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Pixar's UP(2009).
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SDCC: Pixar Unveils UP at the Con

By: Edward Goodsmith
 Date: Monday, July 28, 2008

Until now Pixar has been keeping UP under wraps only leaking a logo, and occasionally a screenshot. Well finally we were able to see some footage. And from what I saw Pixar is sure to have another blockbuster movie on their hands. 
 
We are first introduced to UP’s main character, Carl. Carl’s a 78 year old widower living on a societal island. Carl’s beloved wife always had the dream of one day going to the remote Tepui Mountains of Venezuela. Unfortunately, she passed before she was ever able to go. Now that developers are trying to take his land, Carl is determined to go to these mountains come hell or high water.  
 
The landscape around our protag’s house has change quite a bit, and developers want Carl to move to a retirement home so they can bulldoze his house, and build a mega mall. Carl seizes the opportunity, and begins filling balloons. He fills up thousands, and thousands of balloons. And then, the day the retirement home’s goons show up to take him away he releases the balloons which are tied to his houses’ chimney. They lift Carl, house and all, right off of the foundation and send it sailing toward the Tepui Mountains his wife had dreamed about.   
 
The trip isn’t without it’s hardships, and the introduction of an annoying, unintentional stowaway named Russell. Russell is a wilderness scout that has every possible badge, save for one, the Helping the Elderly badge. And he’s bound and determined to help Carl, but Carl will have none of that.  
 
After we screened this footage I had an opportunity to talk to Peter Doctor about his film. Peter told us that his inspiration for Carl was all old people, and the stories they have to tell. He said that he was always interested in what his grandfather had to say,. When I asked him about the technical challenges presented in UP he said that there were no real technical challenges, but a laundry list of artistic challenges. Everything from the way cloth would rest on Carl’s 3 foot wide by 5 foot tall body, and all the way up to the way the balloons would look in proportion to the house.  
 
Peter also discussed the difficulty involved in presenting these amazing mountains since it’s a place very few people have seen. So, him and the rest of the Pixar crew decided that they couldn’t experience the splendor unless they traveled to Venezuela, and made the trek up to these remote mountains. And from everything I’ve seen so far, they seem to have pulled it off, because the landscapes were absolutely spectacular.  
 
My only reservation from what I’ve seen so far is the actual character of Carl. The biggest part of WALL E’s success was his lovability. And Carl isn’t as instantly loveable, granted the only footage we’ve seen so far is rough cuts, and I’m sure Pixar could pull off the character development.  
 
If you want to view the just released teaser trailer, then by all means, head over their official website and give it a view. Trust me, it’s worth it. Keep an eye out for more news regarding UP as it become available.
 

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Comments/Responses
1
almostunbiased • Jul 28, 2008, 06:08am •
Well, you can't say it isn't unique.

originaldave77 • Jul 28, 2008, 09:02am •
I don't think Pixar can do any wrong. John Lasseter could emerge from a brothel, covered in somebody else's blood, and we would all go: "Oh, Jooohn! You run along now, y'hear?"

I guess Pixar will have a movie every summer. Tradition is good, but it becomes less of an event, IMHO. I'd prefer an Incredibles 2 to a Cars 2, but thats my only complaint.


fft5305 • Jul 28, 2008, 11:10am •
Now originaldave, let's not get carried away. Maybe if he was covered in his *own* blood, but someone else's? I think that would raise a few eyebrows...

jamalcolm • Jul 28, 2008, 12:08pm •
Caught this panel too. The footage for UP was interesting and the landscapes were absolutely incredible. The biggest problem I've had with it is trying to explain it. The plot is fairly simple but sounds very odd when you talk about it. My wife's first question was: how are they going to make a full length movie out of THAT?

In this panel they also screened about 15 minutes (or so) from Bolt which is next big release. As the trailer on Wall-E showed, it is about a dog that is on an adventure show who really believes he is part of it. Not as original as UP, but full of potential. And it looked like Pixar hit it perfectly. The screening included the (incomplete) first 10 minutes of the movie which shows one of the television show episodes was awesome! It was fun and very exciting. I loved every minute of it.

They also showed a clip of two cats that work on the show (and who know it is a show) mocking Bolt. It was hilarious.

galaga51 • Jul 28, 2008, 05:00pm •
So the Up website... there doesn't seem much to see. Am I missing something?

"Oh good Lord, John, you're drenched in blood!"
"Oh well, you see - I was coming up with this great idea for a new Pixar Pic..."
"But there's so much blood, wh- where did it come from?"
"Oh, nevermind that. This film will be fantastic!"
"Really?"
"Have we failed yet?"
"I.. guess not."
"Exactly, now, go down to the cafeteria, Sata- I mean, I hired a Santa to hand out some early presents."

Whiskeymovie • Jul 29, 2008, 11:52am •
When is Pixar finally gonna give us a porno? I bet they could have some hot animated loving. I would love to see one with Unicorns and Midgets.

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