Over the next week we will be posting numerous sections of an interview with the co-Directors and co-Writers of Disney/Pixar’s “UP,” Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson. You can check out the first section of the interview we posted here.

Below is the second part of the interview:

Q: In the “Up” Blu-ray, you talk about being inspired by a drawing of a grumpy old man holding balloons. At what point did you realize you had a movie, and not just a premise?

Bob Peterson: I think the first pitch to John Lasseter when we made him cry (with no visuals!) did we think we had the emotional underpinnings of the story. Story wise we had finally cracked Carl’s motivation for escaping life – that he had lived an amazing relationship with his wife that ended in something not quite completed. It’s a good feeling when you find that nugget of truth in your story. Humor and characters will come in and out of a story, but that nugget will remain.

Q: In an earlier interview, Pete Docter said he modeled Russell after Pixar’s Peter Sohn and one of his son’s friends. Has the “real” Russell seen the movie, and if so, what does he think of it?

Pete Docter: Russell’s namesake, my son’s friend, was happy with the film but told me we should add dinosaurs and a spy subplot to the story. (This is why I didn’t show it to him until we were finished.) Jordan Nagai seemed to like it as well, though said he didn’t really recognize his own voice.

Q: Did you consider using animals other than dogs as companions for Muntz?

Bob Peterson: Not really. We felt that dogs could play a wide variety of roles in the film just as dogs do in our lives – from loveable companion to enforcers. Ultimately a dog’s unquestioning love fit well with what Carl needed in the film – to accept new relationships in his life. And simply…DOGS ARE THE BEST!!!

Q: This isn’t the first time Pixar chose an old man as the main character in a plot; I remember the wonderful short “Geri’s Game”. But could you talk about the challenge of conceiving of a character like Carl, a lonely old man, in this film?

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: Was there a draft of the script before you took the research trip to Venezuela, or was it more of a treatment/outline, which was shaped by the locations?

Bob Peterson: We had a few drafts under our belt before we headed south. We workshop all of our stories until right before the film comes out, so we had some key elements of the story that were still in flux – mainly Charles Muntz. We hadn’t figured out why he would go to South America and stay there for so long – the idea of Kevin the bird therefore was still being developed. We wondered about making Kevin more magical – the bird who lays golden eggs, or contained the secret to eternal life. In the end, we went with a more “conventional” primitive bird whose bones cause Muntz’s Geographic society to doubt his credibility.

Q: What’s the most rewarding thing you’ve learned or taken from making this movie?

Pete Docter: Hmm, tough question. Overall I’d have to say that the best thing was the experience of making it — the research, the work, and most of all the amazing people we got to work with.

Q: With “Up” being a film that is so adventurous and exciting, if there was a ride or attraction for “Up” at Disneyland or Walt Disney World, what would you both like to see?

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 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: Watching one of the special features titled “Adventure Is Out There,” I was surprised to find out that six people were left behind until a helicopter could return after weather conditions cleared up. Curious, were you guys scared out of your wits having to stay huddled inside the “Lou” during the storm, or did you all embrace the weather conditions and think “how are we going to incorporate this into our film?”

Pete Docter: Bob and I were lucky enough to be in the first two helicopter trips, so we were already down when the storm closed in. I was in the second copter shuttle, and when we flew out we saw huge storm clouds closing in. The pilot said, “That’s going to be the last trip up here for today.” Uh oh… Once down, someone got us food, but we felt too guilty to eat, knowing our pals were still up there. I had stood in the “Lou” during an earlier downpour and it was pretty cramped quarters. I can’t imagine anyone would have slept at all had they been stuck there — neither the group on the mountain nor the group back on the ground! All part of the adventure I guess.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Related Articles To This Post:

• Interview With “UP” Writers And Directors Part 3
• Interview With “UP” Writers And Directors Part 1
• Interview With “UP” Writers And Directors Part 6
• Interview With “UP” Writers And Directors Part 5
• Interview With “UP” Writers And Directors Part 4
• Disney Pixar “UP” Blu-ray and DVD Review
• Roundtable with Up’s Ronnie del Carmen
• UP The Movie New Trailer
• UP The Video Game
• Barbie's Ken Joins Her In Toy Story 3
• UP The Video Game Is In Stores Now