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Revision as of 15:32, 23 February 2009

Template:Future film

Up
File:Up Poster.JPG
Theatrical poster
Directed byPete Docter
Bob Peterson
Written byBob Peterson
Ronnie del Carmen
Thomas McCarthy (uncredited)
Produced byJonas Rivera
StarringEdward Asner
Christopher Plummer
John Ratzenberger
Jordan Nagai
Music byMichael Giacchino
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Release dates
May 29, 2009 (North America)
June 4, 2009 (Australia)
October 16, 2009 (United Kingdom)
Running time
87 min (not including credits).[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Up is an upcoming computer-animated 3-D film being produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and is scheduled for release on May 29, 2009 in North America and October 16, 2009 in the United Kingdom.[2] The film is directed by Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter and features the voices of Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai and John Ratzenberger.

Plot

Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) is 78 years old. When Carl was a child, he met and eventually married a girl named Ellie who grew up in a small midwestern town. Ellie always dreamed of exploring the mountains, but she died before she got a chance. Now, when developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie. To accomplish this, he uses a huge number of balloons to make the house fly - but unwittingly takes a chubby eight-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell with him. The two opposites match up for thrilling adventures as they encounter wild terrain, unexpected foes, and all the terrifying creatures that wait in the jungle.[3]

Cast

  • Edward Asner as Carl Fredricksen. Docter and Rivera noted Asner's television alter-ego Lou Grant had been helpful in writing for Carl, because it guided them in balancing likeable and unlikeable aspects of the curmudgeonish character.[4]
  • Jordan Nagai as Russell, the boy scout stowaway on Carl's flying house.[2] He accompanies Carl to earn an "assisting the elderly" badge, which is the only one he does not have.[5] Nagai showed up to an audition with his brother, who was actually the one auditioning. However, Docter, who had passed on other potential voices that sounded too artificial, realized Nagai behaved and spoke non-stop like Russell and chose him for the part.[6]
  • Christopher Plummer as Charles Muntz, an adventurer Carl and his wife admired as children.[1] Pete Docter compared Muntz to Charles Lindbergh and Howard Hughes.[2]
  • John Ratzenberger as a construction worker.[7]

Other characters include Kevin, a large female bird that Russell names,[8] and Doug, a mean dog whose collar translates his thoughts into comical sounding English.[6]

Background

The plot was conceived from the fantasy of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating,[2] which director Pete Docter explained originated from the fact he was not good at social situations growing up.[9] Docter and Bob Peterson also thought an old man was a good idea for a protagonist because they felt their experiences and the way it affects their view of the world was a rich source of humor. Docter was not concerned over having an old man as a protagonist, stating children would relate to Carl in the way they relate to their grandparents.[2] Docter and Peterson merged in the concept of a flying house from Docter's escape fantasy,[10] Docter drew a picture of a grumpy old man with smiling balloons, which inspired how the house flew.[6] The idea of a talking dog came from thinking about what would happen if someone broke a record player and it always played at a low pitch.[6] Docter felt it would be refreshing to show what a dog thinks, rather than what people assume it thinks.[11] Writing began in 2004. Actor and writer Thomas McCarthy aided Docter and Peterson in shaping the story for about three months. Russell was added to the story at a later date than Carl, Kevin and Doug.[6]

The main character Carl Fredricksen is partially based on Spencer Tracy[12]

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). Grant gave the script his approval as well as some advice before his death in 2005.[13] 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.[6] Docter felt Grant's personality influenced Carl's deceased wife Ellie more than the grouchy main character,[13] and Carl was primarily based on Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau, because there was "something sweet about these grumpy old guys".[12] Carl's relationship with Russell reflects how "he's not really ready for the whirlwind that a kid is, as few of us are".[13] Docter added he saw it as "coming of age" tale and an "unfinished love story", with Carl still dealing with the loss of his wife.[14] 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.[10]

Docter and eleven other Pixar artists visited tepuis in 2004 for research

Originally, Carl would have flown to a desert island, but Docter deemed this cliched and made Venezuela the film's setting after Ralph Eggleston gave him a video of the tepui mountains.[2][13] In 2004, Docter and eleven other Pixar artists hiked up a tepui and spent three nights there painting and sketching.[15] Pixar also visited Brazil to observe the plants and rock formations, which Docter decided "we couldn't use. Reality is so far out, if we put it in the movie you wouldn't believe it."[12]

Docter wanted to push a stylized feel, particularly the way Carl's body is proportioned. The challenge on Up was making these stylized characters feel natural,[2] although Docter remarked the effect came across better than animating the realistic humans from Toy Story, who suffered from the "uncanny valley".[13] Cartoonists Al Hirschfeld, Hank Ketcham and George Booth influenced the human designs.[1][10][6] 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.[13] Simulating 10,000 balloons was difficult, but not as tough as simulating realistic cloth on caricatured humans.[9] New programs were made to simulate the cloth and for Kevin's iridescent feathers.[8] To animate old people, Pixar animators would study their own parents or grandparents and also watched footage of the Senior Olympics.[4]

Docter and producer Jonas 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.[16] 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. Docter expressed interest in having Michael Giacchino – who previously scored The Incredibles and Ratatouille – compose Up's score as a tribute to Ennio Morricone's music for The Mission.[17]

Release

Up will be the first Pixar film to be projected in Disney Digital 3-D.[16] It will be accompanied in theaters by the short film Partly Cloudy, which is directed by Peter Sohn, the Pixar storyboarder who voiced Emile in Ratatouille.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c Edward Douglas (2009-02-06). "A Sneak Preview of Pixar's Up". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "News Etc". Empire. February 2009. pp. 12–15.
  3. ^ "Pixar - Up - Sneak Peek". Pixar. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  4. ^ a b "Video Interview: Up Director Pete Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera". /Film. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  5. ^ "Comic-Con DISNEY/PIXAR Panel: UP". UGO Networks. 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Up Producer/Director". Moviehole. 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  7. ^ "An Interview with John Ratzenberger". Pixar Planet. 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  8. ^ a b Jenna Busch (2009-02-12). "Up footage and Q&A!". JoBlo.com. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  9. ^ a b Ed Liu (2009-02-08). "NYCC 2009: Spending Time with Disney/Pixar's "Up" (and, Disney's "Surrogates")". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  10. ^ a b c Bill Desowitz (2009-02-11). "Docter Goes Halfway Up". Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  11. ^ Katey Rich (2009-02-08). "NYCC: Interview With Pete Docter And Jonas Rivera". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  12. ^ a b c James Keast (2009-02-06). "Pixar Reveals Early Look At Up". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Bill Desowitz (2008-07-29). "Pete Docter Goes Up". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  14. ^ Shawn Adler (2008-08-07). "'Up' And Coming: 3-D Pixar Movie Tells A 'Coming Of Old Age' Story, Director Says". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  15. ^ "Exclusive! First Look at 12 Big Movies Coming In 2009". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  16. ^ a b Erik Davis (2009-02-07). "Cinematical Previews Pixar's 'Up'". Cinematical. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  17. ^ "Mr. Beaks Goes UP with Pixar's Pete Docter!". Ain't It Cool News. 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  18. ^ "Partly Cloudy, Pixar's Next Short". Pixar Planet. 2009-02-7. Retrieved 2009-02-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

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