The Making of Up with the Filmmakers

FLYING HIGH!
Step behind the scenes as I bring you the lowdown on Disney Pixar’s dynamite DVD, Up. I’ve got a backstage pass to the making of the awesome animation – and you’re invited!

UP, UP AND AWAY…
What’s the new Blu-ray about? “The story centers around a grumpy old man called Carl Fredricksen and an 8-year-old wilderness explorer called Russell,” explains the movie’s director, Pete Docter. “The pair fly off to South America for a wild adventure on a floating house suspended from helium balloons!”
BRIGHT SPARK!

“The original idea for the movie came from a drawing by Pete Docter,” explains producer, Jonas Rivera. “It was a simple drawing of a house being lifted up by hundreds of balloons and there was something wonderful about it. We decided we needed to create a story to go with the picture.”

WATER WORKS!
The head of Pixar Animation – John Lassetter – was moved to tears by the original pitch of the movie. “It’s true,” continues Rivera. “John Lassetter cried when the idea was pitched to him. He was giving us feedback with tears in his eyes!”

BE PREPARED…
A team of Pixar workers – including Pete Docter – took a trip to South America to research the movie and its stunning locations. “Pete bought just about every gadget he could find for the journey,” reveals the film’s character designer, Daniel Lopez. “The team got to experience what it truly felt like to be in the mountains for several days. They got dirty and muddy – and it was a great experience to inspire them.POP THE QUESTION!
“When we started work on the movie, we didn’t have the technology to animate more than 50 balloons at a time,” admits supervising technical director, Steve May. “Our goal was to animate 50,000 balloons to lift up Carl’s home in the movie, so we had to severely upgrade our technology.” How did the upgrade go? “Eventually we were able to animate 130,000 balloons,” chuckles May.

GOLDEN OLDIE!
The lead character in the movie is a cranky 78-year-old man called Carl – and a lot of time went into creating his animated appearance. “When we started animating Carl, we looked at a lot of older people for inspiration,” reveals character designer, Daniel Lopez. “We drew inspiration from actors from the past like Walter Matthau, or we looked at people we knew, like our grandparents and parents. We also looked at Spencer Tracey, who is a well-known actor from a great era. He’s a loveable guy who you want to hug – and that’s exactly what Carl is like.”