Synopsys

Carl is 78-year-old, grumpy old man who has sold balloons his entire life. Today, he risks losing the small house which he had built in the past with his late wife. With a bit of imagination and rather decided to let himself be taken away, he attaches thousands of balloons to his house, which flies away.

Finally, Carl lives the adventurous life that he and his beloved had meant to live! He didn't plan on having, however, an unexpected passenger: Russel, a young boy brimming with energy who is throwing his life away. In an incredible odyssey which leads them to South America, Carl and Russel are going to experience many events until reaching the heart of a lost world. It is time for them to discover the vast world and who they really are …


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In the secret of a Dream

John Lasseter, creative studio director at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation, confides: “I am so proud that UP is the tenth full-length Disney·Pixar film and the first Pixar film to be developed in 3D Relief. It is the funniest, I believe, of all the Pixar films and without a doubt also one of the most striking visually. The numerous qualities of the project have led me to hope it succeeds in 3D Relief from the start. To see this house rising and flying, pulled by thousands of multi-colored balloons, is a very strong moment. This film is unquestionably one of the most original that our team has conceived because it associates a tremendous story with a realization which pulls you into a separate universe”.

The main character of this extraordinary story was born quite simply, however, by drawing a character representing a grouchy old man selling colored and plump balloons. This image fired Pete Docter and Bob Peterson's imaginations. Pete Docter, director and scriptwriter, remembers: “Bob and I were delighted to team up because we complement each other perfectly. Besides, I like his humor. We were thinking about new concepts when we noticed that we sometimes share a funny urge at the end of a stressful day: a dream that we could be suddenly be transported to a magnificent deserted island lost in the middle of the ocean.”



The duo started toying with the idea and quickly, a striking and symbolic image stood out as inevitable departure point of the entire adventure: a house being lifted in the air by thousands of balloons. This image, no matter strong it is, could not be constituted as one of the elements of intrigue, but it is from that point that the creators of the project built the story and decided to focus the action on the character of an old man, Carl, a young 8-year-old adventurer named Russell, Muntz who is an egomaniac, a bird and a dog called Dug in addition to the rest of the pack.

Pete Docter explains: “All these characters tell us the story of an old man who in spite of his age and ordeals, decides to keep a promise that his wife and he had made to each other: to live a life of adventure. Not having done so yet saddens him.” Co-director and scriptwriter Bob Peterson comments: “This man who has sold balloons all his life decides to attach thousands of them to his chimney and when his house takes off, adventure takes flight.”