Before the film's world premiere, Pixar fulfilled the last wish of 10-year-old cancer patient Colby Curtin. An employee flew to the Curtin family's home with a DVD of the finished film and screened it for Colby and her family. Colby passed away shortly after watching the film, at 9:20 PM.
The name of the villain Charles Muntz is a nod to Charles Mintz, the Universal executive who in 1928 took the rights to Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon series. This event led Disney to create Mickey Mouse, who quickly overshadowed Oswald.
The married life sequence at the film's opening moved the production team to tears while it was still at the storyboard stage.
Co-director Bob Peterson said that Dug's line 'I have just met you and I love you' was inspired by the words of a small child he met while working as a camp counselor in the 1980s.
The voice of young Ellie belongs to Elie Docter, the daughter of director Pete Docter.
All characters except the villains are built on circles and rectangles. Carl and Ellie are based on square and circular shapes, while the objects around them reflect these shapes as well. The photo frame in which they appear together is also made up of a circle and a square.
The tree under which Carl and Ellie have their picnic is the tree from A Bug's Life (1998).
The tepui mountains and Paradise Falls were inspired by real places in Venezuela. Angel Falls in that country is the world's highest waterfall.
In the German dub, Dug's attention is distracted by a cat instead of a squirrel, because 'Katze' (cat) is shorter than 'Eichhörnchen' (squirrel).
Up is the first animated film and the first 3D film to open the Cannes Film Festival. The silence after the screening was broken by actress Tilda Swinton's applause, which prompted the audience to give a standing ovation.
Director Pete Docter performed most of Kevin's vocalizations.
Carl is surprised that Russell has never pitched a tent despite all his badges. The reason Russell doesn't ask his father for help is that his parents are divorced. This is the first time divorce is implied in a Disney feature-length animated film.
Carl wears the grape soda badge seen in the Buzz Lightyear commercial in Toy Story (1995).
This is the first film of Jordan Nagai, who voices Russell. Nagai had come along when his older brother Hunter attended the auditions. Out of roughly 400 children, Nagai stood out because he never stopped talking, and the production team realized he had the personality they had envisioned for Russell.
In the room of a girl that Carl's house passes over when it first takes flight, the Lotso bear from Toy Story 3 (2010), the ball from Luxo Jr. (1986) and the airplane from Toy Story (1995) can be seen.
On May 26, 2009, Disney tied balloons to the roof of Edith Macefield's house in Seattle. Edith had fought against construction developers, and her house still stands in the middle of a large shopping center. However, since production on the film began two years before these events, the similarities are purely coincidental.
Many endings were considered for Charles Muntz. At first the animators tried to redeem him, but this was found too boring. In another scenario, Muntz would die lost in the labyrinth due to his obsession with catching Kevin. It was also considered that he would be lured by Kevin to Carl's house and die when the house fell, but they did not want to associate the house, which symbolizes Ellie, with violence. The idea of Muntz becoming tangled in the balloons and rising into the air was also found unclear. In the end, the directors decided that this was Carl's story, and Muntz's end was kept simple.
Up's music won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe in the original score category.
The nursery wall that Ellie paints in the married life montage shows a scene from the Pixar short Partly Cloudy (2009).
Dug's 'point' pose (tail, back and head forming a straight line) is a tribute to the pose Mickey's dog Pluto often strikes. Dug's colors are also similar to Pluto's.
When the dogs attack Russell with airplanes, the aerial battle turns into a literal 'dogfight.' The dogs address each other as 'Grey Leader,' 'Grey One,' 'Grey Two' and so on; this is a nod to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and also a humorous reference to the myth that dogs cannot see colors. When Russell distracts them, the airplanes' formation breaks apart like Darth Vader's squadron in Han Solo's attack on the Death Star. The sound of the weapons also resembles the blasts of an X-Wing fighter.
Carl Fredricksen's face and grumpy personality were inspired by Spencer Tracy and Walter Matthau.
As children, only Ellie speaks at length; young Carl merely screams, gasps for breath and says 'Wow' once. As adults, this time only Carl speaks.
The code name used during production was 'Helium.'
When Carl's house first takes flight and the camera pulls away from the parking lot, Pixar's familiar Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story (1995) can be seen.
According to Pete Docter, Carl Fredricksen and Charles Muntz were designed as mirror images of each other, right down to their names (Carl is the Germanic form of Charles). Both have suffered a great personal loss (Ellie for Carl, his reputation for Muntz) and are obsessed with an object from their past (the house for Carl, Kevin for Muntz). The difference is that Muntz's obsession has made him bitter, paranoid and prone to violence; Muntz represents the person Carl would have become if he had not met Russell and Dug and learned to let go of the past.
In the opening scene, while Ellie is in the hospital, there are craft supplies such as tape and crayons on her bedside table, indicating that she is working on her adventure books. Also notable is Carl catching the balloon cart that nearly floats away.
The slightly off-perspective iconic drawing of the house beside the waterfall is a tribute to the style of Mary Blair, who gave Disney animation a modern art look.
The term 'A113' is the number of the courtroom and appears on the gold plaque next to Carl as he waits to be called. A113 is a frequently used Pixar in-joke based on one of the room numbers of the animation program at Cal Arts.
There is less than a month's age difference between Edward Asner (Carl) and Christopher Plummer (Charles): Asner was born on November 15, 1929, and Plummer on December 13, 1929. Both died in 2021, seven months apart, at the age of 91.
Co-director Bob Peterson based his voice performance for Dug on the way he talks to his own dogs.
Russell is Pixar's first Japanese/Korean character, and he was voiced by Asian-American actor Jordan Nagai.
When we first see Carl as a child, the left side of his collar is outside his vest and the right side is tucked in. When we first see Russell, his left side is under his neckerchief and his right side is out.
Russell's Wilderness Explorer sash contains many jokes and tributes. The most prominent is the Luxo Jr. ball seen on the floor as a girl watches Carl's house float past her room. One badge features a hamburger with a candle, a nod to Merritt Bakery in Oakland, a frequent haunt of director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera. Another badge is a tribute to the hole-punched paper that 2D animators used to align their drawings. There are also First Aid and Second Aid badges, which may refer to a short on the Up website in which Russell struggles to put a bandage on Carl. One badge depicts the multicolored pinwheel that is the 'wait' icon of Apple's Mac OS X operating system. Many of the badges are shown in the credits. Another tribute to Apple and Steve Jobs is Russell trying to teach Carl how to use a computer. The font of the numbers on Carl's alarm clock is 'Chicago', one of the first typefaces designed for the Macintosh.
While playing in the abandoned house, Ellie goes to Paradise Falls; through her soda-bottle binoculars she sees a puppy, and then says they are about to enter a storm with lightning and hail. Carl flies the same house to Paradise Falls using the same window; along the way they pass through a storm, and the first living creature they encounter is a puppy.
A subplot involving Carl hiding one of Charles Muntz's eggs that could reverse Kevin's aging process was considered in the early stages of production. Muntz would have used several of these eggs, explaining why he looks almost younger despite being decades older than Carl. It would also have been emphasized that Muntz's obsession with Kevin stemmed mainly from obtaining another egg. None of this was written into the script because, in director Pete Docter's words, it was 'too weird'.
When young Charles Muntz says he will bring the monster back alive to a large crowd, everyone is wearing a hat. But what the audience cannot see is that he is actually addressing a 'Sea of Hats' with no characters beneath them. This is a common method computer animators use to animate large crowds.
WILHELM SCREAM: It is heard when the dogs fall from the cliff into the river while chasing Carl, Russell, Kevin and Dug.
When Russell knocks on the door, Carl is watching a home shopping channel while shaving. This program became a well-known blooper video in which a seller describes a painting of a horse, but the painting is actually a moth.
Carl never speaks directly (aloud) to Ellie throughout the film. However, before the car tire blows out, he talks to her while pointing at the cloud shaped like a baby. In the scenes where they first meet, Ellie does the talking.
Carl and Russell's journey ends in Oakland, California. Among the city's landmarks are the Fox Oakland Theater (showing Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope) and the iconic Fenton's Creamery. Fenton's is a frequent spot for employees because it is close to Pixar's headquarters in Emeryville; Disney and Pixar included the establishment in the film for free.
Up is the second animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The first was Beauty and the Beast in 1991, but Up is the first Disney/Pixar production to achieve this feat.
It is Pixar's first film produced in 3D.
Russell's appearance is based on Peter Sohn, a Korean-origin Pixar employee who was a storyboard artist on the film. Employees at Pixar who draw caricatures of each other for fun used a caricature of Sohn as the model for Russell. Sohn also voiced Russell in the short film George and A.J. (2009).
In the renovated photo album, a picture of the couple looking over their shoulders in the car (with Carl in the driver's seat) is a recreation of a famous ghost photograph. In the original photo, a man poses with his new car while the ghostly image of his mother appears in the passenger seat.
Charles Muntz is the sixth Disney villain to die by falling in an animated film (the previous ones: the Evil Queen, Ratigan, McLeach, Gaston and Frollo). He is also the first Pixar villain to do so. Although the cat Lucifer in Cinderella appears to fall, he is alive in the sequel; Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty falls but is first wounded by a sword; Clayton in Tarzan dies hanging from vines; and Queen Narissa in Enchanted falls in the live-action section.
As Russell passes by the airship with balloons and a leaf blower, several of Charles Muntz's dogs play poker at a card table. This scene is a tribute to Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's famous 'Dogs Playing Poker' painting series.
The character Carl Fredricksen is 78 years old. Ed Asner was also 78 when he recorded his lines.
If Carl's house were about 150 square meters and weighed 60-100 kilos per square meter, the total weight would come to 54,431 kilos. Since an average helium balloon can lift 4.63 grams, it would take 12,658,392 balloons to lift the house. (The 20,622 balloons seen during the first takeoff are only enough to lift 84 kilos.)
On one of the construction machines, the text L 415-72 indicates art director Lou Romano's birthday.
The rifle Charles Muntz uses is an 1874 Sharps, popular among buffalo hunters in the American Wild West; the procedure for loading, aiming and firing the weapon is accurate. However, his use of a cartridge in a long-range rifle is questionable.
Up is the first animated film to win the Best Original Score award since Pocahontas (1995).
It is the second Pixar film whose main character is an elderly citizen. The first was Geri's Game, which won the Best Animated Short award in 1997.
The antique sword Muntz holds against Carl is the kind of sword used by William Wallace.
Director Pete Docter looked to Disney senior animators Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Joe Grant for inspiration during pre-production. The film reflects the friendship Docter shared with these three talented animators before their deaths and his desire to learn about the years they worked for Walt Disney.
In some theaters, a short film titled Partly Cloudy (2009) was shown before the film.
There are interesting parallels between the villain Charles Muntz and Charles A. Lindbergh: both were named Charles, both were celebrated adventurers, both disappeared from the public eye after being mocked, and both were aviators who flew airships named 'Spirit of _____'.
All the dogs except Dug are named after letters of the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc.), which relates to the ranks within the dog pack. When Dug puts Alpha in the Cone of Shame, the other dogs begin calling Dug Alpha. Dug and Alpha are both voiced by the same actor, Bob Peterson. Alpha, Beta and Gamma also refer to the working classes in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. Muntz's 'chef' is a dog named Epsilon, and the third dog is Omega (named only in the credits, voiced by Josh Cooley).
Up is the only Pixar film by Pete Docter to use the original Disney and Pixar production logos. Monsters, Inc. and Inside Out added their own music to the logo. It is also the only film with no character voiced by Frank Oz.
The victory music that plays in Up when Dug defeats Alpha and puts the Cone of Shame on him resembles the victory music of Nigel defeating the seagulls in Finding Nemo.
The zip code 94070 on Carl's notice belongs to San Carlos, where producer Bradford Lewis was once mayor.
When Beta and Gamma laugh at Alpha's crackly voice, Alpha says they are challenging his rank. Beta denies it but jokingly says Dug might try. At the end of the film, Dug traps Alpha with the Cone of Shame and becomes the new Alpha.
It is the second highest-grossing animated film of 2009; Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs holds first place.
In the credits, Carl is seen taking Russell to 'Star Wars' (probably the 1977 film Episode IV - A New Hope). Disney later acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, bringing the entire Star Wars series under its wing.
It takes a skilled worker about 9 seconds to fill and tie a helium balloon. Lifting a standard 1,600-square-meter house off the ground requires more than 12.5 million balloons. Inflating the balloons needed for Carl's task would take about 3.5 years of continuous work without eating or resting.
One of Carl's Paradise Falls brochures contains an image based on the Sunny Miami figure from Knick Knack (1989).
In the opening newsreel, it is revealed that Muntz has a pack of dogs and technology for them. When the dogs first appear in South America, the fact that their collars allow them to speak is an early hint about who their owner is.
In the film, the bird Kevin loves chocolate. In real life, birds suffer food poisoning from chocolate, so Kevin would die from eating it.
Nurse AJ is the first Pixar character with a bangs hairstyle.
It is the only film nominated for Best Picture whose title consists of just two letters. The record for the shortest-titled Best Picture nominee belongs to Z (1969).
It is the third Pixar film in which blood is briefly seen: Carl hits one of the construction workers with his cane and damages the mailbox. Also, when Kevin is injured, blood seeps through the bandage on his leg. The first two films are Finding Nemo (2003) and The Incredibles (2004); A Bug's Life (1998) does not count because there is only a small sample/an unseen injury there.
The 'Shady Oaks Retirement Home' seen in the brochure is probably a reference to the Touchstone Television series The Golden Girls (1985). That series is also a Walt Disney Company production about the elderly. Dorothy and her mother Sophia frequently mentioned the questionable retirement home called 'Shady Pines'.
On the DVD cover and in advertisements, the dogs appear to be flying Curtiss F9C-2 Sparrowhawk fighter planes. Built in the early 1930s, the US Navy airships Akron (ZRS-4) and Macon (ZRS-5) were actually designed to carry and launch these fighter planes; an elaborate 'trapez' system was used to launch and recover the aircraft in mid-air. Although the system worked well, both airships were lost at sea in severe storms: Akron off the coast of New Jersey in 1933, and Macon two years later off Big Sur, California. The Navy later abandoned the technology, so it was never used in actual combat operations.
The married life sequence begins at the 7:15 mark of the film and lasts about 4 minutes.
The orange-and-white leaf blower Russell uses to propel himself while holding onto the balloons is inspired by a real commercial product, the Stihl BG-50.
Dug is Bob Peterson's favorite Pixar role.
The round red lights on the dogs' collars may be a reference to HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
Note that Carl's face and body are designed in a square shape. This is meant to emphasize how stuck he is in his life and his home.
Christopher Plummer is the eighth Academy Award winner to voice a Disney villain. The previous ones: George Sanders (Shere Khan, The Jungle Book, 1967), Sir Peter Ustinov (Prince John, Robin Hood, 1973), Geraldine Page (Madame Medusa, The Rescuers, 1977), Jack Albertson (Amos Slade, The Fox and the Hound, 1981), George C. Scott (Percival C. McLeach, The Rescuers Down Under, 1990), Jeremy Irons (Scar, The Lion King, 1994), Kevin Spacey (Hopper, A Bug's Life, 1998).
The first Pixar film presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio since Finding Nemo (2003).
The name 'Kevin' that Russell gives to the exotic bird comes from Kevin Spacey, who voiced Hopper in A Bug's Life (1998).
Jerome Ranft, who voices the character Gamma, is the brother of Joe Ranft, who passed away in 2005 and brought many Pixar characters to life with his voice. There were rumors that Joe would voice Gamma.
Up is the first Pixar film since The Incredibles (2004) in which the Luxo Jr. ball appears. But in The Incredibles, the ball appears only in the short film Jack-Jack Attack and in an alternate opening. Up, meanwhile, is the first feature film since Finding Nemo (2003) in which the ball appears.
Up, Christopher Plummer's third animated film, is also his first animated film in the computer animation genre, unconnected to Don Bluth, and rated PG. His first two animated films were An American Tail (1986) and Rock-A-Doodle (1991).
All of Charles Muntz's dogs have docked tails, except Dug. The tailless dogs are obedient, but Dug is the only dog that shows affection and kindness.
Carl becomes grumpy after losing his wife, and regains his former cheerfulness at the end of the film. Christopher Plummer, who voices Muntz, had played Captain Von Trapp, who undergoes a similar transformation in The Sound of Music (1965): Von Trapp, who grows cold after the death of his first wife, softens at his children's singing.
Up presents one of the rare instances of graphic violence in a Disney/Pixar film: Carl hits a construction worker with his cane, and Muntz dies in a fall.
Up is the first Pixar film not to win the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. While Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and WALL·E won the award, Up lost to Monsters vs. Aliens (2009). Moreover, this is the first Pixar film to lose the award to a film that was not nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
On the official film website there is a video clip titled 'Ditch 'Em'. In the film, the same scene plays with music, while in the clip on the site only sounds and effects are heard.
Up's story bears similarities to the film 'Batteries Not Included': a property doomed to demolition, elderly adults, and the property being squeezed among skyscrapers. 'Batteries Not Included' was written by Brad Bird, one of Pixar's successful writers/directors.
Up is the second Pixar film in which a main character loses a loved one. The first was Finding Nemo (2003), in which Marlin loses Coral.
Carl and Russell travel to Paradise Falls, far from society, where extinct creatures live. This cliff recalls the story in the film 'The Lost World' (1925). The landscape is based on Mount Roraima on the border of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana; with its flat tabletop structure and steep walls (tepui), it resembles another world. The Lost World was also inspired by the landscape around the tepuis.
The word 'Up' is spoken only eleven times throughout the film.
Up is the second Pixar film rated PG by the MPAA (the first was The Incredibles, 2004).
Initially the title 'Up & Down' was considered, but it was changed for fear of negative feedback.
Up is the second Pixar film in which a main character breaks the law; the first was Lightning McQueen speeding in Cars (2006).
As of April 2020, Up is Pixar's shortest film title.
The music of the montage that opens the film was used in a 2016 commercial made for Save the Food.com.
Up is Pixar's third film rated PG by the ACB (Australian Classification Board) (after The Incredibles and Ratatouille).
Up, the third Pixar film composed by Michael Giacchino (after The Incredibles and Ratatouille), is also the first Giacchino-Pixar collaboration not directed by Brad Bird.
The last original Pixar feature film of the 2000s.
The film has a notorious knockoff titled 'What's Up: Balloon to the Rescue!' (2009).
The last Pixar film not released in June until The Good Dinosaur (2015).
Pixar's 10th film.
In the French and French-Canadian versions, Carl Fredricksen was voiced by Charles Aznavour.
Russell says he found a 'snipe' under Carl's house, while Dug hides under the porch.
The abandoned house where Carl and Ellie met as children is the same house they lived in throughout their marriage and that Carl takes to Paradise Falls.
The last Pixar film Lou Romano worked on before moving to Laika and Sony Animation.
Christopher Plummer's first CGI film; 9 (2009) followed four months later.
Disney's fifth computer-animated film to be rated PG by the ACB (after Dinosaur, The Incredibles, Chicken Little and Ratatouille).
As of 2018, the only film of Pete Docter's in which he appears in the voice cast solely under Additional Voices.
Charles Muntz's dog Beta was inspired by Cousin Eddie's dog Snots in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (both are Rottweilers).
Pete Docter's only directorial work focused on a human character; Monsters, Inc. focused on monsters and Inside Out on emotions.
Along with Inside Out, one of two PG-rated Pixar films featuring John Cygan; there were rumors Cygan would appear in Incredibles 2, but he died of cancer in 2017.
The last film aired on HBO Family on 16 August 2025, Up, before the channel's programming ended at midnight.
The fourth Pixar film in which the director took a significant voice role: Pete Docter as Kevin, Bob Peterson as Dug and Alpha. The other three films: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars.
Brazilian dub: Chico Anysio (Carl), Jomeri Pozzoli (Muntz), Eduardo Drummond (Russell), Nizo Neto (Dug).
Disney's third computer-animated film released in May, after Dinosaur and Finding Nemo.
Spanish dub: Luis Varela (Carl), Claudio Rodríguez (Muntz), Julian Mora (Russell), Fernando Cabrera (Dug).
The first Pixar film released in May after Finding Nemo, and the first not released in June after The Incredibles.
Ratatouille (2007) and Up are Pixar's two films that won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and featured characters in the main cast voiced by studio employees.
Up is the sixth animated film to feature characters in the main cast voiced by studio employees. Co-director Bob Peterson voiced Dug and Alpha, director Pete Docter voiced Kevin, and Jerome Ranft voiced Gamma. The previous five films: Lilo & Stitch (2002), Open Season (2006), Meet the Robinsons (2007), Ratatouille (2007) and Bolt (2008). Up is also the last example of its kind in the 2000s and the last production that was not a sequel or spin-off until Early Man (2018), nine years later.
Up is the sixth Disney film to win the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, after Mary Poppins (1964), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), A Bug's Life (1998) and Ratatouille (2007).
Russell's name was originally intended to be Lewis, but it was changed to avoid confusion with the main character in Disney's Meet the Robinsons.
Among Muntz's dogs, Bets and the characters voiced by John Cygan are the only ones voiced by professional actors rather than Pixar studio employees.
The film caused the once little-known term 'Cone of Shame' to become popular. The official name of this item is an Elizabethan collar or E-collar.