 10,927 balloons for shots of the house just flying, 20,622 balloons for the lift-off sequence, and a varying number in other scenes.
, after The Incredibles
and Ratatouille
. What Pete Docter wanted more importantly out of the music was the emotion, so Giacchino wrote a character theme-based score that producer Jonas Rivera thought enhanced the story. At the beginning of the movie, when young Carl is in the movie theater watching a newsreel about Muntz, the first piece of music heard is "Muntz's Theme", which starts out as a celebratory theme, and echoes through the film when Muntz reappears 70 years later. "Ellie's Theme" is first heard when she is introduced as a little kid and plays several times during the film in different versions; for instance, during the sequence where Carl lifts his house with the balloons, the theme is changed from a simple piano melody to a full orchestral arrangement. Giacchino has compared the film to opera since each character has their own theme that changes
during a particular moment in the story.
The score was released as a digital download on May 26, 2009, three days before the film opened in theaters. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Score
, the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
, and the 2010 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
. It is the first score for a Pixar film to win the Oscar (Randy Newman
also won for Monsters Inc and Toy Story 3
, but in the category of Best Original Song
).
in Hollywood, California from May 29 to July 23, 2009, it was accompanied by Lighten Up!, a live show featuring Disney characters. Other tie-ins included children's books such as My Name is Dug, illustrated by screenwriter Ronnie del Carmen
. Despite Pixar's track record, Target Corporation
and Walmart stocked few Up items, while Pixar's regular collaborator Thinkway Toys did not produce merchandise, claiming its story is unusual and would be hard to promote. Disney acknowledged not every Pixar film would have to become a franchise. Promotional partners include Aflac
, NASCAR
, and Airship Ventures
, while Cluster Balloons
promoted the film with a replica of Carl's couch lifted by hot air balloons for journalists to sit in.
Director Pete Docter intended for audiences to take a specific point from the film, saying:
and DVD in North America on November 10, 2009, and in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2010. It features the film plus the theatrical short Partly Cloudy
and the new short Dug's Special Mission
, as well as an audio commentary by director Pete Docter, the documentary Adventure is Out There on the filmmakers' research journey to South America, The Many Endings of Muntz (an alternate ending of sorts), and a digital copy. The Blu-ray edition has a four-disc pack that adds Cine-Explore with BonusView, Global Guardian Badge and Geography games, eight documentaries, and BD-Live to the Deluxe DVD and digital copy platters. A Limited Edition is also available called the Luxo Jr. Premium Pack that includes a collectible lamp modeled after Pixar's bouncy short star that is designed to hold a complete Pixar Blu-ray collection.
In addition, Pixar also created a short film titled George & A.J.
, written and directed by Up storyboard artist Josh Cooley, that shows what the two Shady Oaks retirement home workers did after Carl left with his house. It was initially available for purchase at the iTunes Store
, and then was later posted to Disney·Pixar's Facebook and YouTube pages.
In its first week it sold 3,969,792 units ($66,057,339). It eventually reached 10,811,453 units ($182,591,149), becoming the best-selling DVD among those released in 2009, in terms of units sold. It also became the third in terms of sales revenue behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
and Twilight
.
reports that 98% of critics have given the film a "Certified Fresh" positive review, based on 270 reviews, with an 8.6/10 review average. The site's consensus states: "Another masterful work of art from Pixar, Up is an exciting, hilarious, and heartfelt adventure impeccably crafted and told with wit and depth." The film also holds a score of 88 on the review aggregator website Metacritic
.
Film critic Roger Ebert
gave the film four out of four stars and called it "a wonderful film".
The Hollywood Reporter
lauded the film as "Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, this gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it." Although the San Francisco Chronicle
noted that the film "contains many boring stretches of mindless freneticism and bland character interaction," it also declared that there are scenes in Up of "Such beauty, economy and poetic wisdom that they belong in any anthology of great movie moments...to watch Up with any attention is to be moved and astonished by the economy with which specific visuals are invested with emotion throughout [the film]..." Variety
enthused that "Up is an exceptionally refined picture; unlike so many animated films, it's not all about sensory bombardment and volume...Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances...exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michel Giacchino's full-bodied, traditional score is superlative..." The Globe claimed that Up! is "the kind of movie that leaves you asking 'How do people come up [with] this stuff?'" along with an overall positive review on the film, despite its being predictable.
The character of Carl Fredricksen has received mostly positive reception. Bill Capodagli, author of Innovate the Pixar Way, praised Carl for his ability to be a jerk and likable at the same time. Wall Street Journal editor Joe Morgenstern described Carl as gruff, comparing him to Buster Keaton
, but adds that this begins to wear thin as the movie progresses. He has been compared with Spencer Tracy
, an influence on the character, by The Washington Post
editor Ann Hornaday and Empire Online
editor Ian Freer, who describes him as similar to a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
-era" Tracy.
Entertainment Weekly
editor Lisa Schwarzbaum described his appearance as a cross between Tracy and an eccentric out of a George Booth cartoon. TIME editor Richard Corliss
also makes the comparison, calling him a "trash compacted version" of Tracy. He has also been compared to Walter Matthau
, another inspiration for the character's design, by LA Weekly
editor Scott Foundas, suggesting that actor Ed Asner
was channeling him while performing the role of Carl.
Variety
editor Todd McCarthy described Carl as a combination of both Tracy and Matthau.
The relationship between Carl and his wife Ellie has been praised in several media outlets. In his book Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Message of Children's Films, author M. Keith Booker described the love between Carl and Ellie as touching. While also describing the scene of the two of them aging as a "masterpiece of its own kind", he was not sure how much children would appreciate the scene, commenting that his son was squirming in his seat during the scene. Reelviews editor James Berardinelli praised their relationship, stating that it brought a tear to his eye in a way no animated film has done, including anything by famed anime
director Hayao Miyazaki
. Ann Hornaday praised the prologue, describing it as "worthy of Chaplin in its heartbreaking poignancy". Chicago Tribune
editor Michael Phillips praised the scene, describing it as an emotional and cinematic powerhouse, and that he also was nearly moved to tears. However, Salon.com
editor Stephanie Zacharek criticized the love between Carl and Ellie, describing their marriage as resembling a dental adhesive commercial more than a real relationship.
Edward Asner was praised in several media outlets for his portrayal of Carl. San Francisco Chronicle
editor Mick LaSelle praised Asner as a great choice due to having a grumpiness to his voice that is not truly grumpy, but rather coming from a protective stance. Entertainment Weekly
editor Lisa Schwarzbaum praised Asner's acting, stating that he has a "Lou Grant
authority" to his voice.
Time editor Richard Corliss stated that Asner had the "gruffness and deadpan comic timing to bring Carl to life". The Boston Globe
editor Ty Burr concurred with this, stating that his Lou Grant-like voice had not diminished with time. USA Today
editor Claudia Puig praised Asner's delivery, describing it as superb.
In addition to the positive critical reviews the film received, Up highlights Pixar's corporate image as an altruistic company through its charitable acts. In June 2009, 10-year-old Colby Curtin from Huntington Beach, California
was suffering from the final stages of terminal vascular cancer
. It is reported her dying wish was to "live to see the movie" despite the advanced stage of her disease. Due to her deteriorating condition, she was unable to leave the family home. A family friend contacted Pixar and arranged for a private screening. A Pixar employee flew to the Huntington Beach home with various Up tie-in toys and a DVD copy of the film. Curtin could not open her eyes because of the pain, so her mother described the film to her scene by scene. She died approximately seven hours after the screening ended.
comedy The Hangover
, but over $25 million ahead of the Will Ferrell
remake of Land of the Lost
. In its third weekend, the film experienced an even smaller decline of just around 30%, again trailing The Hangover to place second. Its $30,762,280 third-weekend gross is the twelfth biggest third weekend ever for a film in the U.S.A. and Canada. , the film has a total of $293,004,164 in the United States and Canada and $438,338,580 in other territories for a worldwide gross of $731,342,744. The film is Pixar's third-highest-grossing film worldwide, behind Finding Nemo
and Toy Story 3
. It is the eighth highest-grossing animated feature of all time, the sixth highest-grossing film of 2009
, and the 43rd highest-grossing film on the all-time chart.
In Japan, it grossed $7,241,674 on its debut, which marked the fourth best opening for a U.S.A. animated film after Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles
in the country. It eventually reached a milestone of $51,920,149 marking the fourth largest U.S. animated feature of all time behind Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc., while among 2009 films it reached sixth place. Even more impressive was Spain, where it began with $6,609,690 ($7,966,355 including weekday previews) and reached $37,052,520 in total. This made it the highest-grossing animated film of all time in the territory, out-grossing Shrek 2
, the second largest film of 2009 behind Avatar and the fifth highest-grossing movie ever in the country behind Avatar, Titanic
, The Orphanage
, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
. It is also the highest-grossing Disney
feature ever in the country. In Australia, it debuted with a mere $1,795,243 in first place but the exceptional increases and small decreases in its earnings during the weekends that followed made it dominate for five weekends at the box office. It eventually earned $25,296,200 to stand as 2009's best animated box office hit in the country, just half a million dollars above Ice Age 3
, and the seventh largest animated film of all time.
, for "Best Animated Feature
" and "Academy Award for Best Original Score
". It is the second of three animated features to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
. Beauty and the Beast
and Toy Story 3
were also nominated for Best Picture in their respective years. 'Up' also won "Best Original Score"
, and "Best Animated Feature Film"
at the 67th Golden Globe Awards
. It was nominated for nine Annie Awards in eight categories, winning two awards for "Best Animated Feature" and "Best Directing in a Feature Production". Up also received the Golden Tomato
from Rotten Tomatoes
for highest rating feature in 2009, and best reviewed animated film. with an approval of 98 percent from film critics, based on 259 reviews. At the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards
the film won "Favorite Animated Movie". Dug, the talking canine, was awarded the Palm Dog Award
by the British film critics as the best canine performance at Cannes Film Festival, winning over the fox from Antichrist
and the black poodle from Inglourious Basterds.
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
and presented in Disney Digital 3-D
Disney Digital 3-D
Disney Digital 3-D is a brand used by the Walt Disney Company to describe three-dimensional films made and released by the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and shown exclusively using digital projection....
. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
2009 Cannes Film Festival
The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 13 to May 24, 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. It was announced on March 19, 2009, that Pixar's film Up would open the festival...
, becoming the first animated and 3D film to do so. The film was director Pete Docter's second film, the first being 2001's Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, and features the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Bob Peterson, and Jordan Nagai
Jordan Nagai
Jordan Nagai is an American voice actor best known for his role as Russell in the 2009 Pixar movie Up.-Life and career:Nagai, a Japanese American, was born in Los Angeles. His older brother Hunter originally auditioned for Russell...
. It is Pixar's tenth feature film and the studio's first to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D
Disney Digital 3-D
Disney Digital 3-D is a brand used by the Walt Disney Company to describe three-dimensional films made and released by the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and shown exclusively using digital projection....
, and is accompanied in theaters and DVD releases by the short film Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy is a Pixar CGI animated short film directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Kevin Reher. It was shown in theaters before Pixar's feature film Up and is a special feature on its DVD and Blu-ray release. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2009. In a , Sohn says his idea for...
.
The film centers on an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen and an earnest young Wilderness Explorer
Scouting in popular culture
Since Scouting began in 1907, it has entered into many elements of popular culture, including movies, TV and books.As a facet of culture throughout most of the 20th century, Scouting has been portrayed in numerous films and artwork. It is especially prevalent in the United States, where Scouting is...
named Russell who fly to South America by floating in a house. The film has received universal critical acclaim, with a rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
(the best reviewed wide-released film of 2009 on the site), and grossed over $731 million worldwide, making it Pixar's third-most commercially successful film, behind Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
and Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
.
Up won Golden Globe Awards for Best Animated Feature Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film was awarded for the first time at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007. It was the first time that the Golden Globe Awards had created a separate category for animated films since its establishment. The nominations are announced in January and...
and Best Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is an organization composed of working journalists who cover the United States film industry for a variety of outlets, including newspapers and magazines in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Today, the 90 members of the HFPA represent at least 55...
. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a nomination, following 1991's Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
. Up was awarded the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
in 2010.
Plot
Young Carl Fredricksen is a shy, quiet boy who idolizes renowned explorer Charles F. Muntz. He is saddened to learn, however, that Muntz has been accused of fabricating the skeleton of a giant bird he had claimed to have discovered in Paradise Falls, South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Muntz vows to return there to capture one alive. One day, Carl befriends an energetic and somewhat eccentric tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
named Ellie, who is also a Muntz fan. She confides to Carl her desire to move her "clubhouse"—an abandoned house in the neighborhood—to a cliff overlooking Paradise Falls, making him promise to help her. Carl and Ellie eventually get married and grow old together in the restored house, working as a toy balloon
Toy balloon
A toy balloon is an inflatable object which is often made of plastic or natural, biodegradable rubber.-History:Prior to the invention of rubber balloons by Michael Faraday in 1824, balloons were made from pig bladders and animal intestines....
vendor and a zookeeper
Zookeeper
A zookeeper is a worker in a zoo, responsible for the feeding and daily care of the animals. As part of their routine, they clean the exhibits and report health problems...
, respectively. Unable to have children
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
, they repeatedly pool their savings for a trip to Paradise Falls, but end up spending it on more pressing needs. An elderly Carl finally arranges for the trip, but Ellie suddenly becomes ill and dies, leaving him alone.
Some time later, Carl still lives in the house, now surrounded by urban development, but he refuses to sell. He ends up injuring a construction worker over his damaged mailbox. He therefore is evicted from the house by court order due to them deeming him a "public menace", and is ordered to move to a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
. However, Carl comes up with a scheme to keep his promise to Ellie: he turns his house into a makeshift airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, using thousands of helium balloons to lift it off its foundation. A young member of the "Wilderness Explorers" (a fictional youth organization analogous to the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
) named Russell becomes an accidental passenger, having pestered Carl earlier in an attempt to earn his final merit badge
Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America)
Merit badges are awards earned by youth members of the Boy Scouts of America , based on activities within an area of study by completing a list of periodically updated requirements. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to...
, "Assisting the Elderly".
After surviving a thunderstorm, the house lands near a large ravine facing Paradise Falls. Carl and Russell harness themselves to the still-buoyant house and begin to walk it around the ravine, hoping to reach the falls before the balloons deflate. They later befriend a tall, colorful flightless bird
Flightless bird
Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors. There are about forty species in existence today, the best known being the ostrich, emu, cassowary, rhea, kiwi, and penguin...
(whom Russell names "Kevin") trying to reach her chicks, and then a dog named Dug, who wears a special collar that allows him to speak.
Carl and Russell encounter a pack
Pack (canine)
Pack is a social group of conspecific canids. Not all species of canids - notably the red fox - form packs. Pack size and social behaviour within packs varies across species.-Species which exhibit pack behavior:...
of dogs led by Alpha, and are taken to Dug's master, who turns out to be an elderly Charles Muntz. Muntz invites Carl and Russell aboard his dirigible, where he explains that he has spent the years since his disgrace searching Paradise Falls for the giant bird. When Russell innocently reveals his friendship with Kevin, Muntz becomes disturbingly hostile, prompting the pair, Kevin, and Dug to flee, chased by Muntz's dogs. Muntz eventually catches up with them and starts a fire beneath Carl's house, forcing Carl to choose between saving it or Kevin. Carl rushes to put out the fire, allowing Muntz to take the bird. Carl and Russell eventually reach the falls, but Russell is angry with Carl.
Settling into his home, Carl is sadly poring over Ellie's childhood scrapbook when, to his surprise, he finds photos of their married life and a final note from Ellie thanking him for the "adventure" and encouraging him to go on a new one. Reinvigorated, he goes to find Russell, only to see him sailing off on some balloons to save Kevin. Carl empties the house of his furniture and possessions and pursues him.
Russell is captured by Muntz, but Carl manages to board the dirigible in flight and free both Russell and Kevin. Muntz pursues them around the airship, finally cornering Dug, Kevin, and Russell inside Carl's tethered house. Carl lures Kevin out through a window and back onto the airship with Dug and Russell clinging to her back, just as Muntz is about to close in; Muntz leaps after them, only to snag his foot on some balloon lines and fall to his death. Snapped from its tether, the house descends out of sight through the clouds, which Carl accepts as being for the best.
Carl and Russell reunite Kevin with her chicks, then fly the dirigible back to civilization. When Russell's father misses his son's Senior Explorer ceremony, Carl proudly presents Russell with his final badge for assisting the elderly, as well as a personal addition: the grape soda cap that Ellie gave to Carl when they first met (which he dubs the "Ellie Badge"). The two then enjoy some ice cream together, sitting on the curb outside the shop as Russell and his father used to do, with the dirigible parked nearby (over a handicapped parking space, in keeping with the elderly motif). Meanwhile, Carl's house is shown to have landed on the cliff beside Paradise Falls, as promised to Ellie.
Cast
- Edward Asner as Carl Fredricksen (Jeremy Leary voiced the younger Carl). Docter and Rivera noted Asner's television alter ego, Lou GrantLou GrantLou Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was Mary Tyler Moore , in which the character was the news director at the fictional television station WJM-TV...
had been helpful in writing for Carl, because it guided them in balancing likable and unlikable aspects of the curmudgeonly character. When they met Asner and presented him with a model of his character, he joked, "I don't look anything like that." (the appearance of Carl is meant to resemble Spencer TracySpencer TracySpencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
as he appeared in his final film, Guess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
). They tailored his dialogue for him, with short sentences and more consonantConsonantIn articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s, which "cemented the notion that Carl, post-Ellie, is a disgruntled bear that's been poked awake during hibernation". In Colombia, unexpected publicity for the film was generated due to the uncanny similarity of Carl with Colombian ex-president Julio César Turbay AyalaJulio César Turbay AyalaJulio César Turbay Ayala was a Colombian politician, member of the Colombian Liberal Party, elected president of the Senate of Colombia and and, was president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.- Biographic data :...
. - Jordan NagaiJordan NagaiJordan Nagai is an American voice actor best known for his role as Russell in the 2009 Pixar movie Up.-Life and career:Nagai, a Japanese American, was born in Los Angeles. His older brother Hunter originally auditioned for Russell...
as Russell. On their journey, Russell makes several comments to Carl that suggest that Russell's father and mother are no longer together. Russell's design was based on Pixar animator Peter SohnPeter SohnPeter Sohn is an American animator, voice actor and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios.,Sohn started his career with Pixar in the art and story departments for Finding Nemo. He also worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E. Sohn also performed the voice of Emile in Ratatouille...
. Docter auditioned 400 boys in a nationwide casting call for the part. Nagai, who is Japanese-American, showed up to an audition with his brother, who was actually the one auditioning. Docter realized Nagai behaved and spoke non-stop like Russell and chose him for the part. Nagai was 8 years old when cast. Docter encouraged Nagai to act physically as well as vocally when recording the role, lifting him upside down and tickling him for the scene where Russell encounters Kevin. Asian Americans have positively noted Pixar's first casting of an Asian lead character, in contrast to the common practice of casting non-Asians in Asian parts. - Bob Peterson as Dug, a Golden RetrieverGolden RetrieverThe Golden Retriever is a medium-sized breed of dog. They were historically developed as gundogs to retrieve shot waterfowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties. As such, they were bred to have a soft mouth to retrieve game undamaged and have an instinctive love...
who can talk. He is the misfit of a pack of talking dogs owned by Muntz. Peterson knew he would voice Dug when he wrote his line "I have just met you, and I love you," which was based on what a child told him when he was a camp counselor in the 1980s. The DVD release of the film features a short called Dug's Special MissionDug's Special MissionDug's Special Mission is a short Pixar film, directed by Ronnie del Carmen. It is tied into and included on the DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Up.-Premise:...
, which follows Dug just prior to his first meeting with Carl and Russell. Dug previously appeared in RatatouilleRatatouille (film)Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
as a shadow on a wall that barks at Remy.- Peterson also voices Alpha, a talking Doberman Pinscher and the leaderAlpha (biology)In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. Where one male and one female fulfill this role, they are referred to as the alpha pair...
of Muntz's pack of dogs. Pete Docter has stated that Alpha "thinks of himself as Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
". Despite his menacing appearance, a frequent malfunction in Alpha's translating collar causes his voice to sound comically high-pitched and squeaky, as if he had been breathing helium. The normal voice for his translator is a resonant, intimidating bass. With both voices, Alpha has a roundabout speech pattern that causes his sentences to be longer than necessary.
- Peterson also voices Alpha, a talking Doberman Pinscher and the leader
- Christopher PlummerChristopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
as Charles F. Muntz. Muntz is an old explorer looking for the beast of Paradise Falls; he vowed to not return to North America until he had captured the creature. He uses a group of dogs to aid him in his hunt. The name of his airship, Spirit of Adventure, may have been inspired by Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's airplane, Spirit of St. LouisSpirit of St. LouisThe Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
. In various interviews, Pete Docter has mentioned Howard HughesHoward HughesHoward Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and real life adventurers Charles LindberghCharles LindberghCharles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
and Percy FawcettPercy FawcettLt. Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett was a British artillery officer, archaeologist and South American explorer....
as inspirations for Muntz. - Pete Docter as Kevin, a large colorful prehistoric birdKelenkenKelenken is an extinct genus of giant flightless predatory birds of the family Phorusrhacidae or "terror birds".These birds lived in the Middle Miocene, some 15 million years ago, in Argentina along with Argentavis. With a skull 28 inches long , it had the largest head of any known bird...
. Other than voicing Kevin, Docter also voices Campmaster Strauch, Russell's camp master, seen at the end of the film. - Elizabeth Docter as Ellie Fredricksen as a younger child. The voice actor is the director's daughter, who also provided some of the drawings shown by Ellie.
- Delroy LindoDelroy LindoDelroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
as Beta, a RottweilerRottweilerThe Rottweiler is a medium to large size breed of domestic dog that originated in Rottweil, Germany. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat and other products to market...
and one of Muntz's dogs. - Jerome Ranft as Gamma, a BulldogBulldogBulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
and one of Muntz's dogs. - John RatzenbergerJohn RatzenbergerJohn Deszo Ratzenberger is an American actor, voice actor, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his role as Cliff Clavin in Cheers.-Early life:...
as Tom, a construction worker who asks if Carl is ready to sell his house. - David KayeDavid KayeDavid V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...
as the newsreel announcer.
Script
Writing for Up first began in 2004 by director Pete Docter. The fantasy of a flying house was developed on the idea of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating, which stemmed from his difficulty with social situations growing up. Actor and writer Thomas McCarthyThomas McCarthy (actor)
Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
aided Docter and Bob Peterson in shaping the story for about three months. Docter selected an old man for the main character after drawing a picture of a grumpy old man with smiling balloons. The two men thought an old man was a good idea for a protagonist because they felt their experiences and the way they affect their view of the world was a rich source of humor. Docter was not concerned with an elderly protagonist, stating children would relate to Carl in the way they relate to their grandparents.
Character development
Docter noted the film reflects his friendships with Disney veterans Frank ThomasFrank Thomas (animator)
Franklin M. "Frank" Thomas was an American animator. He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as the Nine Old Men....
, Ollie Johnston
Ollie Johnston
Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr. was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death. He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989...
, and Joe Grant
Joe Grant
Joe Grant was a Disney artist and writer.Born in New York City, New York, he worked for The Walt Disney Company as a character designer and story artist beginning in 1933 on the Mickey Mouse short, "Mickey's Gala Premiere". He was a Disney legend. He created the Queen in Snow White and the Seven...
(who all died before the film's release and thus the film was dedicated to them). Grant gave the script his approval as well as some advice before his death in 2005. Docter recalled Grant would remind him the audience needed an "emotional bedrock" because of how wacky the adventure would become; in this case it is Carl mourning for his wife. Docter felt Grant's personality influenced Carl's deceased wife Ellie more than the grouchy main character, and Carl was primarily based on Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
, and their own grandparents, because there was "something sweet about these grumpy old guys". Docter and Jonas Rivera noted Carl's charming nature in spite of his grumpiness derives from the elderly "hav[ing] this charm and almost this 'old man license' to say things that other people couldn't get away with [...] It's like how we would go to eat with Joe Grant and he would call the waitresses 'honey'. I wish I could call a waitress 'honey'."
Docter revealed that the filmmakers' first story outline had Carl "just want[ing] to join his wife up in the sky. It was almost a kind of strange suicide mission or something. And obviously that's [a problem]. Once he gets airborne, then what? So we had to have some goal for him to achieve that he had not yet gotten." As a result, they added the plot of going to South America. The location was chosen due to both Docter's love of tropical locations, but also in wanting a location that Carl could be stuck with a kid due to the inability to leave him with an authority such as a police officer or social worker. They implemented a child character as a way to help Carl stop being "stuck in his ways".
Docter created Dug as he felt it would be refreshing to show what a dog thinks, rather than what people assume it thinks. The idea for Alpha's voice derived from thinking about what would happen if someone broke a record player and it always played at a high pitch. Russell was added to the story at a later date than Dug and Kevin; his presence, as well as the construction workers, helped to make the story feel less "episodic".
Carl's relationship with Russell reflects how "he's not really ready for the whirlwind that a kid is, as few of us are". Docter added he saw Up as a "coming of age" tale and an "unfinished love story", with Carl still dealing with the loss of his wife. He cited inspiration from Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
and A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, which are both "resurrection" stories about men who lose something, and regain purpose during their journey. Docter and Rivera cited inspiration from the Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
, Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
, Dumbo
Dumbo
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
, and Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1953 film)
Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...
. They also saw parallels to The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...
and tried to make Up not feel too similar. There is a scene where Carl and Russell haul the floating house through the jungle. A Pixar employee compared the scene to Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber...
, and Docter watched that film and The Mission for further inspiration. The character Charles Muntz comes from Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
. An inspiration for the name of this character was cartoon producer Charles B. Mintz
Charles B. Mintz
Charles B. Mintz was an American film producer and distributor, who took control over Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pictures after marrying her in 1924....
, who stole Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's hit character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an anthropomorphic rabbit and animated cartoon character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney for films distributed by Universal Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s...
, forcing Disney to create replacement character Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
.
Animation
Docter made VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
the film's setting after Ralph Eggleston
Ralph Eggleston
Ralph Eggleston is an American animator, art director, storyboard artist and production designer at Pixar Animation Studios....
gave him a video of the tepui
Tepui
A tepui , or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana....
mountains; Venezuela and tepuis were already featured in a previous Disney film, Dinosaur
Dinosaur (film)
Dinosaur is a 2000 American computer-animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 19, 2000, and is the 39th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
. In 2004, Docter and eleven other Pixar artists spent three days reaching Monte Roraima
Monte Roraima
Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateau in South America. First described by the English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh in 1596, its summit area is defended by 400-metre-tall cliffs on all sides...
by airplane, jeep, and helicopter. They spent three nights there painting and sketching, and encountering ants, mosquitoes, scorpions, frogs, and snakes. They also flew to Matawi Tepui and climbed to Angel Falls, as well as Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Docter felt "we couldn't use [the rocks and plants we saw]. Reality is so far out, if we put it in the movie you wouldn't believe it." The film's creatures were also challenging to design because they had to fit in the surreal environment of the tepuis, but also be realistic because those mountains exist in real life. The filmmakers visited Sacramento Zoo to observe a Himalayan Monal
Himalayan Monal
The Himalayan Monal, Lophophorus impejanus also known as the Impeyan Monal or Impeyan Pheasant or Danphe is a bird of genus Lophophorus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. It is the national bird of Nepal, where it is known as the Danfe, and the state bird of Uttarakhand.Traditionally, the...
for Kevin's animation. The animators designed Russell as an Asian-American, and modeled Russell after similar looking Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn
Peter Sohn is an American animator, voice actor and storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios.,Sohn started his career with Pixar in the art and story departments for Finding Nemo. He also worked on The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E. Sohn also performed the voice of Emile in Ratatouille...
, a Pixar storyboarder who voiced Emile in Ratatouille
Ratatouille (film)
Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
and directed the short Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy is a Pixar CGI animated short film directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Kevin Reher. It was shown in theaters before Pixar's feature film Up and is a special feature on its DVD and Blu-ray release. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2009. In a , Sohn says his idea for...
, because of his energetic nature.
While Pixar usually designs their characters to be caricatured, Carl was even more so, being only three heads high. He was not given elderly features such as liver spots or hair in his ears to keep him appealing, yet giving him wrinkles, pockmarks on his nose, a hearing aid, and a cane to make him appear elderly. Docter wanted to push a stylized feel, particularly the way Carl's head is proportioned: he has a squarish appearance to symbolize his containment within his house, while Russell is rounded like a balloon. The challenge on Up was making these stylized characters feel natural, although Docter remarked the effect came across better than animating the realistic humans from Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, who suffered from the "uncanny valley
Uncanny Valley
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotics and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers...
". Cartoonists Al Hirschfeld
Al Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
, Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham
Henry King "Hank" Ketcham was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily page and took up painting full time in his studio at his home. He received the Reuben Award for the strip in 1953...
, and George Booth influenced the human designs. Simulating realistic cloth on caricatured humans was harder than creating the 10,000 balloons flying the house. New programs were made to simulate the cloth and for Kevin's iridescent
Iridescence
Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...
feathers. To animate old people, Pixar animators would study their own parents or grandparents and also watched footage of the Senior Olympics
Senior Olympics
The National Senior Games or "Senior Olympics" is a sports competition for seniors from the United States. It is a multi-sport event specifically devoted to adults aged 50+ . It is composed of regional competitions held yearly in all American states...
. The directors had various rules for Carl's movements: he could not turn his head more than 15–20 degrees without turning his torso as well, nor could he raise his arms very high. However, they also wanted him to grow more flexible near the end of the film, transforming into an "action hero".
A technical director worked out that in order to make Carl's house fly, he would require 23 million balloons, but Docter realized that number made the balloons look like small dots. Instead, the balloons created were made to be twice Carl's size. There are 10,927 balloons for shots of the house just flying, 20,622 balloons for the lift-off sequence, and a varying number in other scenes.
Music
Up is the third Pixar film to be scored by Michael GiacchinoMichael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
, after The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
and Ratatouille
Ratatouille (film)
Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
. What Pete Docter wanted more importantly out of the music was the emotion, so Giacchino wrote a character theme-based score that producer Jonas Rivera thought enhanced the story. At the beginning of the movie, when young Carl is in the movie theater watching a newsreel about Muntz, the first piece of music heard is "Muntz's Theme", which starts out as a celebratory theme, and echoes through the film when Muntz reappears 70 years later. "Ellie's Theme" is first heard when she is introduced as a little kid and plays several times during the film in different versions; for instance, during the sequence where Carl lifts his house with the balloons, the theme is changed from a simple piano melody to a full orchestral arrangement. Giacchino has compared the film to opera since each character has their own theme that changes
Thematic transformation
Thematic transformation is a technique of where a leitmotif, or theme, is developed by changing the theme by using Permutation , Augmentation, Diminution, and Fragmentation. It was primarily developed by Franz Liszt and his good friend Hector Berlioz...
during a particular moment in the story.
The score was released as a digital download on May 26, 2009, three days before the film opened in theaters. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
, the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
, and the 2010 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music is an annual award given by British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:*1968 - The Lion in Winter - John Barry...
. It is the first score for a Pixar film to win the Oscar (Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
also won for Monsters Inc and Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
, but in the category of Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
).
Release
When the film screened at the El Capitan TheatreEl Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is owned by Pacific Theatres and operated by the Walt Disney Company. It serves as the venue for many of Walt Disney Pictures' movie premieres...
in Hollywood, California from May 29 to July 23, 2009, it was accompanied by Lighten Up!, a live show featuring Disney characters. Other tie-ins included children's books such as My Name is Dug, illustrated by screenwriter Ronnie del Carmen
Ronnie del Carmen
Ronnie del Carmen is an animation storyboard, story artist and designer. He was recently Story Supervisor on Pixar's tenth full-length computer-animated film titled Up and director of its accompanying short film on DVD, Dug's Special Mission.-Filmography:*The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You...
. Despite Pixar's track record, Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
and Walmart stocked few Up items, while Pixar's regular collaborator Thinkway Toys did not produce merchandise, claiming its story is unusual and would be hard to promote. Disney acknowledged not every Pixar film would have to become a franchise. Promotional partners include Aflac
Aflac
Aflac Incorporated is the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States, founded in 1955 and based in Columbus, Georgia. In the United States, Aflac underwrites a wide range of insurance policies, but is perhaps more known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays...
, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
, and Airship Ventures
Airship Ventures
Airship Ventures Inc. is a private company offering sight-seeing rides in a 12-passenger Zeppelin NT out of a World War II United States Navy hangar at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California....
, while Cluster Balloons
Cluster ballooning
Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons.Unlike traditional hot-air balloons, where a single large balloon is equipped with vents enabling altitude control, cluster balloons are multiple, small, readily...
promoted the film with a replica of Carl's couch lifted by hot air balloons for journalists to sit in.
Director Pete Docter intended for audiences to take a specific point from the film, saying:
Home media
Up was released on Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and DVD in North America on November 10, 2009, and in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2010. It features the film plus the theatrical short Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy is a Pixar CGI animated short film directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Kevin Reher. It was shown in theaters before Pixar's feature film Up and is a special feature on its DVD and Blu-ray release. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2009. In a , Sohn says his idea for...
and the new short Dug's Special Mission
Dug's Special Mission
Dug's Special Mission is a short Pixar film, directed by Ronnie del Carmen. It is tied into and included on the DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Up.-Premise:...
, as well as an audio commentary by director Pete Docter, the documentary Adventure is Out There on the filmmakers' research journey to South America, The Many Endings of Muntz (an alternate ending of sorts), and a digital copy. The Blu-ray edition has a four-disc pack that adds Cine-Explore with BonusView, Global Guardian Badge and Geography games, eight documentaries, and BD-Live to the Deluxe DVD and digital copy platters. A Limited Edition is also available called the Luxo Jr. Premium Pack that includes a collectible lamp modeled after Pixar's bouncy short star that is designed to hold a complete Pixar Blu-ray collection.
In addition, Pixar also created a short film titled George & A.J.
George & A.J.
George & A.J. is a short film created by Pixar which uses characters from the film Up to tell what Nurses George and A.J. did after Carl Fredricksen left with his house tied to balloons in the feature film...
, written and directed by Up storyboard artist Josh Cooley, that shows what the two Shady Oaks retirement home workers did after Carl left with his house. It was initially available for purchase at the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, and then was later posted to Disney·Pixar's Facebook and YouTube pages.
In its first week it sold 3,969,792 units ($66,057,339). It eventually reached 10,811,453 units ($182,591,149), becoming the best-selling DVD among those released in 2009, in terms of units sold. It also became the third in terms of sales revenue behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
and Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
.
Reception
Since its release, Up has been critically acclaimed. , Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 98% of critics have given the film a "Certified Fresh" positive review, based on 270 reviews, with an 8.6/10 review average. The site's consensus states: "Another masterful work of art from Pixar, Up is an exciting, hilarious, and heartfelt adventure impeccably crafted and told with wit and depth." The film also holds a score of 88 on the review aggregator website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film four out of four stars and called it "a wonderful film".
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
lauded the film as "Winsome, touching and arguably the funniest Pixar effort ever, this gorgeously rendered, high-flying adventure is a tidy 90-minute distillation of all the signature touches that came before it." Although the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
noted that the film "contains many boring stretches of mindless freneticism and bland character interaction," it also declared that there are scenes in Up of "Such beauty, economy and poetic wisdom that they belong in any anthology of great movie moments...to watch Up with any attention is to be moved and astonished by the economy with which specific visuals are invested with emotion throughout [the film]..." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
enthused that "Up is an exceptionally refined picture; unlike so many animated films, it's not all about sensory bombardment and volume...Unsurprisingly, no one puts a foot wrong here. Vocal performances...exude a warm enthusiasm, and tech specifications could not be better. Michel Giacchino's full-bodied, traditional score is superlative..." The Globe claimed that Up! is "the kind of movie that leaves you asking 'How do people come up [with] this stuff?'" along with an overall positive review on the film, despite its being predictable.
The character of Carl Fredricksen has received mostly positive reception. Bill Capodagli, author of Innovate the Pixar Way, praised Carl for his ability to be a jerk and likable at the same time. Wall Street Journal editor Joe Morgenstern described Carl as gruff, comparing him to Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
, but adds that this begins to wear thin as the movie progresses. He has been compared with Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, an influence on the character, by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
editor Ann Hornaday and Empire Online
Empire Online
Livermore Investment Group is an investment company established by Arnon Katz and Noam Lanir traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol . Formerly known as Empire Online, the company was created in 2002...
editor Ian Freer, who describes him as similar to a "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
-era" Tracy.
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
editor Lisa Schwarzbaum described his appearance as a cross between Tracy and an eccentric out of a George Booth cartoon. TIME editor Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
also makes the comparison, calling him a "trash compacted version" of Tracy. He has also been compared to Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, another inspiration for the character's design, by LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
editor Scott Foundas, suggesting that actor Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...
was channeling him while performing the role of Carl.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
editor Todd McCarthy described Carl as a combination of both Tracy and Matthau.
The relationship between Carl and his wife Ellie has been praised in several media outlets. In his book Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Message of Children's Films, author M. Keith Booker described the love between Carl and Ellie as touching. While also describing the scene of the two of them aging as a "masterpiece of its own kind", he was not sure how much children would appreciate the scene, commenting that his son was squirming in his seat during the scene. Reelviews editor James Berardinelli praised their relationship, stating that it brought a tear to his eye in a way no animated film has done, including anything by famed anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
director Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
. Ann Hornaday praised the prologue, describing it as "worthy of Chaplin in its heartbreaking poignancy". Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
editor Michael Phillips praised the scene, describing it as an emotional and cinematic powerhouse, and that he also was nearly moved to tears. However, Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
editor Stephanie Zacharek criticized the love between Carl and Ellie, describing their marriage as resembling a dental adhesive commercial more than a real relationship.
Edward Asner was praised in several media outlets for his portrayal of Carl. San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
editor Mick LaSelle praised Asner as a great choice due to having a grumpiness to his voice that is not truly grumpy, but rather coming from a protective stance. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
editor Lisa Schwarzbaum praised Asner's acting, stating that he has a "Lou Grant
Lou Grant (fictional character)
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was Mary Tyler Moore , in which the character was the news director at the fictional television station WJM-TV...
authority" to his voice.
Time editor Richard Corliss stated that Asner had the "gruffness and deadpan comic timing to bring Carl to life". The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
editor Ty Burr concurred with this, stating that his Lou Grant-like voice had not diminished with time. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
editor Claudia Puig praised Asner's delivery, describing it as superb.
In addition to the positive critical reviews the film received, Up highlights Pixar's corporate image as an altruistic company through its charitable acts. In June 2009, 10-year-old Colby Curtin from Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
was suffering from the final stages of terminal vascular cancer
Circulatory system
The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...
. It is reported her dying wish was to "live to see the movie" despite the advanced stage of her disease. Due to her deteriorating condition, she was unable to leave the family home. A family friend contacted Pixar and arranged for a private screening. A Pixar employee flew to the Huntington Beach home with various Up tie-in toys and a DVD copy of the film. Curtin could not open her eyes because of the pain, so her mother described the film to her scene by scene. She died approximately seven hours after the screening ended.
Box office
In the U.S. and Canada, Up ranked number one at the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $68,108,790. This was a stronger return than analysts had been expecting. The film had a small drop-off of around 35% over its second weekend, earning another $44,138,266. Initial estimates projected the film holding on to the top spot in its second weekend, but revised figures placed it in second, less than $1 million behind the Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
comedy The Hangover
The Hangover (film)
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor...
, but over $25 million ahead of the Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
remake of Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost (film)
Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.-Plot:...
. In its third weekend, the film experienced an even smaller decline of just around 30%, again trailing The Hangover to place second. Its $30,762,280 third-weekend gross is the twelfth biggest third weekend ever for a film in the U.S.A. and Canada. , the film has a total of $293,004,164 in the United States and Canada and $438,338,580 in other territories for a worldwide gross of $731,342,744. The film is Pixar's third-highest-grossing film worldwide, behind Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
and Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
. It is the eighth highest-grossing animated feature of all time, the sixth highest-grossing film of 2009
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
, and the 43rd highest-grossing film on the all-time chart.
In Japan, it grossed $7,241,674 on its debut, which marked the fourth best opening for a U.S.A. animated film after Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
in the country. It eventually reached a milestone of $51,920,149 marking the fourth largest U.S. animated feature of all time behind Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc., while among 2009 films it reached sixth place. Even more impressive was Spain, where it began with $6,609,690 ($7,966,355 including weekday previews) and reached $37,052,520 in total. This made it the highest-grossing animated film of all time in the territory, out-grossing Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
, the second largest film of 2009 behind Avatar and the fifth highest-grossing movie ever in the country behind Avatar, Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, The Orphanage
The Orphanage (2007 film)
The Orphanage is a 2007 Spanish-Mexican horror film and the debut feature of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona. The film stars Belén Rueda as Laura, Fernando Cayo as her husband, Carlos, and Roger Príncep as their adopted son Simón. The plot centers on Laura, who returns to her childhood home, an...
, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
. It is also the highest-grossing Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
feature ever in the country. In Australia, it debuted with a mere $1,795,243 in first place but the exceptional increases and small decreases in its earnings during the weekends that followed made it dominate for five weekends at the box office. It eventually earned $25,296,200 to stand as 2009's best animated box office hit in the country, just half a million dollars above Ice Age 3
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, also known as Ice Age 3, is a 2009 3-D computer animated film. It is the third installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
, and the seventh largest animated film of all time.
Accolades
Up won two awards at the 82nd Academy Awards82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...
, for "Best Animated Feature
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
" and "Academy Award for Best Original Score
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
". It is the second of three animated features to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
and Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-adventure film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. The film was released worldwide from June through October in Disney Digital...
were also nominated for Best Picture in their respective years. 'Up' also won "Best Original Score"
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
, and "Best Animated Feature Film"
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film was awarded for the first time at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007. It was the first time that the Golden Globe Awards had created a separate category for animated films since its establishment. The nominations are announced in January and...
at the 67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
. It was nominated for nine Annie Awards in eight categories, winning two awards for "Best Animated Feature" and "Best Directing in a Feature Production". Up also received the Golden Tomato
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
from Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
for highest rating feature in 2009, and best reviewed animated film. with an approval of 98 percent from film critics, based on 259 reviews. At the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards
2010 Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon's 23rd Annual Kids' Choice Awards were held on March 27, 2010 on the Nell and John Wooden Court of Pauley Pavilion, on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California...
the film won "Favorite Animated Movie". Dug, the talking canine, was awarded the Palm Dog Award
Palm Dog Award
The Palm Dog Award is a yearly alternative award presented by the international film critics during the Cannes Film Festival. Begun in 2001 by Toby Rose, , Ammu Kannampilly, October 22, 2007, retrieved on May 27, 2009 it is awarded to the best performance by a canine or group of canines during...
by the British film critics as the best canine performance at Cannes Film Festival, winning over the fox from Antichrist
Antichrist (film)
Antichrist is a 2009 arthouse-horror film written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It follows horror film conventions and tells the story of a couple who, after the death of their child, retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange...
and the black poodle from Inglourious Basterds.
External links
- Up at HD Report (Blu-ray disc review)