FILM · 2009 · USA
Up
- Directed by
- Pete Docter
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Studio
- Pixar
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.
Summary: TMDB
11 Facts From the Making of Up
- #001
Pete Docter based Up's flying-house fantasy on the idea of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating, an idea that grew out of his own difficulty with social situations while growing up.
- #002
While Bob Peterson was away from Up for three months to co-direct Ratatouille, actor and writer Tom McCarthy joined Pete Docter on the story and created the character Russell.
- #004
With Carl and Russell as the leads, Docter and Peterson envisioned the house landing on a Soviet-era spy airship disguised as a giant cloud instead of a tepui, but Docter said the idea was rewritten because it resembled another Pixar project then in development.
- #005
Docter briefly included magic fountain-of-youth eggs laid by the bird to explain the age gap between Muntz and Carl, but removed the subplot as too distracting, judging that audiences would forgive the minor inconsistency; The Station Agent by Tom McCarthy was the biggest single early influence on Up.
- #006
Pete Docter said Up reflects his friendships with Disney veterans Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Joe Grant, all of whom died before the film's release, leading the film to be dedicated to them.
- #007
Joe Grant approved the script of Up and offered advice before his death in 2005, reminding Pete Docter that the audience needed an "emotional bedrock" given how wacky the adventure would become.
- #010
The South America setting in Up was chosen partly out of Pete Docter's love of tropical locations and partly because it was remote enough that Carl would be stuck with Russell without social authorities able to intervene.
- #011
Pete Docter and Bob Peterson concluded that a child character would be the most effective way to help Carl stop being stuck in his ways in Up.
- #017
Pete Docter cited Casablanca and A Christmas Carol as inspirations for Up, describing both as resurrection stories about men who lose something and regain purpose during their journey.
- #018
Pete Docter and Rivera cited the Muppets, Hayao Miyazaki, Dumbo and Peter Pan as inspirations for Up, and also saw parallels to The Wizard of Oz while trying to keep Up from feeling too similar.
- #021
Up director Pete Docter chose Venezuela as the film's setting after Ralph Eggleston showed him video of the tepui mountains in Canaima National Park.
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- Wikipedia Up (2009 film) — Wikipedia
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