It’s Film Strip
Friday!
UP
Release Date May 29th,
2009
SYNOPSIS:
Carl
Fredicksen, a retired balloon salesman, is ready for his last chance at
high-flying excitement. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, Carl sets off
to the lost world of his childhood dreams. Unbeknownst to Carl, Russell, an
overeager 8-year old Wildnerness Explorer who has never ventured beyond his
backyard, is in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Carl's front porch! The
world's most unlikely duo reach new heights and meets fantastic friends like
Dug, a dog with a special collar that allows him to speak, and Kevin, the rare
13-foot tall flightless bird.
FUN FACTS:
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure
film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Pete Docter. The film
centers on an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Edward Asner)
and an earnest young Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagai). By tying
thousands of balloons to his home, 78-year-old Carl sets out to fulfill his lifelong
dream to see the wilds of South America and to complete a promise made to his
lifelong love. The film was co-directed by Bob Peterson, with music composed by
Michael Giacchino.
Docter began working on the story in 2004, which was
based on fantasies of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating. He and
eleven other Pixar artists spent three days in Venezuela gathering research and
inspiration. The design of the characters were caricatured and stylized
considerably, and animators were challenged with creating realistic cloth. The
floating house is attached by a varying number between 10-20,000 balloons in
the film's sequences. Up was Pixar's first film to be presented in Disney
Digital 3-D.
Up was released in May 2009 and opened the 2009 Cannes Film
Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film to do so. The film became a
great financial success, accumulating over $731,342,744 in its theatrical
release. Up received critical acclaim, with most reviewers commending
the humor and heart of the film. Edward Asner was praised for his portrayal of
Carl, and a montage of Carl and his wife Ellie aging together was widely
lauded. The film received five Academy Award nominations, including Best
Picture, making it the second animated film in history to receive such a
nomination, following Beauty and the Beast (1991).
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, Venezuela, South America, and was
publicly disgraced. Muntz vowed to return to Paradise Falls and not leave until
he had captured a specimen alive to clear his name.
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.
After suffering a miscarriage and being told they can't have children, the two
decide to realize their dream of visiting Paradise Falls. They try to save up
for the trip, but repeatedly end up spending the money on more pressing needs.
Finally, elderly Carl Fredricksen arranges for the trip, but Ellie suddenly
becomes ill and dies, leaving him alone.
Some time later, Carl is still living in their house, now
surrounded by urban development, but he refuses to sell. He ends up injuring a
construction worker over damage done to his mailbox. He is evicted from the
house by court order due to being deemed 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, based on
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. The time he has spent alone and concentrating only on his mission has
made him extremely paranoid and dangerous. When Russell innocently reveals his
friendship with Kevin, Muntz becomes disturbingly hostile and starts showing
the flight helmets of explorers whom he has apparently murdered, believing they
were all after the bird. This prompts Carl, Russell, 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 his home 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 discovers photos of their
married life in Ellie's childhood scrapbook and a final note from his wife
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 rescue Kevin. Because many balloons have popped or deflated
from Muntz's attack, Carl is forced to empty the house of furniture so it can
lift off again so that Carl can pursue Russell.
Russell is captured by Muntz, but Carl boards the
dirigible in flight and frees 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; the
insane hunter 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, Russell and Dug reunite Kevin with her chicks, then
fly the dirigible back to the city. 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"). Meanwhile, Carl's house is shown to have landed on the cliff
beside Paradise Falls, as promised to Ellie.
During the credits, a series of photographs shows Carl
enjoying his latest adventure: living an active life as a surrogate grandfather
to Russell.
Cast
- Edward
Asner as Carl Fredricksen (Jeremy Leary voiced Carl as a younger child).
Docter and Rivera noted Asner's television alter ego, Lou Grant 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 Tracy as he appeared in his final film, Guess Who's
Coming to Dinner.) They tailored his dialogue for him, with short
sentences and more consonants, 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 Ayala.
- Christopher
Plummer as Charles F. Muntz. Muntz is an old explorer looking for the
beast of Paradise Falls; he vowed not to 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 Lindbergh's airplane, Spirit of St. Louis. In
various interviews, Pete Docter has mentioned Howard Hughes and real life
adventurers Charles Lindbergh and Percy Fawcett as inspirations for Muntz.
- Jordan
Nagai 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 Sohn. 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 Retriever 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 Mission, which follows Dug just prior to his first meeting
with Carl and Russell. Dug previously appeared in Ratatouille as a
shadow on a wall that barks at Remy.
- Peterson
also voices Alpha, a talking Doberman Pinscher and the leader of Muntz's pack of dogs. Pete Docter
has stated that Alpha "thinks of himself as Clint Eastwood".
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.
- Pete
Docter as Kevin, a large colorful prehistoric 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
Lindo as Beta, a Rottweiler and one of Muntz's dogs.
- Jerome
Ranft as Gamma, a Bulldog and one of Muntz's dogs.
- John
Ratzenberger as Tom, a construction worker who asks if Carl is ready to
sell his house.
- David
Kaye as the newsreel announcer.
Production
+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 McCarthy 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.
Docter noted the film reflects his friendships with
Disney veterans Frank Thomas, 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 "having 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 wanting 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. Knowledge of
canine communication, body language and pack behaviors for the artists and
animators to portray such thoughts came from consultant Dr. Ian Dunbar,
veterinarian, dog behaviorist and trainer. 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.
Animation
Docter made Venezuela 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. 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.
Music
Up is the third Pixar film to be scored by Michael
Giacchino, 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 a unique 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).
Release
When the film screened at the El Capitan Theatre 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:
Basically, the message of the film is
that the real adventure of life is the relationship we have with other people,
and it's so easy to lose sight of the things we have and the people that are
around us until they are gone. More often than not, I don't really realize how
lucky I was to have known someone until they're either moved or passed away.
So, if you can kind of wake up a little bit and go, "Wow, I've got some
really cool stuff around me every day", then that's what the movie's
about.
UPisodes
Prior to its theatrical release, Disney Pixar created
three small animated vignettes called UPisodes to promote its film UP
on the internet. These UPisodes chronicled Carl Fredricksen and
Russell's journey through the jungle, not seen in the movie. Fans were able to
view the vignettes on Apple iTunes movie trailer site and YouTube.
- UPisode
One: Animal Calls - in the first episode, Russell demonstrates his ability
to mimic animal calls.
- UPisode
Two: First Aid - in the second episode, Russell tries to relieve a minor
injury that Carl received.
- UPisode
Three: Snipe Trap - in the third episode, Russell attempts to capture the
elusive snipe.
Home media
Up was released on Blu-ray Disc 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.
The
rental release of the film to Netflix, Blockbuster, and Redbox was controversial
since it failed to include closed captioning. Disney faced a consumer backlash
over this and quickly released a statement that this removal was an unfortunate
error and that it was moving to correct the issue.
Reception
Critical response
Since its release, Up has received positive
reviews. As of September 3, 2011, Rotten Tomatoes 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 as of September 3, 2011.Audiences gave the film an
"A+" CinemaScore.
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 it 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.
Box office
Up earned $293,004,164 in the United States and Canada and
$438,338,580 in other territories for a worldwide total of $731,342,744.
Worldwide, it is the forty-seventh highest-grossing film, the eighth
highest-grossing animated film, the sixth highest-grossing 2009 film and the
third highest-grossing Pixar film.
In the United States and Canada, Up is the forty-fourth
highest-grossing film, the tenth highest-grossing Disney film, the seventh
highest-grossing 3–D film, the sixth highest-grossing animated film, the fifth
highest-grossing 2009 film and the third highest-grossing Pixar film. On its
opening weekend, it performed stronger than analysts had been expecting,
ranking number one with $68,108,790. This is the fourth highest-grossing
opening for Pixar and the third-largest post-Memorial Day opening. It set a
record for opening-weekend grosses originating from 3–D showings with $35.4
million (first surpassed by Avatar). The opening-weekend audience was
53% female and 47% under 17 years old. The film experienced small drop-offs on
subsequent weekends, but lost first place to The Hangover.
Outside the US and Canada, it is the forty-third
highest-grossing film, the tenth highest-grossing animated film, the fifth
highest-grossing 2009 film and the third highest-grossing Pixar film. It was on
top of the overseas box office for three consecutive weekends and four in
total. Its highest-grossing opening weekends were recorded in France and the
Maghreb region ($8.88 million), the UK, Ireland and Malta, ($8.44 million) and
Japan ($7.24 million). These three were also its highest-grossing countries in
total earnings. Among major countries, it was the highest-grossing animated
film of 2009 only in Spain ($37.1 million) and Australia ($25.3 million).
Accolades
Up won two awards at the 82nd Academy Awards, 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.
Video game
A video game, Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure,
was released on March 20, 2012, for Xbox 360. It features characters from five
of Pixar's films: Up, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille,
and Toy Story.
Theme park attraction
- For a
short time you could meet Carl, Russell and Dug, three characters from the
film at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. Their
meeting location was in the Magic of Disney Animation Character Spot.
Their former location currently houses Winnie the Pooh's Meet and Greet
area. Since then, Russell and Dug have been moved to Animal Kingdom in
Discovery Island. The Stars of "Up" also star in the new Pixar
Pals Countdown to Fun Parade at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
- Russell
and Dug are also part of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail where guest
take part in a fun filled challenge to earn a Wilderness Explorer Badge
and to take part in the Senior Wilderness Explorer Ceremony at Grizzly
Peak in Disney's California Adventures theme park.
- A scene
from Up featuring Carl & Russell and a voice over commentary by Dug is
shown as part of DCA's World of Color nighttime spectacular.
My personal thoughts
Up
is my favorite Pixar movie. Carl and Ellie are a perfect example of my life
with my wonderful husband of 32 years. No we are not old and both are here but
all the challenges they faced are real to us. Carl and Ellie had dreams and
desires for their lives and it seemed that as they got close something always
happened to stop it. Still they found joy and adventure in life even if it was
not the adventures they planned.
Cool post Mom!!!! I haven't seen Up yet but I want to now!!!
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