After exploring the terrestrial world of children, insects and fi sh, and after a stopover in the robotic future, the American studio made its tenth feature in 2009 that explores a poetic and very airy story about two characters.
Cantankerous old widower, Carl Fredricksen, decides to stick by the promise he made to his wife and become an explorer, following in the footsteps of their idol, Charles Muntz. The day this anti-hero is due to be carted off to an oldpeople's home, he hatches his plan and ties a cloud of helium balloons to his house. Success: the building takes to the skies, leaving his hometown far below, for a trip to South America. Carl's joy is short lived however when he fi nds his fl ying vessel is harbouring an unwelcome guest, Russell, the cheeky young scout he thought he'd got rid of. Forced into sudden cohabitation, the two will soon learn more about each other.
As the opening fi lm at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, Up was a great success with both critics and audiences. Awarded also at the Oscars and Golden Globes, the fi lm impresses with its breathtaking realism that borders on a caricature of early Disney fi lms, the sensitivity of the characters and topics treated.
Bob Peterson (Toy Story) and Pete Docter (Finding Nemo) have done an amazing job with this great lesson in life between a child and an old man who are total opposites, yet fi nd a way to come together.