I had the opportunity to attend a virtual press junket today with Pete Docter and Bob Peterson co-directors and writers for Disney’s© UP, the feature release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment©. Disney© plans to release UP on DVD and Blue-ray on November 10th.
At the beginning of the press junket I was able to view the never before seen Blu-ray and DVD bonus feature, “Adventure is Out There”.
The bonus clip documents the journey made by the filmmakers and artists into the deepest parts of Venezuela to view the Tapui’s. A Tapui is a tall mountain made of sandstone with a flat surface at the top, isolated from the surrounding landscape. Disney© wanted to expose the creative team of UP to some of the oldest exposed rock on earth and have them capture these images Carl’s adventure, (Carl is UP’s main character voiced by Ed Asner)
On to the interview…
Q: Could you share with us your thoughts on the development of the love story between Carl and Ellie?
A: Bob Peterson Great question. This love story was the spine of whole movie. When we develop these films we look for themes that guide us in how we tell the story. As the process of writing progressed, we realized that our main theme was “How does a person define adventure?” Is adventure out there in great deeds, or can it also be between people in the small moments that make up a life. Carl and Ellie’s love story helped us tell that theme – that small moments lead to a life’s adventure.
Q: Bob, Dug is definitely an interesting character. Do you have fun voicing him? His characterizations are very engaging and likable. Do you ever see a feature film around Dug?
A: Bob Peterson: Thanks!! It was a thrill for me to voice him, mainly because I have been a dog owner/lover for my entire life. This dog collar idea let us animate Dug with true dog behaviors. I crafted Dug’s voice around how I talk to me dogs. “Hiii you dawgs,” I’ll say with that Dug like voice. I also love how my dogs are interested in the simple things in life – balls, treats, SQUIRRELS!! Dogs to me have a soul – they’re very emotional and I’m happy to pay homage to dogs with this character!
Q: Which character from UP do you find that you most relate to?
A: Pete Docter: I relate most to Carl. I find myself griping about how they changed this or that, or how music these days is a bunch of noise. I’m going to make an excellent old man.
Q: What was your favorite sequence in the film, and why?
A: Pete Docter: I personally like the part we call “Married Life” — the wordless section showing Carl and Ellie’s life together. I think it plays to the strengths of film and animation in general, letting the visuals tell the story. And it seems to hit home for people. The bookend to this sequence is also one of my favorites — where Carl looks through Ellie’s adventure book (towards the end of the film).
Q: Of all the exotic locales in the world, why did you choose South America as the place of Carl and Russell’s big adventure?
A: Bob Peterson: We wanted our locale to reflect and resonate with Carl’s emotional state in the film. The Tepuis, or table top mountains, of South America are old, isolated, rugged, dangerous but with a soulful beauty – a pretty good description of Carl! Going there gave us a good sense of what it would be like for Carl and his friends to be up there. In the film, we used a great many plants and rock shapes that we saw from the Tepui.
Q: I’ve read a lot about the character of Carl as inspired by actor Spencer Tracy, but not so much about the source of Charles Muntz. Could you confirm if, in some way, it is inspired by actors as Errol Flynn or Clark Gable, funny adventurers?
A: Pete Docter: Yeah, we looked at Spencer Tracy, Walter Matthau, James Whitmore… as well as our own grandparents. For Muntz we modeled him on strong, 30’s era adventurous types — Errol Flynn and Walt Disney were two inspirations, as well as real life adventurers like Roland Amundsen and Percy Faucett.
Q: With “Up” being a film that is so adventurous and exciting, if there was a ride or attraction for “Up” at Disneyland or Disneyworld, what would you both like to see?
A: Bob Peterson: Pete Docter is so tall, that I think we could build a ride around him! Just string a gondola or ski lift up over his head, and you’ve got a great ride!! So far no plans for an UP ride, but of all of our films, with its adventurous flying and travel, UP seems like it would be a natural. As the voice of Dug, I’d love to have Dug appear in the theme parks somehow!
Q: It isn’t the first time Pixar chooses an old man as first character in a plot, I remember the wonderful short “Geri’s Game”. But could you talk us about the challenge of the conception of a character like Carl, an lonely old man, in this film?
A: Pete Docter: Yeah, Geri’s Game was great — I got to animate a shot on it and was surprised by the challenge of animating an older guy. One of the biggest problems was to break habits we have as animators; we generally try to loosen up movement with things like overlapping action and nice fluid movements. Watching real old men, we noticed there is a stiffness that comes with age — your bones fuse and you tend to be less flexible. So we came up with some rules for ourselves: Carl can’t turn his head beyond 15-20 degrees without turning his upper torso, for example. He can’t raise his arms too high. Then we also wanted to have him grow more flexible at the end, so he transforms into an action hero and rejoins life.
Q: What do you think it is the most important adventure in life?
Bob Peterson: The great thing about this film and any film we work on is that it contains truths taken from our lives. Pixar© lets the directors create an “autobiography.” in other words, things that are important to us make it into the film. I do believe that the greatest adventures happen between me and my kids, my wife, and in small moments. A morning around the kitchen table eating breakfast is an adventure in my house!!!!
UP will be released on DVD and Blue-ray on November 10th
I highly recommend seeing this movie if you missed it in the theaters. Disney’s© UP has received a 98% from Rotten Tomatoes and is barely being eclipsed by Disney’s© Finding Nemo at the box office. Even if you did watch UP in the theaters, you may want to snatch up the DVD to catch the bonus feature, “Adventure is Out There” documenting Bob and Pete’s adventure and creative process.
