Pixar films are known for their attention to detail, intricate animation and elaborate character development-- Up is no exception to these qualities. It’s difficult to believe that the film came out over 9 years ago, but the moment that it hit theatres, audiences were mesmerized by the colorful adventure taken by Carl, Russell and the friends that they meet along the way. Here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Up:
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There are 10,297 balloons that lift Carl’s house into the sky.
Now that’s a whole lot of math that we didn’t want to do. Lucky for us, the film’s FX technical directors Jon Reisch and Eric Froemling did the work for us. But realistically speaking, they fell a little short - they calculated that it would actually take 25 million balloons to lift the house up in real life.
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The famous opening silent montage originally wasn’t so silent.
The opening scene to the film titled “Married Life” could be compared to a silent short film, as it tells the love story of Carl and Ellie with just the score playing through the entire scene. However, it was originally written to have dialogue between the couple-- where it portrayed them to have a yin and yang dynamic. The scene showed how well the couple got along, including how they finished each other’s sentences.
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When Carl is summoned for court, the number A113 is seen over the room number.
What’s so special about that number, you ask? This is an inside joke amongst Pixar animators, and you can see it in various other Pixar films including Toy Story 3, Monsters Inc. and Inside Out-- to name a few. It refers to a classroom number at the California Institute of the Arts, where many Pixar animators attended school.
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The Pixar animation team purposefully drew Carl to be more square and Russell to be more round.
The character’s shapes were meant to be representative of their personalities-- Carl being a “square” and Russell representing something more circular and playful (a balloon, perhaps?).
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In order for the staff to make Kevin and his other ostrich friends as realistic as possible, Pixar brought live ostriches into the studio.
Pixar doesn’t go to the zoo, the zoo goes to Pixar.
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To make the lift off of Carl’s house more realistic, Pixar decided to consult with an architect.
Someone did their homework. Home foundations probably aren’t exactly in most Pixar employee’s job descriptions, but they wanted to get it right anyway.
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That small but mighty voice of Young Ellie? That’s the voice of Director Pete Docter’s daughter.
And it’s likely no coincidence that her name is Ellie in real life.
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In Toy Story 3, there’s a postcard hung up in Andy’s room that is addressed to Carl and Ellie.
Just one example of Pixar’s extreme attention to detail.
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Jordan Nagai, who is the voice of Russell, would often run around the studio to make himself actually out of breath before saying his lines.
That’s one way to get your workout in.
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Paradise Falls is inspired by Angel Falls in Venezuela.
Angel Falls is the tallest waterfall on Earth at 3300 feet. However in the film, Paradise Falls is much taller at 9700 feet.
Pixar proves to us time and time again that their films stand out from any other animation studio. Whether it be bringing live ostriches into the studio, or placing hidden inside jokes into their films, they continue to confirm one thing: it’s all in the details.