1. BACKGROUND
2. PLOT
3. CHARACTERS & CAST
4. MUSIC
5. PRODUCTION
6. RECEPTION
7. LEGACY
8. FINAL THOUGHTS
9. REFERENCES

BACKGROUND

2009 saw the release of Pixar’s tenth feature film, Up.

It had been quite a ride for the Pixar Studios from their very first movie, Toy Story in 1995, up to this point. In just over a decade, Pixar had securely positioned themselves as one of the best studios in terms of creating family-friendly, high-quality animated movies.

Within their first ten movies, Pixar had followed the lives of toys, fish, monsters, rats, and even robots, and each time, they were met with critical acclaim. With Up, they were going to do things just a little bit differently, by focusing for once on normal people.

Although there are many human characters within the first ten Pixar movies, they are not normally the focus of the movie, and end up as more of a sidekick – like Linguini in Ratatouille (2007) – or the cause of trouble, such as Boo in Monsters, Inc. (2001). The Incredibles did come along in 2004, but that was about superheroes, not ordinary humans. Up was going to be all about human emotion and human connection, being much more relevant to real life experiences than anything Pixar had done before.

By the time Up debuted in theatres, it had been three years since The Walt Disney Company had acquired Pixar, but they weren’t done there. Disney were in the midst of purchasing Marvel Entertainment in 2009. In the movie world, Disney Animation were releasing their own movie, The Princess and the Frog, which had been heralded as Disney’s big return to hand-drawn animation[1]. Sadly, it did not exactly pan out that way and The Princess and the Frog was a bit of a disappointment to the company.

But The Walt Disney Company had nothing to worry about when it came to Pixar’s big movie of 2009 because Up was met with widespread praise. Its first ten or fifteen minutes were considered to be a huge movie moment in itself, and the rest did not disappoint. Though praise for Up has cooled since 2009, mostly due to Pixar continuing to hit it out of the park with their more recent films, it still has its fans.

For me, I did like Up when I first watched it at the cinema. However, as the years have gone by, Up is not one that I choose to see. I liked it enough when I re-watched it this week, because it has touching moments as well as some funny characters, but there’s just something about it that doesn’t make me love it. I think it’s the whole sense of adventure and going to lands unknown. That’s just not me, so having Up set in such an unfamiliar place makes me less interested than the more fantastical or even mundane Pixar movie settings.

PLOT

Up begins in a movie theatre, where a small boy is watching a documentary about the explorer Charles Muntz, who went to South America in a dirigible with some dogs and claimed to bring back the skeleton of the Monster of Paradise Falls. It was later discovered to be a fake, so Muntz vowed to only return once he had captured the creature alive, however, he never returned. Still, Muntz was a hero to many, especially this young boy, Carl.

Carl heads home after the movie, but hears a girl shouting from an abandoned house. Carl is intrigued because she is shouting “Adventure is out there”, Muntz’s catchphrase; she must be a fan too. Carl goes in and meets Ellie. She lets Carl join her club for adventurers, even giving him a badge made out of a grape soda bottle top to show his commitment to the club. Ellie says she can help Carl retrieve his blue balloon which he let go of as he entered the house and has floated up to the ceiling. Ellie takes him to the next floor and tells him to walk across a wooden plank over to it, assuring him it is safe. Carl then falls through the ceiling, proving it was not safe. At home with a broken arm, Ellie returns Carl’s balloon by flying it through his bedroom window. She climbs through it too and shows Carl her Adventure Book, saying how she dreams of going to Paradise Falls, just like Muntz. She makes Carl promise he’ll build them a blimp so they can go one day.

Then, we see that Carl and Ellie got married. They bought a house, renovated it, both got jobs at the zoo – Ellie as a zookeeper, Carl as the balloon seller – and then try to start a family. However, it turns out this was not on the cards for them, and they instead try to save up to head to Paradise Falls. But life doesn’t work out that way, and they keep having to use their money to fix broken roofs, replace car tyres, etc. As they approach old age, Carl finally gets enough money to buy them plane tickets there, but as he is about to surprise Ellie with this, she is taken ill and ends up in hospital. Ellie does not recover and sadly dies, leaving Carl with only his memories and their brightly coloured house.

We then see that Carl is still living in the same house, playing out the same daily routine, and yet, everything around him has changed whilst he has stayed the same. I Carl is living in the middle of a huge construction site, refusing to sell his house to the developer. Later that day, a boy called Russell shows up at Carl’s front door. He is part of the Wilderness Explorers troop and wants to gain his “Assisting the Elderly” badge, so offers to help Carl with something. Carl isn’t interested, but Russell won’t leave until Carl comes up with something. Carl claims to have a bird problem in his yard, a made-up bird called a “snipe”. Russell vows to catch the snipe in his yard for him and heads off on his search.

Then, Carl is bothered yet again, by a construction vehicle reversing in front of him. It doesn’t stop in time and accidentally hits Carl’s mailbox. He is furious with all these workers not being careful and damaging his property. As one of the workers tries to help Carl fix the mailbox, Carl becomes angry, tells him not to touch it, and then hits him over the head with his walker, leaving the worker with a bloody gash on his head. Carl runs inside as the rest of the site staff rush over to assist. Carl is later summoned to court where he is ordered to go to Shady Oaks Retirement Village to live out the rest of his days; they’ll collect him tomorrow.

But Carl won’t come quietly. When the people from the retirement village come for him the next morning, Carl gives them his suitcase and says he just wants to say goodbye to the house. However, this was all a trick and as the nurses go to wait for him in their van, suddenly, thousands of balloons pop up behind the house and it is lifted into the air. He can finally fulfil his promise to Ellie and take them over to Paradise Falls – what has he got to lose trying anyway? As Carl settles himself in his armchair, close to his makeshift steering device, he thinks he hears a knock at the door. How can that be; he’s thousands of feet in the air? Carl ignores it, thinking it’s all in his mind. But there it is again. He goes to the door.

And who should be there, but the Wilderness Explorer Russell, who is hanging on to the porch for dear life. He says he was on the porch, chasing a snipe, which may’ve actually been a squirrel, when the house took off. He begs to be let inside. Carl initially refuses, but then relents. Russell runs inside and is soon fascinated by Carl’s floating house. Russell gives the steering a try, much to Carl’s annoyance. Then, Russell just starts talking about everything. Carl doesn’t want to hear that right now, and turns his hearing aid down while he tries to get them down so Russell can get home. But Russell starts waving his arms around, looking scared. They are about to fly right into a storm. Despite Carl’s attempts to steer them away, they are sucked in. Objects in the house start flying all over the place, and Russell is almost thrown out the front door that keeps opening and closing. Carl tries to protect all of his and Ellie’s belongings, but passes out.

Carl wakes up to find them in calmer weather. Russell is just glad he isn’t dead! Russell proudly announces that he steered them through with help from his handy GPS tracker – which he then proceeds to drop from the house. Carl plans to drop Russell at the nearest bus stop, and releases some balloons to decrease the altitude. But they come to a misty area and start to see land much quicker than they expected. The house crashes onto rocky terrain, with Carl and Russell being tossed overboard. Carl hangs onto the house by its hosepipe and almost falls off a cliff. Once the mist clears, Carl sees that they have made it very close to Paradise Falls – just the wrong side of the cliff; Paradise Falls is all the way over on the other side. Him and Russell will have to walk the house over there.

In the jungle, dogs seem to be hunting a bird, but these dogs are different because they have collars that allow them to talk. As they get close to this bird, they hear static – it is Carl’s hearing aid acting up again. Carl and Russell have made it into the jungle and are going on with their trek, despite Russell’s protests about being too tired to walk and how he needs a break. I used to whine just like that about having to walk far! Russell becomes distracted by some tracks on the ground and follows them, believing them to be the snipe. At one point, the tracks stop and Russell snacks on a chocolate bar as he figures out what to do. But the bird starts eating the chocolate. It comes through the bushes and is shown to be a huge, multi-coloured bird. Russell takes the bird over to Carl, who is shocked that his made-up “snipe” actually exists! Russell begs Carl to let him keep the bird, which he has named Kevin. Carl says he can’t, but Russell asks “Ellie”, who Carl keeps talking to, who says he can keep it. Carl can’t be bothered to argue and Kevin follows them anyway.

They get to some more rocks and hear a voice. Carl assumes there must be a human nearby, although he is thrown by the fact this man seems to say “I can smell you”. It turns out Carl was trying to converse with a rock, because no-one can see through the mist. Russell notices all the rocks are funny shapes and points out one that looks like a dog. But this dog is real! He comes over to them and they discover it can talk and his name is Dug. Dug tells Carl and Russell that his collar, built by his master, allows him to talk and that he is looking for a bird. Dug then sees Kevin and asks to take him “as his prisoner”. Carl says he can, but Russell tells Dug to leave Kevin alone.

Carl now has Russell, Kevin, and Dug on this journey and tries his best to ignore them, even trying to lose Kevin and Dug at one point by throwing a piece of chocolate and one of the tennis balls from his walker deep into the jungle – but it doesn’t work. Dug is then contacted by the other dogs, who see that Dug has the bird. They can smell people around here though, and see that Dug is with a “small mailman”. They track Dug to get to them.

Russell tries to set up camp for the night, but becomes frustrated that he can’t put up a tent. Carl is surprised that the Wilderness Explorer “expert” has never been camping. Russell tells Carl that his dad promised to take him camping but he’s busy, working away a lot. Russell says he tries to talk to him on the phone, but that Phyllis says Russell annoys his father too much. Carl is shocked to find Russell calling his mother by her first name, to which Russell responds that Phyllis isn’t his mum; his parents are divorced, or at least separated. Russell says once he gets his new badge, his father will come to the ceremony where he’ll receive it and everything will be great. He then gets Carl to promise they’ll protect Kevin, even telling him to cross his heart, which is something Ellie used to get him to do too…

The next morning, Carl wakes up to see his house’s balloons are drooping, so they need to get moving. Kevin starts calling out into some twisty rocks, where Carl and Russell learn that Kevin is a girl and needs to get back to her babies; she leaves. Shortly after, Carl and Russell – and Dug – are surrounded by dogs. The dogs are angry with Dug for losing the bird, and decide to take Carl and Russell back to their master.

They make it to a cave, where Carl excitedly learns their master is the explorer Charles Muntz! Muntz is tickled by the fact Carl is walking his house to Paradise Falls and invites them in for dinner. There, they see that Muntz has a whole pack of dogs, who work as his staff, cooking and cleaning for him. They are allowed inside Muntz’s airship, the legendary Spirit of Adventure, which doubles as a home and museum for all of Muntz’s achievements. Over dinner, Muntz tells Carl about his need to find the Monster of Paradise Falls and bring it back home, so that nobody will ever call him a liar or a fraud again. Russell sees the skeleton and says it looks just like Kevin. Carl quickly tells Muntz the bird has gone and they don’t know where it is, but Muntz knows they know more than they are letting on. Carl tries to make a quick exit with Russell, but Muntz tells the dogs to chase them.

As Carl and Russell attempt to outrun the dogs, with the floating house still on their backs, Dug tries to slow the dogs down. Kevin returns and throws them all on his back, running through the rocky cliffs to get them to safety. At one point, they reach a gorge. Kevin jumps over it, but Alpha, Muntz’s lead dog, bites Kevin’s leg, injuring her. Alpha is shaken off, and Carl, Russell, Dug, and Kevin make it to the other side. Russell patches up Kevin’s leg, telling Carl they need to get her home.

Muntz is angry with his dogs for losing them, but uses the tracker on Dug’s collar to follow. As Russell, Carl, Dug, and Kevin make it back to Kevin’s home, they find Muntz’s ship right above them. Muntz successfully catches Kevin after setting light to Carl’s home. Carl is too distracted with stopping the fire to save Kevin, and she is taken into the ship. Russell is distraught, but Carl tells him he didn’t ask for anything of this and just needs to get to Paradise Falls. He goes alone, getting his house where it needs to be.

Carl goes into his house and sits in his chair. He looks at Ellie’s Adventure Book, disappointed she couldn’t be here too. Carl then sees pictures in the back of the book he’s never noticed before. It’s pictures of their life together, with a note from Ellie telling him to have a new adventure of his own. Carl knows what he needs to do. Carl tries to speak to Russell, but he goes off to get Kevin, using just a few balloons and a leaf blower. Carl throws all his furniture out of the house so it can float again and he can follow him. Dug knocks on the door and sadly says he was there because he loves Carl. Carl tells Dug to get inside and agrees to be his new master.

Russell gets over to Muntz’s airship but is quickly caught and tied up. Muntz then sees Carl’s house through the window. Muntz puts Russell on the gangway and it starts to open, causing Russell to fall out of the ship. Carl catches him just in time and puts Russell inside the house, telling him to stay there. Carl goes on to Muntz’s ship with Dug. Using the vents, Carl and Dug get to Kevin, who is being guarded by the dogs. Using another tennis ball from his walker, Carl distracts the dogs and shuts the door on them. They alert Muntz. Russell then proceeds to not do as he’s told and falls out of the house, clinging onto the hosepipe to save him, but the house now starts to float away, as the hosepipe was tying the house to Muntz’s ship. Muntz orders his dogs to shoot down the house, as he goes after Carl. The two have a sword fight, and Carl manages to escape after spitting his false teeth into Muntz’s face! Him and Kevin get on to the roof, with Dug being pursued by the dogs. Dug manages to put Alpha in a “cone of shame”, making Dug the new Alpha.

Meanwhile, Muntz has followed Carl and Kevin to the roof. Russell has managed to climb the hose and flies the house towards them. Dug arrives and they all get into the house, but Muntz shoots at the house, causing it to fall. Carl jumps out and tries to save the house and everyone in it from falling. Muntz bashes his way into the house with his shotgun. As Russell, Dug, and Kevin cower in the living room, Carl has an idea; he tells Russell to grab hold of Dug and Kevin. He waves a chocolate bar at them and Kevin jumps through the window to get it. Muntz attempts to follow but his legs get caught in balloons and he falls.

Kevin, Dug, and Russell didn’t make the jump – but they are found dangling on the hosepipe. That hose was attached to the house, and now it is not. Carl watches as his house falls to the ground, knowing he did the right thing. They then reunite Kevin with her babies, and Carl, Russell, Dug, and the other dogs take the airship home.

Back home, Russell is at his badge ceremony, having successfully “assisted the elderly”, but his dad doesn’t show up to pin it on him. Carl arrives to do this instead, but actually gives him the grape soda badge Ellie gave him as a child. Carl says Russell rightfully deserves to have “the Ellie badge”. Although Russell’s father was not there to see this, his mother was, as was Dug, and all the other dogs. Carl and Russell then sit on a curb together eating ice cream and counting cars like Russell remembers doing with his dad as the Spirit of Adventure flies above them. We also see that Carl’s house drifted down to the exact spot by Paradise Falls where Ellie and Carl had always dreamt of living.  

CHARACTERS & CAST

Carl Fredricksen is a bit of a curmudgeon at the beginning of Up, but it’s not entirely his fault he acts this way. His wife has died, and her memory is everywhere within his house, and he is feeling pressure to sell his beloved home as it sits within a construction site. Life has gone on without him, and Carl is struggling to figure out how to move forward. Instead of accepting that his life is over, Carl comes up with a crazy plan to keep his home and his childhood promise to wife Ellie to finally take her to Paradise Falls – and how is he going to do that? With a ton of balloons, obviously. This crazy idea leads Carl to Paradise Falls, but this journey also leads him to a kid who just wants to feel supported; to a dog who wants a kind master; and a bird who just needs help to survive. Carl, with help from Russell and Dug, manages to save Kevin from Carl’s former hero-turned-madman Charles Muntz. They then learn to take care of each other. Carl becomes Dug’s new “master”, giving Dug a home and Carl a new purpose in life. Russell also gives Carl some purpose, as he never had children so felt alone in the world without Ellie. Now he has Dug and Russell, Carl doesn’t have to be isolated anymore, and it gives him a reason to keep on living and feel more upbeat too.

Ed Asner was chosen to be the voice of Carl. Asner is known for his portrayal of the character Lou Grant in the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77), and then reprised his role in the spin-off Lou Grant (1977-82). He won numerous awards for his character in these shows, including three Golden Globe Awards in the 1970s and five Primetime Emmys throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. Asner was no stranger to voice acting either. Prior to his role in Up, he had voiced the character of J. Jonah Jameson in the animated series Spider-Man (1994-98), as well as voicing minor roles in other series such as Recess (1997-2001) and W.I.T.C.H. (2004-06). More recently, Asner was cast as Abe Rifkin in the Netflix series Dead to Me (2019-22), and Claude in Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021). He was also Santa Claus in Elf (2003).  Asner continued to reprise his role as Carl in other Pixar projects until his death in 2021. He stated that he liked voicing the role and even finished the movie wanting to be more like Carl[2].

Then we have Russell, who is dedicated to becoming a great Wilderness Explorer. Wilderness Explorers are just like the Scouts or something similar, working towards badges and doing outdoorsy activities, like tracking animals and camping. Russell hasn’t had his father around to help him with some of these activities, but he continues to try his best and has a lot of badges to prove his hard work. Russell meets Carl – or Mr. Fredricksen, as he is known to Russell – because he needs to assist someone elderly to get his next badge. After Carl tells Russell to hunt a fictional bird called a snipe, Carl is forced to spend more time with Russell as they end up stuck on Paradise Falls together. Carl ropes Russell into walking his house over to the waterfall so that Russell can properly assist him and get sign-off on his badge. Although this isn’t exactly what Russell had in mind, it leads to him meeting and protecting an endangered animal, the “snipe” Kevin. Even when Carl seemingly abandons Kevin, and puts her in harm’s way, Russell is determined to rescue her from Muntz and reunite her with her babies. It’s Russell that really knocks some sense into Carl, who knows he was wrong to abandon Kevin and can’t let Russell be in danger as well. Russell helps Carl become a happier person, by allowing him to focus on a new adventure, instead of living his life in the past. Russell needs a fatherly figure in his life and with his father busy, he is only too happy to have Carl there for him.  

Russell was voiced by Jordan Nagai. Pixar were quite adamant they did not want to hire a kid who already had acting experience, as they wanted someone who was just as innocent and unsure as a child would be in the situations that Russell finds himself in. In this way, Jordan Nagai was just like a regular kid, however, because of this, he did struggle at times with his recording sessions. Co-director of Up, Pete Docter, worked with Nagai on this, doing different exercises with him to get Nagai to deliver his lines in just the right way. Russell is an incredibly likeable character, so Nagai did a great job with his voice acting here. Nagai has since moved away from acting and is seemingly pursuing a different career.

Then there is the adorable, lovable Dug. He is just one of Charles Muntz’s pack of dogs, with there being around fifty of them. Muntz’s other dogs have been trained well, either being sent away to track the bird, what Muntz calls the Monster of Paradise Falls, or being used as Muntz’s “household staff”. Dug isn’t exactly like that, because he isn’t particularly focused and although he tries hard to track the bird, Dug isn’t as competent as the others at doing this. I’m surprised Dug wasn’t just Muntz’s pet, to be honest. Anyway, luckily, he wasn’t otherwise we would never have seen him in this movie. Instead, Dug is a key character, abandoning Muntz as his master and joining Carl and Russell on the “good guy side”. Dug initially wants to take Kevin back to Muntz as “his prisoner”, but soon learns that he’d rather be with Carl and Russell, as they are kind to him and don’t order him around. Dug fully betrays his master by helping Carl and Russell escape the other dogs, and then has a big moment in the final battle as he manages to lower Alpha’s rank within the pack and inadvertently make himself the new leader, making his journey go full circle as it wasn’t long before that he was placed in “the cone of shame” for his incompetence.

Bob Peterson, the co-director of Up, voiced Dug and was very happy to do this, because Dug is a joyful dog who loves everyone and everything. He is a young labrador and it is said these dogs have very little short-term memory, which is just Dug all over[3]! Peterson also voiced the leader, Alpha, who has two different “voices” in this movie, his real deep tone of voice, and then the high-pitched one when his collar is broken. Peterson had worked on the earliest Pixar movie, Toy Story (1995), within the animation department, and continued to work on other Pixar films in both a story and voice acting capacity. For example, Peterson co-wrote the screenplays for Finding Nemo (2003) and Cars 3 (2017), but has also voiced other Pixar characters, including Roz in Monsters, Inc. (2001) and its spin-offs, and Mr. Ray in Finding Nemo. Peterson also wrote, created, and directed, as well as reprising his voice role of Dug, in the animated short series Dug Days (2021-23).

The dogs Beta and Gamma were voiced by Delroy Lindo and Jerome Ranft, respectively. Lindo has recently appeared as Adrian Boseman in The Good Fight (2017-22) and as Edwin Alexander in the Hulu series UnPrisoned (2023-24). Lindo has also been cast in the upcoming horror film Sinners (2025), which will star Michael B. Jordan. Jerome Ranft is the brother of Pixar legend Joe Ranft, who passed away in 2005. Ranft is a character sculptor for Pixar having worked on many of their movies including A Bug’s Life (1998); Finding Nemo (2003); Cars (2006); and Brave (2012). Ranft took over two voice roles in two sequels from his brother: Jacques in Finding Dory (2016) and Red in Cars 3 (2017). 

Finally, we have the villain of Up, Charles Muntz. He was a heroic explorer who discovered new lands and creatures, bringing them back to the US to show off his discoveries. However, when his latest skeleton of the Monster of Paradise Falls is found to be a fake, Muntz vows never to return home without bringing the bird back with him alive. Because of this, and Kevin’s skill for losing hunters, Muntz has been stuck in Paradise Falls for decades, trying to get this bird so he can go home and prove he wasn’t a liar. For Muntz, this is all about his pride; he doesn’t care about conservation or animals, and doesn’t even consider the distress Kevin is in at the point she is captured, or about the fact she has babies that need her and will die without her. Muntz just needs to get the bird and then get home – and he doesn’t need an elderly man and a child stopping him from doing so.

Charles Muntz was voiced by Christopher Plummer, perhaps best known for his role as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965). Plummer portrayed Rudyard Kipling in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) and in more recent years appeared as John Adams Gates in National Treasure (2004); as Henrik Vanger in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011); and replaced Kevin Spacey as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World (2017), for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Plummer had won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role of Hal Fields in the comedy-drama film Beginners (2010), winning other accolades as well. Plummer was also cast as Harlan Thrombey in the mystery film Knives Out (2019). In terms of voice roles, Plummer had some experience of this prior to Up, having voiced Henri le Pigeon in the Don Bluth film An American Tail (1986) and narrating the animated preschool series Madeline (1993-2001). Plummer also had a long history of the stage, starring in adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays throughout his life, and also starring as Cyrano in the 1974 original Broadway production, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, having also played the title character in the TV movie Cyrano de Bergerac in 1962. Plummer passed away in 2021.

There is another voice actor to briefly mention in Up and that is the recurrence of Pixar’s favourite voice artist, John Ratzenberger, who voices the construction foreman Tom.

MUSIC

The score for Up was composed by Michael Giacchino. His first score for an animated movie was on Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004), for which he was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Score Soundtrack Album and Best Instrumental Composition. Giacchino then continued to collaborate with Pixar filmmakers, working on the music for Ratatouille (2007), winning a Grammy for Best Score; Cars 2 (2011); Inside Out (2015); Coco (2017); and The Incredibles 2 (2018). Giacchino also composed the music for Disney’s Zootopia (2016). Outside of Pixar, he has composed music for the most recent Spider-Man films, the three latest Jurassic World movies, and for the series of Disney television Christmas specials, Prep & Landing (2009-11). Giacchino was also nominated for Primetime Emmy awards for his work on the series Lost (2004-10), winning one for his underscore of its pilot episode.

I can’t talk about Up’s score without mentioning the most recognisable track, “Married Life”, which is the sequence showing Carl and Ellie’s life together. In many years to come, I think this piece of music will be on lists of the best movie themes, alongside greats such as the themes from James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars. This track is bright and sunny when it needs to be happy; and melancholic and slow when it needs to be sad. It corresponds perfectly to what is being shown on the screen.

But it would be unfair to say “Married Life” is the only good piece of music within Up, especially as many of the motifs within this piece feature in others. A slower, quieter version of this is basically the track “Stuff We Did”, which can be heard as Carl is flipping through Ellie’s Adventure Book in Paradise Falls. “Up with Titles”, which features during the Opening Credits, is happy and upbeat, and reminiscent of the music of the jazz era. I also like the piece “Carl Goes Up”, when the house actually lifts into the air and flies away. This is a huge moment for Carl, and is suitably dreamy, as many of us at some point in our lives have wished we could fly – and what better way than to do that in your own home.

In terms of creating a sense of adventure, “Escape from Muntz Mountain” is a good example, which is used when Muntz’s dogs are chasing Russell, Carl, Kevin, and Dug over the rocky terrain near to Muntz’s cave. This is a more perilous moment for the group, whereas the battle scene with Muntz feels more determined; they have to save Kevin or die trying is what it feels like, so “Seizing the Spirit of Adventure” feels less like a scary moment, although it still evokes the feeling of threat and peril at times. I also like “Memories Can Weigh You Down”, which marks Carl’s decision to go and save Kevin – and Russell, who has gone off on his own to save him.

You can also hear an excerpt from a famous opera in Up, and that is an instrumental version of the aria “Habanera” from the opera Carmen, composed by Bizet. This plays as Carl gets ready for his day, very slowly and moodily, early on in the film, before seemingly setting out to go about his day – before making a quick right turn to just sit on his porch and look at all the construction going on around him.

The score for Up was nominated at many award ceremonies. One of these was at the Academy Awards, where it won the award for Best Original Score – a first for Pixar – despite competition from the blockbuster Avatar (2009), as well as The Hurt Locker (2008).

Up’s music was also nominated at the Annie Awards for Best Music, where it surprisingly lost out to Bruno Coulais’ music for the animated movie Coraline (2008); at the BAFTA Film Awards for Best Film Music, which it won; the Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Score, where it also won; and the Golden Globes for Best Original Score, winning yet again. At the Grammy Awards, Up received further nominations, for Best Score Soundtrack Album and Best Instrumental Composition for Michael Giacchino, winning both of these, as well as Best Instrumental Arrangement for Giacchino and Tim Simonec and the track “Up With End Credits”, losing to “West Side Story Medley”, arranged by Bill Cunliffe.

This is just the awards won at the “major” award ceremonies. Up won more awards for Best Original Score or Best Music at other ceremonies.

PRODUCTION

The initial concept for Up came from a simple drawing of a house buoyed by balloons. Pete Docter started to think about who would be in there, and where they would be going. Docter began to develop this idea with Bob Peterson. After Docter drew a sketch of a grumpy old man holding balloons, this gave them a further idea to work from[4].

It then had to be decided where this house was going and the thought of having this old man and a kid stuck together somewhere remote was the most appealing. After watching a documentary by Adrian Warren about table, or flat-topped, mountains in the jungles of Venezuela, they felt this was a great place to set their movie and so they and others from the Pixar team went to Venezuela to see these mountains in person.

After a long journey from San Francisco, near to where the Pixar Studios are based, to Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, and then onto smaller towns, they arrived via helicopter at the base of Mount Roraima. The group were in awe of the looming rock above and couldn’t believe it was possible to climb it. But climb it they did, over mud, plant roots, rocks, and unsteady ground. It was a difficult trek but they made it to the top of the flat-topped mountain, or tepui as they are also known, and set up camp so they could study the rock formation, the plant life, and even the weather systems from that height.

On these mountains, the Pixar team found that the rocks formed strange and seemingly structurally unsound shapes. They learnt this was caused by the layers of sandstone that formed them, with softer layers being weathered away over the years, leaving holes in some of the rock works. It was also discovered that these mountains have their own weather systems as they are so high up, with rock sides being heated from the sun causing swirling clouds that descend like a mist. The weather would change quickly, going from sun, to cloud, to storms and rain in just a few minutes.

They were also able to discover other areas including the Valley of Crystals, which is, as the name would suggest, an area full of quartz crystals, and the Kukenán-tepui. This was a very inhospitable area, full of rocky and marshy areas, meaning there was no place to camp. Instead, they took a helicopter over there, expecting just to be there for an hour or two to study the landscape. It was so full of rocks that it created mazes, and supposedly people have vanished in these labyrinths. At the end of their time there, the helicopter came back for them but the group had to be taken off in batches. At this point, as half the group had been returned, a storm closed in and the helicopter was unable to retrieve the rest. Those remaining had to hurdle under one rock structure that only allowed for the group to stand and be sheltered from the weather. The storm lasted longer than they expected, and as they were preparing to spend the night there, the helicopter returned just before dark.

After their mountain experience, the Pixar team were off to Canaima National Park to see the famous Angel Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in the world. It is so tall that water vaporises, creating a mist, before it even hits the bottom of the rock face.

All of these sketches and experiences in Venezuela created countless moments of inspiration for the movies, such as Angel Falls itself being the inspiration behind Paradise Falls; a rock being mistaken for a person being something that happened to some of the team in real-life and something that Carl and Russell experience; as well as cave systems being used for the design of Muntz’s cave[5].

Now they had the overall setting confirmed, they had to work on the house. Since Ellie and Carl are seen renovating their new house, everything had to be a bit clumsy and imperfect, however, the house remains cosy. The team were inspired by the grandparents’ houses, full of knick-knacks and mementos, with old-fashioned furniture and worn carpets. The Up house had to look lived in. To properly animate this house, a wood model was created and painted to look just like the house, and was filled with mini furniture and lighting like it was a little dollhouse. This helped show the animators how everything would look inside, but also helped with the floating aspect of the house, since we would be seeing the bottom of the house for much of the film, as it floats above Carl and Russell whilst they walk it through Paradise Falls. It’s unusual to see the underside of a house, so the Pixar team had to look at houses on stilts to see just what it looks like. Unsurprisingly, it’s kind of dirty[6]!

It is believed by some that the inspiration for Up came from a real house called Whitewood Cottage in Seattle. It was owned by Edith Macefield who bought the house in 1952 and lived there with her mother. Her mother died in 1976. Gradually, the houses surrounding Whitewood Cottage began to be sold to make way for a development project, however Macefield refused to sell, receiving media attention in 2006 when she turned down a reported offer of $1 million for her house. In the end, Macefield left her house to a construction worker after she died in 2008. This worker had cared for her when she was ill. Whitewood Cottage was later sold for around $300,000 to a developer and has changed hands a few times since then. Currently, the house remains standing surrounded by high-rises[7]. Because of the extraordinary similarities between Carl’s story and Edith’s, many claim that Up used this story as inspiration, however, work on Up began in 2004, whereas Edith’s plight to remain in her home reportedly did not come to be known until 2006. Pixar did tie balloons to the top of Whitewood Cottage as publicity for Up in May 2009 though.

Obviously, Edith’s house did not actually fly away, but Carl’s had to, just with balloons. Pixar animated around 10,000 balloons for the movie, and made them realistic with their buoyancy, strings hitting each other, and some coming loose and flying away after the “big reveal”. However, the number is not realistic at all, as millions of balloons, not thousands, would actually be needed to make a house fly. Up may not be scientifically accurate but that shouldn’t be a huge surprise really. The use of Muntz’s dirigible is closer to real-life though as other dirigibles and airships were studied[8].

Then, there are character designs and story points. The character of Carl began life as a sketch of a grouchy guy holding colourful balloons. This sketch was used to develop the character further. The team at Pixar went to a care home to research not only the look of elderly people, but also for their behaviours and their movements, as this was going to be the first time Pixar had featured an elderly man as the protagonist in one of their movies, dubbing him a “geriatric hero”. It’s quite rare generally for older people to be the focus of any story, so this film showed that just because someone is getting older doesn’t mean they’ve lost their zest for life; they just might need help finding it again. By observing older people, the animators were able to successfully recreate the lines of the face, such as forehead lines and crow’s feet, as well as limitations of movement, like in the fingers and back, to turn the character of Carl into an accurate representation of an older person. Carl might struggle to walk fast, or be able to beat someone up like a boxer, but he’s a tough old guy, willing to fight for what’s right[9].

It apparently took a while for Pixar to settle on a character design for Russell. All manner of kids were drawn: shy ones, smart ones, tall ones, skinny ones. In the end, animator Peter Sohn drew a version of his younger self, which inspired the design and he became the accidental reference material for the character. Russell is a very excitable, enthusiastic kid, who just wants to help everyone all the time and talks perhaps a little bit too much! Although it is not unusual in movies for the main child character to be missing a parent, in one way, Pixar were fairly progressive here because it was openly discussed that Russell’s parents are simply not together anymore, either divorced or separated. This is a new concept for Carl, who wouldn’t have grown up in a world where this really happened, so to see Russell discussing something that many children go through in modern times must have been positive for many young viewers watching Up who were going through a change in their family life. Russell is also Pixar’s first Asian-American character[10].

Pixar did research on canine behaviour to look at how Muntz’s dog pack would interact with each other. They specially learnt from Dr. Ian Dunbar, a dog behaviour expert, who consulted the team on things such as dog behaviour and hierarchy. Dunbar says that hierarchy is maintained by lower individuals proving they are not a threat to the leader, instead of the leader needing to be particularly vicious. In Up, Alpha is the designated leader of the pack and there are multiple instances when Dug and the others cower in front of him to show this. This type of behaviour leads to harmony in large groups of dogs. The team also used reference material of dogs running on uneven ground and hazardous terrain to learn how they would move in the chase scene when Muntz has ordered his dogs to get Carl and Russell after he learns of their knowledge of the bird.

Next, there is Kevin, who was “voiced” by Pete Docter. Again, it was a struggle to design Kevin as there were so many ways the character design could go with Kevin being an imaginary bird. They just knew it had to be something interesting to have kept Muntz in the jungle for fifty years searching for it. Initially, they looked towards North American mythology, for the story and design of the Thunderbird, who could create thunder from the flap of its wings. Then they tried making Kevin a golden bird. In the end, they settled on making Kevin a cross between an ostrich and a parrot, which meant looking at lots of ostriches for reference material, to see how they walk, bob their heads, and use their necks. The parrot element of Kevin comes from her colourful, iridescent feathers. Kevin is the character that brings everyone together, as each character is looking for Kevin. Russell and Carl want to save her, whilst Muntz and his dogs want to capture her. Muntz sees Kevin as the key to proving his sanity and is the target of his obsession, whereas for Russell, Kevin is just his friend. Carl wants to protect Kevin as Ellie was a zookeeper and loved animals[11].

Muntz had many different endings in initial story drafts of Up, including one where he was somewhat redeemed by having a conversation with Carl about how he too had lost his wife, but it was decided there was too much talking here, detracting from the real focus of the story: Carl. Instead, it was decided Muntz would have to be killed off in some way. One initial idea was to have Muntz get lost forever in the “twisty rocks” as he followed Kevin in to the area. Then, it was decided that there should be a battle scene on the airship, but Muntz would’ve been stuck in the house and fallen with it. The Pixar team felt this was a bit weird as the house was a representation of Ellie, so leaving Muntz with her was a strange thing to do. Next, they had him leap out of the house and get caught in balloons, but he would’ve been pulled up into the air. This left too much discussion around whether he was really dead or not, so this idea was simply adjusted slightly to have Muntz go down with the balloons, thus allowing him to join the group of villains who die by falling, such as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Mother Gothel in Tangled (2010)[12]! 

Finally, we can’t talk about Up without mentioned the “Married Life” sequence. In the story, Pixar felt they had to show life Ellie and Carl’s life from marriage to old age, and even more importantly, the audience had to learn about Ellie and what she was like to see why Carl would go through this journey for her. But there was a slightly less touching version of this sequence that began…with punching.

Sure, some kids show they like each other by play-fighting with them, and in this case, Carl and Ellie’s relationship all started with a punch that Ellie gave Carl after seeing him try to trap a bird as a kid. This then evolved into a punch war, until one day, Carl starts to look at Ellie differently. We would have then been shown their graduation, dances, days out, picnics, a visit to the C.F. Muntz Museum in their town, where Ellie would get a job as a tour guide and Carl as a balloon salesman, and then on to the marriage, house, etc. that we see in the actual version. It did look like, in this storyboard, that Carl and Ellie are booked to go to Venezuela, however, Carl seemingly doesn’t want to get on the plane. Ellie then falls ill so they cannot try and go again. This would’ve been an interesting point for the final movie because if Carl had felt unable to go, meaning that the one-time Ellie could’ve gone they did not, that would’ve given Carl a huge amount of guilt to cope with, which would’ve made him even more determined to get to Paradise Falls than the version of Carl we get in the final movie. Yet, the whole punching thing is a bit weird, and I’m glad they did not go with that version! There was also going to be dialogue here, but after looking at old home videos, the Pixar team found that it would be better to avoid having dialogue and just have the music and visuals[13].

RECEPTION

Prior to Up’s main theatrical release, which saw the movie being released in 3D as well as 2D, becoming Pixar’s first 3D movie, Up was actually first shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where it opened the 62^nd festival event. The Cannes Film Festival in 2009 ran from 13^th May to 24^th May, meaning that Up premiered there just a little over two weeks before it would premiere in theatres. Up was the first animated movie to ever open the event. Sometimes film festivals can be snobby when it comes to animated movies, so this shows that appreciation for them is building over the years[14].

Up premiered in US theatres on 29^th May 2009, after it had its red-carpet premiere at the El Capitan Theatre on 16^th May. It later premiered around the world over the next few months. I am slightly confused as to when Up was released in the UK, as some sites claim it wasn’t until October, however, I’m sure I remember watching this in the height of summer on a particularly hot, sunny day in a cinema that didn’t have good air conditioning, so that must’ve meant it was released during the summer holidays so probably July or August, but I guess I’m wrong…I can’t find anything to prove either way which month it was.

The Pixar short Partly Cloudy was shown prior to Up, as is the way with Pixar movies; you normally get something before them. In this case, Partly Cloudy was about storks delivering babies, both human and animal, which they are presented with by all-powerful clouds. However, one cloud struggles to make cute things, so his stork delivery man ends up getting injured by all these creatures he has to deliver. In one case, a little crocodile or alligator bites his head; another time a ram hits him in the stomach; then there’s the cute sheep that turns out to be a spiky porcupine. The cloud later sees the stork flying to another cloud, so believing it has been replaced, begins to cry and rain. The stork was actually only at the other cloud to get protective equipment, like padding and a helmet; it wasn’t leaving the cloud. The cloud is happy about that and gives the stork it’s next delivery: an electric eel! It’s not one of the most memorable or funny Pixar short films, but it’s decent.

Reviews for Up were amazing, however, if you have read any of these, you’ll know that what got the biggest focus was the sequence of Ellie and Carl’s life together, the “Married Life” sequence. The opening fifteen minutes that follow Ellie and Carl’s time together are admittedly very moving. Although neither of them had a particularly exciting life, they were clearly very happy together and perfect for each other. So, to see all of that come to an end with Ellie’s passing is difficult for many to experience, especially those who have been through a similar loss, and even worse, it happened so early in the film. We’re already devastated at the loss of a character we only knew for a few minutes, so that set everyone up for what was going to come next. We were invested in Carl and his journey from this point on. This sequence got everyone talking and it even has its own Wikipedia page, showing how it will likely go down in history as one of the best movie moments ever.

However, for some people who watched Up, this was in fact the best part of the movie and anything after that was not deemed to be as good. They say that Dug and Kevin were seen as the funniest characters, and some of these moments balanced out the less exciting parts to make it a good film, but not an amazing one. I can understand how hype around a movie could lead to disappointment if it does not live up to the expectations in a viewer’s mind, which is likely what happened in these cases. Up is also not considered one of Pixar’s best films looking at it from a contemporary point of view, as Pixar has made some amazing films since 2009, such as Inside Out (2015) and Coco (2017). Some even said Up lacked the heart of the earliest Pixar films and featured a one-dimensional villain. I disagree with both of these statements. I don’t know how a movie that can make even the most emotionally closed-off person cry could be called “lacking heart”. Muntz is not a one-dimensional villain either in my view, because it’s quite clear his pride and his obsession are what is causing him to chase after Kevin and endanger the lives of Carl and Russell. He doesn’t change during the movie, and if anything, just gets more villainous, but I’d say as a person, he is quite complex; he’s not evil for evil’s sake, he thinks what he is doing is fine and good for his career.

On the positive side, reviews also stated how Up was a showcase of digital animation. It was also a good step for Pixar into adventure films, like Indiana Jones, without focusing too much on action sequences or moments of peril, and instead looking at people and how they interact with others. Carl and Russell both feel like something is missing in their lives and throughout the film, find that they can help each other. Russell becomes Carl’s honorary grandson; and Carl is his honorary grandfather.

As well as amazing reviews, Up ended up being one of the highest grossing movies of the year in terms of worldwide box office, sitting at No. 6, even with big competition such as Avatar; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; and The Twilight Saga: New Moon[15]. It made just over $730 million at the box-office.

But most exciting was the response that the Academy Awards gave to Up because it became only the second animated movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. The first was Beauty and the Beast (1991), before the Best Animated Feature category was even made. There has only been one other movie since Up to be nominated in this same category and that was Toy Story 3 (2010). All three just happen to be Disney or Pixar movies[16]. Up was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound Editing.

Up did not win Best Picture, losing to The Hurt Locker (2008), which also won in the Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound Editing categories. But Up did win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. At the BAFTA Film Awards, the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Annie Awards, Up also won in the Best Animated Film category. It won the Annie Award for Best Directing in a Feature Production too. This is just the awards won at the “major” award ceremonies; Up won plenty more awards at other ceremonies.

LEGACY

After Up’s release, one character in particular captured the hearts of the people – and that character was Dug, probably because he’s a talking dog, and most people like dogs. I don’t particularly like dogs, but if Dug was a real dog, I’d like him.

This love of Dug led to a short film all about him called Dug’s Special Mission. In a way, this is a prequel because it shows Dug and his interactions with Alpha and the pack prior to his meeting Carl and Russell. Dug’s Special Mission sees Dug telling the pack that it’s his birthday today and he wants to do something to help them find the bird. Dug, however, constantly gets in the way, according to Alpha, so Alpha sets out to trick Dug by telling him to do pointless tasks that he tells Dug are very important, such as watch the bird’s favourite rock, stay in this hole until the bird comes, sit on this rock etc., however, inadvertently, Dug causes more chaos doing these simple tasks, so Alpha gets angry and radios over to Muntz to say Dug is a bad dog. This makes Dug very sad who runs off, believing his birthday is ruined. He then starts to hear human voices and can smell their scent. Dug says “I can smell you” and runs over to them. It is Carl and Russell. Dug says this was a good birthday for him, because he got his wish to have a new master and it then became the happiest day of his life[17].

Dug’s Special Mission was released as a special bonus feature to be found on the Blu-Ray and DVD releases of Up, with the US versions coming out in November 2009. Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo, and Jerome Ranft return as Dug, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma respectively. Ed Asner and Jordan Nagai are also credited as returning to voice Carl and Russell; however, I think all their lines are from the original movie scene.

There was even a short film made, only about four minutes long, about the two nurses from Shady Oaks who attempt to pick up Carl at the start of Up. These nurses are called George and A.J., and that is the title of this short. What happens in George and A.J. is that we watch them as they see Carl’s house take off with his balloons – Russell can even be spotted clinging on to the underside of the house. George and A.J. then return to their van in complete shock and proceed to remain shocked for over a week. Carl’s “escape” even makes the news and every elderly resident who has seen the news report cheers that one of their own finally got free. One week later, George and A.J. are back to collecting the elderly to take to Shady Oaks, however, they are shaken by their experience and now find that the elderly are fleeing in their houses in unusual ways, such as on a hovercraft and with a herd of cats. Then Shady Oaks itself is launched into the air. As George and A.J. stare perplexed at the area, a shadow descends over them. They look up and see an airship about to land of them, with Carl at the helm and Russell beside him. The airship does not fall on them, but does crash onto their van. George and A.J. are then approached by Dug, the talking dog, and stand there shocked again. George was voiced by Jason Topolski and A.J. by A.J. Riebli III. Bob Peterson reprises his role as Dug, but Carl and Russell are voiced by fellow Pixar employees, Steve Purcell and Peter Sohn respectively. George and A.J. was not released theatrically or on DVD, but instead was released on iTunes as an extra feature after purchasing the movie there. It was later included on Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 2 DVD, released in November 2012, and later came to Disney+. The animation style does not match that of Pixar’s usual short movies, and is quite basic, done in a “storyboard” style.

Over ten years later, in September 2021, Dug returned again for his own series of shorts called Dug Days. The first five episodes all premiered on Disney+ on 1^st September 2021, with a sixth and final episode Carl’s Date, first premiering as the short film that accompanied the theatrical release of Pixar’s Elemental on 16^th June 2023. It later came to Disney+ in September 2023. This series sees Dug and Carl moving into a new house in the suburbs, having sold the Spirit of Adventure airship. It follows Dug and Carl going about their day in the neighbourhood with Dug causing his usual mayhem! Carl’s Date was slightly more special as it saw Carl trying to figure out if he is ready to go on a date with a new woman – Ms. Meyers, who also happens to have adopted the former Alpha, now Beta – feeling like he is betraying Ellie by doing so. Carl agrees to go on the date but becomes worried and nervous about doing so, trying to cancel. Dug then tells him he should go and says he’ll come along too if that would help. As it’s time to leave for the date, Carl speaks to Ellie’s photo and says she’ll always be his girl. It’s the sweetest Pixar short I’ve ever seen.

This series consisted of shorts that were between five and ten minutes long, and saw the return of Ed Asner and Bob Peterson as Carl and Dug. Carl’s Date became the last project that Ed Asner worked on for Pixar, having recorded his lines prior to his passing in August 2021. This felt like a real finale episode and tied up Carl’s journey. Every episode was created, written, and directed by Peterson.

At the Disney Parks, since Up is a fairly popular Pixar movie, there are multiple experiences and characters from the movie at most of the six properties. At Walt Disney World, specifically Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, there is a great activity for children and families which involves you becoming a Wilderness Explorer just like Russell. Throughout the park, there are stations set up in different areas that allow you to take part in a specific activity which will lead to you earning yourself a badge, which is actually a sticker. There are many of these to experience with the stickers being collected in a small booklet. You can also see Kevin wandering around this park, specifically around Discovery Island, interacting with guests and generally just being her bird-self. There is no set place to meet Kevin, as she is a “roaming character”, and times she is about may change.  

Former experiences at Walt Disney World included an earlier iteration of the Feathered Friends in Flight! outdoor show in Animal Kingdom at the Anandapur Theater in Asia. This show was initially called Flights of Wonder and premiered on the opening day of Animal Kingdom on 22^nd April 1998. This ran until 31^st December 2017, when it closed to be rethemed to UP! A Great Bird Adventure. This version mixed up the narration of the show, by adding a new guide called Anika as well as seeing Russell and Dug added into the show. UP! A Great Bird Adventure opened on 22^nd April 2018 for the park’s 20^th anniversary, but due to mixed reception, it went through multiple re-writes until it closed on 12^th March 2020, when Walt Disney World closed for the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. It reopened as Feathered Friends in Flight! in July 2020 when the parks reopened, but the core concept of the show being about birds has remained the same. I have also seen that at Walt Disney World’s former Downtown Disney area, now named Disney Springs, there was an inflatable version of the Up house that was seen for a period of time around the time of Up’s release, so Summer 2009, as promotion for the new movie. It was situated next to the AMC Theatres. To be honest, it was not exactly a work of art and looked a bit low-budget!

At Disneyland, you’re more likely to see areas themed to Up in their Disney California Adventure Park. One such area was the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, which is an outdoor play area complete with slides and play equipment, originally opened in 2001. It was rethemed to Up around 2010/11, after having previously been themed to the Disney movie Brother Bear (2003). In this challenge trail, guests could earn six badges throughout the area, and then make their way over to an outdoor stage to become a real Senior Wilderness Explorer by watching and taking part in a ceremony, which had Russell make a surprise appearance at the end[18]. It would appear that this theming has since been removed, when the trail reopened around July 2021.

 For Pixar Fest 2024, Disney California Adventure did have some references to Up including the house “flying” over Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle as part of their Together Forever: A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show. The “Married Life” sequence and other moments from Up were projected onto the castle, as some of its music played. As part of the Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration Parade for the event, you could also see Russell riding on Kevin’s back and a float with Carl and Dug following on behind. These were limited time experiences for Pixar Fest which ran from 28^th April to 4^th August 2024. It is reportedly not returning for 2025; however, the parade apparently will be in the summer of 2025. You may also be able to see smaller references to Up and its characters at places like Pixar Pier, the Lamplight Lounge restaurant, and Pixar Place Hotel.

At Hong Kong Disneyland, there is a summer stage show called Adventure is Out There, which features characters from Disney and Pixar movies. It is named after Charles Muntz’s catchphrase from the movie, and Russell makes an appearance at the start of the show, as the hosts teach guests the iconic Wilderness Explorer call, and at the finale. It also features performances from characters such as Moana and Stitch. This stage show was a new offering for 2023 that did return in 2024 with some changes. It may return in 2025.

At Disneyland Paris, there is a stage show that involves characters, film clips, and music from Pixar movies. One of these segments features Up. As music from the score plays, a floating house is seen on screen, before landing and showing Russell, Carl, and Dug inside as it is flying high above the clouds. This show is called TOGETHER: A Pixar Musical Adventure and is a thirty-minute show performed at the Studio Theater at Walt Disney Studios Park. It has been running since July 2023, but will be taking a break from 21^st April to 11^th July 2025. I presume this is due to the ongoing construction at Walt Disney Studios Park to turn it into Disney Adventure World. Also at Disneyland Paris, but in the main park, a new miniature scene of Paradise Falls with Carl, Russell and the house was added to the Storybook Land Canal Boats ride, or Le Pays des Contes de Fées in French. This new addition joined two other new scenes that were announced, of Frozen (2013) and Winnie the Pooh. This new Up scene replaced the Emerald City scene[19]. The new version of the ride reopened on 30^th August 2024. There is also a small scene of Russell and Carl, where figures of them have been added to the waterside in Adventure Isle, over by Colonel Hathi’s Pizza Outpost, which is a bit random[20]!

In terms of meet-and-greets, at Walt Disney World in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, you can meet Russell at the Wilderness Explorer Clubhouse, and Dug – who even talks – is occasionally seen there with Russell. Talking Dug made his debut at the park in May 2024. Carl, Russell, and Dug have also been characters at Special Events, like DVC Moonlight Magic in recent years. At Disneyland, in Disney California Adventure Park, Russell and Dug met guests during Pixar Fest. Dug was talking here too. They have also been spotted at Pixar Pier as well, along with Carl. At Disneyland Paris, the three characters were there for “Tuesday Guest Star Day” but that was back in 2019. At Hong Kong Disneyland, the trio were spotted at the Pixar Pals Party cast-member exclusive event in March 2024. At Shanghai Disneyland, Russell and Dug have been known to meet guests at Happy Circle in Adventure Isle, and it is still listed on their website, however, I think these characters swap out fairly frequently. Outside of the US parks, it seems the Up characters are not as easy to meet, with Tokyo Disneyland seemingly never having had a meet-and-greet for them. But, at Tokyo Disneyland, you can find Carl, Russell, Dug, and Kevin all on a float during the Disney Harmony in Color daytime parade. Characters, clips, or music from Up may be used in other Disney fireworks shows and parades, both current and future.

Given that Up appeals to both children and adults, Up spanned quite a range of merchandise, including clothing, figurines, homeware, like pillows and mugs, toys, and even a Pandora charm of Carl of Ellie. There have also been specialty and non-speciality pins available to purchase, with D23 releasing a member-exclusive pin in May 2024 of young Carl holding the blue balloon to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of Up.

Outside of the theme parks and the screen, Up became the perfect inspiration for housing projects. For example, in 2011, Bangerter Homes recreated the iconic Up house, reportedly with permission from Disney and Pixar, providing the plans were turned over to them once complete to ensure it was a one-of-a-kind property. It stands on Herriman Rose Boulevard in Herriman, Utah[21]. This is a private residence and is therefore not available for tours, so don’t go knocking on the door, hoping to get one.

However, this did not turn out to be the only Up house of its kind because in May 2024, as part of Airbnb’s “Icons” series of new rentable homes, they built a replica of the Up house too. It was created to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of the film, and was even held up with 8,000 balloons – and the help of a large crane. It was situated in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It was only open to guests for a limited time and could not just be booked like other Airbnb properties. Although the house was suspended at times, funnily enough, that was not allowed to happen with guests inside[22]. The listing for the house is still up on Airbnb but it cannot be requested and is showing as “Sold Out”.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Up made history for Pixar in a few ways: by being nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards; being the 10th animated feature for the studio; and for creating one of the most well-known and heart-breaking sequences in cinema.

Pixar – and Disney – have a knack for finding that soft spot in your heart and jabbing at it until tears leak from your eyes. Up is not my favourite Pixar movie, and yet I still cry at multiple moments in the story. A movie about people, about relationships, about life can’t help but be relatable as we are all navigating the ups and downs of life, pushing past obstacles and getting through rough patches. Carl is having a difficult time as he grieves the loss of his wife, and Russell is struggling to cope with his parents’ divorce and his difficult relationship with his father. Both of these problems are things real people go through.

What we ought to learn from Up is that when life deals you a bad hand, you can either sink deeper and deeper into the darkness, or drag yourself up towards the light. In less metaphorical terms, what I’m trying to say is that it’s not good to dwell on the mistakes and misery of the past. All you can do is take a look around you, see what you have right now, and try and figure out a new direction. It might not be what you envisioned, but maybe it’s what you need.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Disney, ‘Disney History’, D23.com, date unknown.

[2] Credit: Tim Lammers, ’10 Uplifting Facts About Up to Celebrate Film’s 10^th Anniversary’, D23.com, 29^th May 2019.

[3] Credit: Pixar, “Canine Companions”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[4] Credit: Tim Lammers, ’10 Uplifting Facts About Up to Celebrate Film’s 10^th Anniversary’, D23.com, 29^th May 2019.

[5] Credit: Pixar, “Adventure is Out There”, from Up (2009) DVD (2010).

[6] Credit: Pixar, “Homemakers of Pixar”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[7] Credit: Stephen Barker & Jessica Smith, ‘The Real-Life Story Behind Pixar’s Up Is More Heartbreaking Than The Film’, ScreenRant.com, 15^th March 2024.

[8] Credit: Pixar, “Balloons and Flight”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[9] Credit: Pixar, “Geriatric Hero”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[10] Credit: Pixar, “Russell: Wilderness Explorer”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[11] Credit: Pixar, “Our Giant Flightless Friend Kevin”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[12] Credit: Pixar, “Alternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz”, from Up (2009) DVD (2010).

[13] Credit: Pixar, “Married Life”, Up 2009 (Pixar) Making of & Behind the Scenes video, DVDFilmBonus, YouTube Channel, uploaded 16^th July 2023.

[14] Credit: Xan Brooks, ‘Curtain will go Up on this year’s Cannes with 3-D yarn’, TheGuardian.com, 19^th March 2009.

[15] Credit: IMDB, ‘Worldwide Box Office For 2009’, BoxOfficeMojo.com, date unknown.

[16] Credit: Tim Lammers, ’10 Uplifting Facts About Up to Celebrate Film’s 10^th Anniversary’, D23.com, 29^th May 2019.

[17] Credit: Pixar, “Dug’s Special Mission”, from Up (2009) DVD (2010).

[18] Credit: Best Western, ‘Can You Handle the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail?’, StovallsInn.com, 28^th January 2018.

[19] Credit: Disney, ‘New Scene From Pixar’s “Up” Coming To Storybook Land, With Presenting Sponsor’, DisneylandParis-News.com, 3^rd May 2024

[20] Credit: Steve, ‘Disneyland Paris News: Carl and Russell From UP Invade Adventureland’, DedicatedToDLP.com, 1^st May 2014

[21] Credit: Taysha Murtaugh, ‘This Real-Life Re-Creation of the House From ‘Up’ Is Just as Cute as the Movie’, CountryLiving.com, 21^st March 2017.

[22] Credit: Yi-Jin Yu, ‘Airbnb launches stays at ‘Up’ house, ‘Inside Out’ headquarters, and more ‘Icons’’, ABCNews.go.com, 2^nd May 2024.

1. BACKGROUND
2. PLOT
3. CHARACTERS & CAST
4. PRODUCTION
5. MUSIC
6. RECEPTION
7. LEGACY
8. FINAL THOUGHTS
9. REFERENCES

BACKGROUND

After more than a decade of success for Pixar, releasing hit after hit every one to two years, and after a period of transition whereby Pixar were officially acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2006, in 2012, Pixar released their thirteenth feature film, Brave.

Unlucky for some you might say, but Brave continued Pixar’s general trend of being at the forefront of animated technology, as well as being one of the leading figures in family-friendly entertainment.

Brave took Pixar in a slightly different direction though. Pixar were known for their contemporary stories, taking place in the real world, with the occasional fantastical element or creature thrown in. Pixar’s movies had all felt like they were taking place in the present day, or in an alternate version of it. With Brave, Pixar moved their story into a medieval time period, Medieval Scotland to be exact. And they would also be straying into Disney territory, by making their very first fairy tale.

Pixar don’t really like to think of Brave as a fairy tale, because it isn’t about a princess falling in love with a prince, being cursed by witches or evil stepmothers. Pixar chose to turn the classic fairy tale on its head and make something completely new. Brave follows Merida, the headstrong daughter of a Scottish clan leader, fighting for her free will after a betrothal ceremony gets out of hand. She is not a typical fairy-tale princess, and she does not find love; a very important part of Pixar’s story was that she didn’t do so.

By having the character of Merida front and centre in Brave, this film also became Pixar’s first movie to be focused on a female protagonist. Female characters had existed in Pixar movies previously, but they had been in a supporting role to a male protagonist, like Dory in Finding Nemo (2003) or Helen Parr in The Incredibles (2004). Not only that, but Brave also became Pixar’s first movie to have a female director.

Brave was a different movie to come from Pixar, and some critics seem to have noticed that, finding Brave to be less entertaining or heartfelt than some of Pixar’s big blockbusters. Knowing that Brave is focused on the importance of mother-daughter bonds instantly disproves the feeling that Brave is not heartfelt because the whole point of it is to represent this relationship, that can be tense, in a fairy-tale format. It’s nothing but heart.

I have seen Brave a number of times, perhaps too many at one point because, like with Zootopia (2016) and Tangled (2010), British television liked to air these films every festive season for many years, but I do still like Brave. My family first got to watch it in Scotland, which added an air of authenticity to our viewing of the film, just because it so happened to be in cinemas at the exact same time as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2012. Though I don’t watch Brave particularly often, it’s a story that is relevant and representative of many families, so it’s an important watch as well as being a funny one.

PLOT

The movie begins in the forests of Scotland, where a little princess, named Merida, is playing hide-and-seek with her mother, Queen Elinor. Her father, King Fergus of Clan DunBroch, presents Merida with a small bow and arrow for her birthday, which she immediately wants to try out. Merida aims at a target – but unfortunately shoots the arrow into the woods. Merida goes into the woods to fetch the arrow, where she sees a trail of blue lights, called “will-o’-the-wisps”, or just wisps. Elinor tells Merida that wisps have been known to appear to show people their fate. At this point, a huge, black bear attacks the royal camp, with the King and the soldiers trying to fight it off, as Elinor rides away with Merida.

We then jump forward ten years. Merida gives a recap of what has happened over those years, like Fergus losing his leg in the battle with that bear, Mor’du; Merida getting three little brothers, triplets called Hubert, Hamish, and Harris; and Merida having regular “princess lessons” with her mother to learn to be a princess and future queen, which she doesn’t enjoy. Occasionally, Merida gets a free day all to herself where we see her riding her horse through the Highlands, climbing waterfalls, and practising her archery.

At the end of one of these free days, Merida walks back into the castle to join her family for dinner. Fergus is telling everyone the story of how he lost his leg to Mor’du and vows to avenge it for the hundredth time, maybe more. Then Elinor announces that the leaders of the three neighbouring clans that make up their kingdom – Macintosh, Dingwall, and MacGuffin – have all accepted the Queen’s invitation to present suitors to marry Princess Merida. Merida is completely blindsided by this news, having no idea that her mother would be lining her up for marriage when she’s still so young. Merida runs to her room. Elinor comes in and tells her the tale of a former kingdom where the was rule divided amongst four princes. However, one selfish prince caused ruin to the kingdom and it fell. This little morality tale doesn’t work on Merida and she refuses to go along with it. Elinor’s parting shot, as she doesn’t understand Merida’s horror, is simply “It’s just marriage. It’s not the end of the world.” Way to be supportive, Mum.

The next day, the clans arrive and each leader presents their eldest son as a suitor for Merida; the warrior pretty boy, son of Lord Macintosh; the strong but shy son of Lord MacGuffin; and the small, dweeby son of Lord Dingwall. The leaders are already feeling competitive which results in a fight, with Fergus even taking part. The Queen soon puts a stop to it though, by dragging the four clan leaders by their ears back to the front of the room. She announces that the first-born from each clan will be competing in an event of the Princess’ choosing at the Highland Games. Merida chooses her favourite sport: archery.

At the Games, the three suitors take aim at their targets. MacGuffin misses the main target; Macintosh comes close but doesn’t hit the bull’s eye, which just leaves Dingwall who surely doesn’t have a chance of getting closer…does he? Actually, yes, Dingwall is the one to hit the bull’s eye, horrifying Fergus who doesn’t want Merida married off to this puny kid. He turns to her, but Merida isn’t there. A cloaked figure then approaches the targets with a bow. It’s Merida who boldly announces that she is “first-born of Clan DunBroch and I’ll be shooting for my own hand!”. Merida swiftly hits the centre of each of the three targets, ripping her dress and acting very unladylike as she does so. Elinor is furious and drags her back to the castle. She shouts at Merida, asking her if she has any idea what she’s just done, embarrassing her and the clan leaders, not to mention potentially causing war between the four lands once more. Merida calls her mother a beast and tears the tapestry of the family that Elinor has spent years working on, separating her mother away from her in the picture. In retaliation, Elinor throws Merida’s precious bow onto the fire. Merida runs off in tears. Elinor then realises what a mistake she’s made and tries to retrieve the bow, but it’s too late.

Merida rides away on her horse, Angus, arriving at the Ring of Stones. A trail of wisps appears to her again and she follows, making her way to a cottage. The woman in the cottage claims to be just a wood carver, having filled the room with all her creations, but Merida spots an enchanted broom and a talking crow and accuses the woman of being a witch. The witch orders Merida to leave, as she’s stopped witchcraft after having too many unsatisfied customers, but Merida makes a deal with her: she’ll purchase all of the carvings in exchange for her necklace and a spell. The witch asks Merida what she wants from the spell, to which she responds that she wants to change her mum, because that will change her fate. This reminds the witch of a previous spell she created for a prince many years ago. The witch obliges and makes the spell, which appears as a cake. Merida takes it home.

At the castle, Elinor is happy to see Merida back and tells her she has pacified the Lords but that a decision will still have to be made. Merida had hoped that her mother might have had a change of heart but as she hasn’t, Merida gives her the cake to eat. Elinor takes a bite, saying that it tastes awful, and puts it back down. She leads Merida to the hall with the Lords; the spell hasn’t worked… But then Elinor starts to feel unwell and asks Merida to take her to her room. In Elinor’s room, as she rolls over in bed, Merida starts to think something is wrong. She calls for her mum but doesn’t get a response. Then a huge bear appears in the room, terrifying Merida, who starts screaming. The bear seems frightened too and tries to protect Merida. Merida then realises she’s turned her mother into a bear! Instead of pointing the blame at herself though, Merida blames the witch for giving her a bad spell. She wanted a spell to change her; it certainly did change her so I don’t know what Merida is so upset about. I can see why that witch has sworn off magic if this is how her other customers have reacted!

Merida insists Bear Elinor comes with her to find this witch to get the spell reversed and they try to leave the castle. The Lords and Fergus realise there is a bear in the castle and start hunting for it, as one of the servants, Maudie, has just seen Merida with one. Merida tries to sneak Bear Elinor out of the castle but she’s too slow and keeps getting distracted, like by disciplining her sons who are messing about with stuffed deer heads! Merida finds her mother and begs the boys to help her, saying they can have a year’s worth of her desserts if they do. They instantly oblige, coming up with a plan to trick Fergus and the Lords which results in them being stuck on the roof of the castle, having to use their tied-together kilts to repel down the castle. You can’t have a Scottish film without a kilt and a bare bum joke now, can you?

At the Ring of Stones, the wisps do not appear to Merida again so she searches for the cottage. When they arrive there, they see the cottage empty apart from a cauldron and some potions, a bit like a customer service helpline. The witch has a message specifically for Merida. It says that to reverse the spell she must remember this poem: “Fate be changed. Look inside. Mend the bond torn by pride”. The spell will become permanent by the second sunrise if she does not succeed in reversing it. That only gives them just over a day and Merida has no idea what that poem means. She freaks out and pours all the potions into the cauldron but instead of getting answers, she blows up the cottage.

After a night sleeping in the rain, Merida wakes up to find Bear Elinor fixing breakfast. She starts to eat some berries but Merida tells her they are poisonous. Bear Elinor spits them out and tries to drink some lake water, but that’s disgusting too. Merida has a better idea. She uses her archery skills to catch some fish and then Bear Elinor uses her bear skills to catch some of her own. At one point though, Merida sees that Bear Elinor has become like a real bear which scares her. They have to find out how to reverse the spell – and fast.

A wisp appears to them and leads them to a ruined kingdom. Merida falls down into a hole, where she sees a mural of four princes which has been split like the tapestry. Merida wonders if this is that kingdom her mother keeps telling her about with the selfish prince. Merida then remembers the witch saying she’d done a similar spell for a prince and quickly realises that Mor’du, the bear the kingdom fears, must be that prince! Merida turns around to find Mor’du standing there, and he attacks. Merida and Bear Elinor manage to escape, but at least this detour means that Merida knows what they must do; they have to sew up their family tapestry that Merida tore in two. They head back to the castle.

At the castle, the clans are fighting again in the main hall so Merida cannot sneak Bear Elinor back to her room very easily. She starts to give a speech to the Lords, leading up to her announcing a decision on her suitor, but Bear Elinor, using charades to communicate, finishes Merida’s speech for her, saying that they should let these young people find love for themselves. All the leaders agree to this and Merida and Bear Elinor rush upstairs. However, once again, Elinor goes into bear mode again. To make things worse, Fergus sees Elinor’s shredded dress from when she first transformed into a bear, and then sees this bear in his castle with Merida. Jumping to conclusions, he believes this bear killed Elinor and that it’s after Merida next. Trying to protect her, he fights off Bear Elinor, who runs away scared, and locks Merida in her room as she tries to explain to Fergus that the bear is Elinor.

As Merida tries to get Maudie to give her the key to the room, three little bears walk up to the door. It’s Merida brothers who must’ve eaten the cursed cake she thoughtlessly left in the castle kitchens…Merida gets her brothers to terrorise Maudie and find the key for her. It works and Merida is released, grabbing the tapestry and her brothers and riding off to find Fergus and the clans who have chased Bear Elinor.

They get to the Ring of Stones with Merida having sewn up the tapestry. Merida then fights off her father to protect her mother who has been tied up by the clans. Mor’du then arrives. The men try to defeat it once and for all, but they are pushed back. Merida is then pinned to the ground, leading Bear Elinor to fight for her daughter. Bear Elinor is pushed into one of the stones, which has cracked. She tricks Mor’du into standing up against it and Elinor pushes the bear into the stone. As Mor’du is about to launch at Elinor, the stone breaks in half and crushes Mor’du to death. The spectators then see the spirit of the prince leave the bear’s body; he’s finally free.

As the sun begins to rise, Merida knows she must hurry and wraps the tapestry around her mother. But nothing happens. Bear Elinor’s eyes then revert to bear mode once more. Merida cries and apologies to her mother, saying she loves her and just wants her back. As the sunlight touches the tapestry, a hand reaches out to Merida. It’s Elinor, back to her human form once again. Merida, Fergus, Elinor, and her brothers all hug.

We then see the DunBroch royal family waving off the clan leaders, with the boys causing mischief once more by jumping onto one of their boats, which Fergus has to retrieve them from! Merida also seems to have an admirer, Wee Dingwall, which is interesting to say the least. Don’t worry; she’s not at all interested! The movie ends with Merida and Elinor looking over the countryside on their horses, with Merida reminding the audience that anyone can change their fate; they just have to brave enough to see it.

And for anyone who thought the Witch was a con artist, in an End Credits scene, the witch’s bird arrives with all of the carvings Merida purchased from the Witch, and asks one of the guards to sign for it on a floating piece of paper. The guard freezes in shock. 

CHARACTERS & CAST

Merida is the princess of Pixar’s fairy tale but she is nothing like a regular princess. She’s messy, wild, wilful, stubborn, and lacks the elegance and grace of Disney’s top royalty. And that was exactly the point, because Brave was never meant to be a traditional fairy tale, so Merida was never going to be a traditional princess. Merida wants to change the course of her life, the life that her mother has planned out for her; she doesn’t see herself ever getting married and doesn’t want her mother making decisions for her, so Merida being Merida, she fights back against it and refuses to back down. Her mother also will not back down so the two butt heads over this, and don’t see eye-to-eye on much else either.

The Pixar team felt it was important for Merida to have a skill so it was decided that she would be good at archery, making her athletic and strong. Any time Merida is using her bow, it shows that she is free and feels completely herself. Another way that Merida was shown to be a free spirit was with her hair. It’s curly, it’s red, it’s voluminous, and it’s a bit messy. It was a hard problem to solve in terms of the animation, and there were even talks about cutting Merida’s hair, but the animators strove to deal with this challenge because Merida’s hair is a key representation of her character.

Elinor, on the other hand, is a complete contrast to Merida. Though Elinor’s demeanour potentially hints at a past life where she was similar to Merida, because of Elinor’s sense of duty and knowing what is best for her kingdom, she has given up her freedom and a chance to be wild in order to become a great queen, who is the diplomat within the royal family, communicating with the other three clans and making tough decisions that affect everyone else. Elinor’s character design represents her as a person, for example with her fitted, heavy dress, her pulled back hair, and her lack of gestures and facial expressions. This shows how “together” Elinor is a person.

For the betrothal ceremony, Elinor forces Merida to wear a corset and a tight blue dress, which shows Merida being made to conform to fit her role as a princess. When Merida decides to “shoot for her own hand”, her dress gets torn at the seams and then gets shredded and made dirtier on her journey to “change her mum”. This is representative of Merida’s mental state deteriorating at the thought of ending up restricted like her mum.

When Elinor becomes a bear, her character traits continue to shine through, with Bear Elinor being very concerned that she isn’t wearing any clothes, despite all that fur; continuing to wear her crown for a time; and even setting a table for her and Merida to have breakfast on when they are stuck in the woods. But when Bear Elinor starts to become a real bear, this allows for some of her pent-up rage and anger to come through in a very natural form. It’s only through Merida and Elinor communicating that Merida learns to accept some sort of responsibility for the kingdom, and for Elinor to start to be less uptight and strict[1].

Merida was voiced by Kelly Macdonald. Macdonald made her film debut starring as Diane in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (1996) and returned to reprise her role in the 2017 sequel. She later appeared in the movies Elizabeth (1998) as Isabel Knollys and Gosford Park (2001) as Mary Maceachran. Around the time of Brave, Macdonald was starring in the television series Boardwalk Empire (2010-14), playing the character of Margaret Thompson, alongside Steve Buscemi, and had been cast in the minor role of Helena Ravenclaw in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). More recently, Macdonald was cast in these BBC series: as DCI Joanne Davidson in Series 6 of Line of Duty (2012-21); Sarah Weitzmann in Giri/Haji (2019); and Anna Dean in The Victim (2019), for which she won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Actress Television.

Apparently American actress Reese Witherspoon was originally meant to voice the role of Merida, with the Pixar team being confident that she would be able to pull off the Scottish accent, however, it was said that scheduling issues meant Witherspoon was unable to complete the movie[2]. That’s the official line, however, Witherspoon herself has said in previous interviews that her accent wasn’t good enough and she had to quit. Either way, as much as I like Reese Witherspoon, having a Scottish actress voice Merida was definitely the best choice for the film.

Dame Emma Thompson was chosen to voice the role of Queen Elinor. In the 1990s, Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Actress in Howards End (1992) for her role as Margaret Schlegel and was nominated the next year in the same category for The Remains of the Day (1993) where she played Miss Kenton. In 1995, Thompson wrote and starred in Sense and Sensibility (1995), playing the part of Elinor Dashwood, where she was once again nominated for Best Actress, and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Thompson later became known for her roles of Karen in Love Actually (2003); Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter film franchise; and Nanny McPhee in the 2005 movie, which also featured Kelly Macdonald, and its 2010 sequel. For Disney, Thompson starred as P. L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and voiced Captain Amelia in their animated movie Treasure Planet (2002). More recently, Thompson was also cast as Baroness von Hellman in Cruella (2021) and Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical (2022).

For the rest of the DunBroch royals, we have the triplets, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris, and of course, King Fergus. The boys are particularly smart and sneaky, playing pranks on servants in the castle and just generally causing mischief. Though you might expect Merida to be indifferent or annoyed by her little brothers, having been an only child for quite a few years, she actually does not seem to be, even giving them cakes that she took from the kitchen so they don’t have to suffer through their haggis at dinner! Merida also recognises their talents and asks for their help getting her and Bear Elinor out of the castle without being seen. The boys aren’t stupid though; they’ll only be helpful if there’s something in it for them!  

King Fergus is a tall, broad-shoulder, Viking-looking man with a huge beard and rough voice. He might look scary, but he’s not really. His biggest ambition in life is to avenge the loss of his leg to Mor’du by ultimately killing the “demon bear”, and he recounts the story often, even if everyone has heard it already. Fergus is a good king for battle, but he’s not great with public speaking or diplomacy – which is where Elinor comes in. He’s up for a fight anytime though and doesn’t take kindly to rudeness or disrespect.

Sir Billy Connolly voiced the part of Fergus. Connolly began his career in both music and comedy, before acting on screen in the 1970s. Some of his acting roles include John Brown in Mrs Brown (1997), alongside Dame Judi Dench playing Queen Victoria; Dr. Montgomery in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); King Theodore in Gulliver’s Travels; and Wilf Bond in Quartet (2012). Connolly also voiced the character of Ben in Disney’s Pocahontas (1995). Shortly after Brave’s release, he was cast as Dáin II Ironfoot in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). In more recent years, Connolly has continued to appear on our screens, but in television documentaries about his life and travels. Connolly won the BAFTA Fellowship Award in 2022.

Then there are the Lords, Lord Macintosh, Lord MacGuffin, and Lord Dingwall, of the three neighbouring clans. Though the kingdom is supposed to be at peace, there is clearly some bad blood between these three as they don’t get along well at all, trading barbs and generally being rude to each other, thinking their clan is more superior than the others. Lord Macintosh has long, dark hair, and has blue body paint covering his arms and face, showing that his clan are warriors, ready for war. His son looks very similar to him. Lord Dingwall and his son are shorter than the others, and are more eccentric too, snapping at the slightest insult. Lord MacGuffin and his son are large men, with blond hair, showing their physicality compared to the smaller Dingwalls and weedier Macintoshes.

Lord Macintosh was voiced by Craig Ferguson, who is well-known in America for hosting the late-night talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005-14). He then hosted the game show Celebrity Night Game (2014-17), which won two Daytime Emmys. Prior to his casting in Brave, Ferguson was already voicing the character of Gobber for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise and had voiced Owl in Winnie the Pooh (2011) – the less said about that, the better! Steven Cree voiced the Macintosh son, who went on to be cast as Ian Murray in Outlander (2015-present); Chief Constable Collier in COBRA (2020-present); and Gallowglass in A Discovery of Witches (2018-22).

Lord MacGuffin and his son were both voiced by Kevin McKidd, who appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Trainspotting (1996) alongside Kelly Macdonald. McKidd went on to star as Dr. Owen Hunt in Grey’s Anatomy (2005-present) and voice the character of Captain John “Soap” MacTavish in the games Call of Duty: Modern Welfare 2 and 3. More recently, he was also cast in the British crime miniseries Six Four (2023) as Detective Constable Chris O’Neill, and plays the role of Andrew Bloom in the movie It Ends With Us (2024).

Robbie Coltrane voiced Lord Dingwall, who is most well-known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film franchise. Outside of that though, Coltrane was also known for his appearances in the comedy series The Comic Strip Presents… which starred popular comedy actors Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Rik Mayall, and Ade Edmonson, and as gangster Valentin Zukovsky in the Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). Coltrane also gained recognition in the 1990s for his leading role as Dr Edward Fitzgerald in the British crime series Cracker (1993-2006), for which he won the BAFTA for Best Actor in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Coltrane sadly passed away in 2022.

Finally, we have the witch and woodcarver that Merida meets in the forest. She isn’t a particularly good witch, clearly not remembering many important details of her spells until much later on, which causes Merida and Elinor some problems… But then she does warn Merida at the start that she doesn’t do witchcraft anymore because of customer complaints, so she shouldn’t have expected too much from her! The witch just wants to be a wood carver now without being hassled for her magic. Is that too much to ask?

Julie Walters was chosen to voice the small role of the witch. Walters made her screen debut in Educating Rita (1983), playing the title role for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to appear in other movies, including in Billy Elliott (2000), playing the part of Mrs. Wilkinson, being nominated for another Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter film series; Rosie in Mamma Mia! (2008) and its 2018 sequel; and as Mrs. Bird in Paddington (2014) and its soon-to-be two sequels. Walters is also well-known for her television comedy roles, acting alongside famed comedienne Victoria Wood for a number of screen projects, including Wood and Walters (1981); Acorn Antiques (1986-87); and dinnerladies (1998-2000). She also starred with Robbie Coltrane in the miniseries National Treasure (2016).

The only other name to mention, because it is a Pixar movie and his name is usually in the credits as the studio’s “good luck charm”, is John Ratzenberger, who voiced Gordon the guard here.

Brave features a whole host of British talent in its impressive voice cast, with the majority of them being Scottish. Although no definitive Scottish dialect is used amongst the cast, with each one having a slightly different accent, certain decisions about phrases and accents were made by the cast. For example, Kevin McKidd was inspired by his grandfather’s dialect, Doric, spoken in the northeast of Scotland, when voicing Dingwall. Scottish words, like “gammy” and “scaffy”, were also incorporated into the script to give it more authenticity, but the Pixar team made sure it wasn’t too difficult to be understood by a global audience[3]!

PRODUCTION

Although Brave was dubbed “Pixar’s first fairy tale”, the story was not based on any fairy tale in particular. The initial concept came from Brenda Chapman, who was the first woman to direct an animated feature at a major studio with DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt (1998). She moved to work at Pixar in 2003 where she began developing an idea for a movie, which was first called The Bear and the Bow, which would use elements from some of the best loved and most memorable fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, as well as drawing inspiration from her own difficult, at times, relationship with her daughter. It was also decided to set the story in Scotland, and to include some elements of magic.

It’s quite clear where elements of a troubled mother-daughter relationship come into Brave – the whole movie is about it, after all. It’s slightly less clear where the fairy tale elements came from, however, it has been said that the Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tale Snow-White and Rose-Red was used in part as a basis for the story. This story has nothing to do with the popular Snow White fairy tale, and is instead about two young girls who live with their poor widowed mother. A bear knocks on their door one night, saying it wants to escape the cold. This happens every night over winter with the girls soon becoming friends with the bear. In summer, the bear leaves to guard its treasure. The girls then come across a dwarf in the forest. His beard is stuck in a tree so they free it by cutting the beard, which angers the dwarf, who apparently has strange priorities and would rather die than lose a bit of facial hair, and yells at the girls. They continue to save the dwarf from his troubles and the dwarf continues to be annoyed. Their bear friend later kills the dwarf, who tries to get the bear to eat the girls, and this act transforms him into a prince. It turns out the dwarf had cursed him and it could only be broken by his death. Fairy tales can be so messed up…The idea of Merida and Elinor’s bond being able to break the curse is similar to the Grimm’s story. The cursed prince becoming a bear was also taken from this story, along with a death being needed to undo it, although no dwarves were harmed in the making of Brave[4].

Although this was Chapman’s initial idea, and she remained credited as a co-director on Brave, Chapman was not able to see her project through to the end. She was taken off the project in 2010 and replaced with a different Pixar employee, Mark Andrews, who had previously been the Story Supervisor on The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007) for the company. It was also around this time that the movie’s title changed from The Bear and the Bow to Brave, matching the snappy one-word titles that some of the best Pixar and Disney animated movies have had. Chapman stated that she was struggling to put across this female-centric story in a company that she described as “a boys’ club”. Then, her friend, Joe Ranft, who was the voice of Heimlich in A Bug’s Life (1998) and was co-director on Cars (2006), died in a car accident in 2005 which shook everyone up at Pixar. That, combined with her not getting on particularly well with John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer at both Disney and Pixar at the time, led to her being taken off the film, in her opinion. In the end, Chapman was pleased to find that her original message and the general concept of her story still came through in the final film[5].

Whatever the reason, this was not an ideal situation for the movie itself, and Chapman was reportedly said to be devastated about leaving the project. Mark Andrews turned out to be a good choice as a new director though, as he loved Scotland and its culture, as his mother’s ancestors come from Torridon in the Scottish Highlands, and Andrews had been particularly interested in the mythology and the folklore of the area for many years[6]. He even liked to wear kilts into the office for Friday meetings[7]! Andrews’ passion for the project was only too obvious. 

To make a movie set in Scotland, multiple research trips were required to study the landscapes, the environments, and the architecture, particularly in areas like the Highlands, as the movie was going to be set in Medieval Scotland. The Pixar team were going to need to see how grass and moss grew on every object in its path, look at rock placement and stone structures, and just take in the fresh air and see how the area made them feel.

Some specific Scottish landmarks that the team visited were Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire, Glen Affric in the Highlands, and the Calanais Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis. The castle obviously inspired DunBroch castle, which was initially going to be set against a loch in the Highlands, however, after seeing Dunnottar Castle, the team liked the idea of placing the castle on a cliff edge, and added a village to it too, to create a community. The Calanais Standing Stones became the Ring of Stones in the movie, where Merida sees the wisps for the first time as an adult and where the curse on her mother and on Mor’du are finally lifted. Glen Affric has one of the largest Caledonian pinewoods, and shows authentic Scottish wilderness, which was perfect for capturing the essence of this Medieval Scotland that Brave would be based in[8]. The weather and cloud formations would have also been studied to get an idea of the usual weather experienced in Scotland. At one point, it was said that the majority of Brave was going to be set in snowy terrain, as could be seen in an alternate opening of Mor’du and Fergus’ initial fight, however, this was later scrapped. Traditional Celtish and Pictish symbols are also used throughout the movie. This love of Scotland that all of the research team discovered on their trips around Scotland is easily found in every aspect of Brave.

In terms of incorporating magic into Brave, they wanted this to include “real” magic, as in using elements of spirituality and folklore to create something more believable than just fairy magic and spells. They discovered that will-o’-the-wisps are a natural phenomenon that were created when gas on the Moors was ignited by static electricity; this electricity then turned the gas blue and the current created by walking towards them seemed to make them move. Legend says that wisps would appear to lost travellers and would either lead them home or to their doom. The Ring of Stones is the spiritual arena in Brave, feeling like there is an air of mystery attached to them, through legend or myth.

As well as the animation struggles of animating Merida’s hair, there were other challenges that the animators faced on the movie. One of these was trying to make everything look dirty, because this is Medieval Scotland, after all; it’s not like there was any indoor plumbing. This required some investigation into how dirt sticks to surfaces and how to make clothes look unwashed. Computer graphics are apparently great for making things look pristine, but not so good at make things less-than-perfect. But the team persevered and successfully managed to make this work, even going so far as to ensure that the Scottish characters had stained, crooked teeth and very scruffy hair!

A key element of Brave is the family tapestry. The movie was even going to open with Merida and Elinor sewing this family tapestry together. It is initially a metaphor to show the family bound together for life, but then shows how the family has been torn apart, quite literally, by the emotional divide between Elinor and Merida. Firstly, it was going to be difficult to animate a hand-sewn tapestry anyway, as it had to look like it was sewn with individual threads, to give it that handmade, traditional quality to it. But then, it was going to need to be ripped through with a knife, so how would they figure that out? By experimenting in real-life, of course! After much close-up inspection of sewn tapestries being ripped apart, the animators were able to replicate that look of frayed threads. To make it worse, a completely new tapestry is made at the end of Brave, showing a new harmonious relationship between Merida and Elinor, so there were two completely different designs needed, along with the sewing scenes, the ripping, and the sewing back up moments!

There were also animals that needed to be animated in Brave. One of these is Angus, Merida’s horse, who allows Merida to have some freedom away from the castle. Angus is a huge Clydesdale, so he had to be big and powerful. There was also more hair that was needed on this character, with the texture being different depending on where on Angus’ body it is. For example, Angus has his regular body hair, but then has thick hair on his mane and tail. Angus also has thinner, wispy white hair on his hoofs and his chin, which, being white, would get muddy riding through Scotland, so that was an added difficulty. But Angus is an important character, so it was worth the effort to make him look like a real horse.

Then, there are the bears, Mor’du and Bear Elinor. Disney Animation has had a history of animating bears, such as Baloo in The Jungle Book (1967), Brother Bear (2003), and the huge bear in The Fox and the Hound (1981), which looks the most real of them all. To start with, the animators went to the zoo to look at a wide variety of bears, like polar bears and grizzly bears, to get a feel for how they move and how they behave. However, Bear Elinor, for the most part, does not act like a real bear, walking around on two legs most of the time, and having her human eyes used on her bear form. Bear Elinor is a more caricatured version of a bear, however, Mor’du, “the demon bear” is not. He had to be really scary and feel more like a monster than a bear. Mor’du became very muscular and wide shouldered. It also had to seem like Mor’du had been around for centuries, as we don’t know when the legend of the four princes was meant to have taken place. This is shown by Mor’du having spears stuck in his back, and wounds and scars all over his body, proving that he has fought back against humans for years – and won[9]. This was also going to be presented in a more disturbing way. The initial scene of Merida and Bear Elinor at the ruined kingdom where they encounter Mor’du was going to be full of bones and skeletons of past warriors who’d tried to fight him. A preview audience deemed this to be too scary so the bones were edited out[10].

Once the movie was ready, it was deliberately marketed in a way to stop the story from being actively shown with even the main trailer not giving much away, as is typical from Pixar. At the D23 Expo in 2011, more details of the film were shown then, with some of the Pixar team appearing at the expo to show scenes from Brave. One of these was the big archery scene. It was also confirmed that Brave was going to be set in 10^th Century Scotland and be released in theatres on 22^nd June 2012[11].

But, even with the older setting for Brave, Pixar couldn’t resist including some of their most loved Easter eggs. One of these is the Pizza Planet truck, which can be seen as one of the witch’s wood carvings in her cottage. Also in the cottage, A113, the number of the classroom that many of the animators studied in at CalArts, is written in Roman numerals, as ACXIII, above the witch’s cottage door. A tribute to Steve Jobs, who died in 2011 and helped found the Pixar company, was also included in the Brave credits with a dedication message.

One last fact about Brave that occurred during production on the movie was that the baseball team The Atlanta Braves apparently opposed Disney’s attempt to trademark the title ‘Brave’ and filed their opposition at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board; the team had been calling themselves the Braves since 1912. This, frankly quite ridiculous, issue was allegedly resolved soon after June 2012 through settlement discussions[12].

MUSIC

Brave, like most Pixar movies, does not feature many original songs, as Pixar don’t make big Broadway musical-inspired movies like Disney do. However, a lot of effort still goes in to the soundtrack of Pixar films, and in this case, continuing that authenticity of the Scottish setting from the animation and story to the music was essential. In this case, Brave has five original songs, with only two being sung by one of the characters. The other three are performed by singers as though they are expressing Merida’s thoughts and feelings.

The first of these is “Touch the Sky”, which accompanies the scene of Merida on one of her “days off” from princess lessons early on in the film; she rides off with her horse, Angus, into the forest and countryside to explore. It’s a good introduction to both the film and the character of Merida, highlighting Merida’s wish to be free from the constraints of royal life. It’s reminiscent of a traditional folk song, but also quite a powerful one. Another song that is similar in style and shares the same performer is “Into the Open Air”. This is sung over the top of the scene of Merida and Bear Elinor catching fish together. This is my favourite song on the soundtrack; it’s quite calming and melodic. These songs were performed by Julie Fowlis, a Scottish folk singer who primarily sings in Scottish Gaelic. They were both written by Alex Mandel.

The song at the end of Brave is “Learn Me Right”. It’s a less relaxing song than the other two I’ve mentioned, but it still sounds distinctly Scottish and folk in style. It’s not the best song in Brave for me personally, but it does embody the spirit of the movie. This song was performed by Birdy, and Mumford & Sons, with the band also writing the song. Birdy’s most popular songs include “Skinny Love” and “Wings”, as well as “Just A Game” which featured on The Hunger Games (2012) soundtrack and “Ghost in the Wind” from The Edge of Seventeen (2016). Mumford & Sons are a British folk-rock band who have been recording and performing music since 2007. Some of their biggest hits have been “Little Lion Man”, “I Will Wait”, and “The Cave”.

The final two songs to mention are “Song of Mor’du” and “Noble Maiden Fair”, both performed by characters in the movie. The “Song of Mor’du” is a silly drinking song, that is performed by Billy Connolly as King Fergus, building up motivation amongst the clans to finally slay Mor’du the bear who has been a constant terrorising figure in their lives. “Noble Maiden Fair”, or “A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal” in Gaelic, is a lullaby that we see Elinor singing to Merida in a flashback moment from when Merida was little and scared of a thunderstorm. It is also played again as Merida begs for her mother to come back to her and not stay as a bear forever. It is the first Disney song to feature lyrics in Scottish Gaelic and is performed by Emma Thompson and Peigi Barker. These songs were written by Patrick Doyle.

Finally, the score was also composed by Patrick Doyle, as Pixar turned to a new composer after a long-standing collaboration with Randy Newman, as well as frequent collaborations with Thomas Newman and Michael Giacchino, on previous Pixar movies. Some of Doyle’s previous works include the score for Sense and Sensibility (1995), being nominated at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes for it; Hamlet (1996), also being nominated for his score at the Academy Awards and the Satellite Awards; Gosford Park (2001), winning the World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year; Nanny McPhee (2005); and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). More recently, Doyle has composed the scores for Disney’s live-action Cinderella (2015) and the Poirot remakes Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022).

One of the best instrumentals within the score for me is “We’ve Both Changed” which is played during the final battle scene between Mor’du and Bear Elinor and when the curses are finally broken. The end of this piece is beautiful as the two reconcile, believing that they’ve failed to break the curse, but then it all ends happily, as so many animated movies do. I also really like “The Games”, with all its bagpipes, despite there being little evidence that those were used in Scotland before the 15^th Century, and fiddles.

The soundtrack of Brave reached No. 2 in the US Billboard Soundtracks Chart, making it the highest-charting Pixar soundtrack since Cars in 2006. “Learn Me Right” was nominated for Best Original Song at the Satellite Awards and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, but lost out to “Suddenly” from Les Misérables (2012) and Adele’s “Skyfall” from the Bond movie of the same name. It was also nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for Visual Media, but lost to “Safe & Sound” from The Hunger Games (2012). “Touch the Sky” also received a nomination for Best Original Song, along with “Learn Me Right” at the Houston Film Critics Society, and Patrick Doyle was nominated for Best Original Score for an Animated Feature at the International Film Music Critics Association Awards and the Annie Awards, but sadly, no there were no wins at any of these events for music.

RECEPTION

Brave was revealed to the world on 22^nd June 2012, after the film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on 10^th June that year. Brave also had a British premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 30^th June 2012.

When Brave was released in theatres, it was released alongside the Pixar short film La Luna (2011), which originally premiered at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France in June 2011. This short film also has a story about family dynamics, so it pairs well with Brave. Specifically, La Luna follows a young Italian boy who goes to work with his father and grandfather, where they sweep away stars from the Moon’s surface. The two adults argue over how the boy should be wearing the cap that he has just been given, and how the boy should sweep up the stars, wanting him to follow their way of doing it. Then, a huge star falls onto the Moon. Thanks to the boy’s clever thinking, showing he is independent from his older relatives and capable of making his own decisions, he hits the star, causing it to separate into many smaller stars. All three then sweep them up together.

Over Brave’s theatrical run, it grossed a worldwide total of $539 million, becoming the third highest-grossing animated film of 2012, behind Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012), which were both additions to two already successful animated movie franchises. But money isn’t everything; Pixar’s movie release of 2011, Cars 2, did well at the box-office, yet was not received well by critics and audiences. So, what did the reviews say?

Luckily, they were mostly positive. Many enjoyed the twist on the traditional fairy tale, because, of course, Pixar wouldn’t just follow in Disney’s footsteps. Audiences liked the contemporary, strong, and unconventional Princess Merida, which also leant into a debate around feminism and how Merida chooses to fight for her free will by not allowing herself to be forced into an arranged marriage. It also would appear that Merida is not interested in falling in love and perhaps would never have gotten married herself, which adds a new layer to this non-traditional princess. The landscapes were considered to be beautiful and the message about mother-daughter relationships was received well also. Brave explores some important themes and wasn’t afraid to have some dark, deep moments in places.

However, there’s always a contrary opinion and some of the more negative comments included that the story felt rushed and that it was not funny like Pixar movies normally are. I can agree with this to a point; the build-up to the spell does seem to take up more of the runtime of the film than the reversal of it, but I certainly find Brave just as funny as Pixar movies normally are. Perhaps some of these reviewers didn’t understand the Scottish accents and missed the jokes? Other comments were based around the many historical inaccuracies within Brave, such as the clothing material and body paint on the Macintosh clan being from later time periods and that bears did not exist in Scotland during the chosen time period. Although the two living bears featured in Brave are actually cursed humans, viewers with incredible attention to detail spotted stuffed bears within the film, suggesting that those bears had been killed within the same timeframe as Brave. Those who worked on Pixar admitted that they weren’t bothered about being historically accurate.

In terms of accolades, Brave won numerous awards, including Best Animated Film at the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes, and the Academy Awards. Brave was also nominated for many Annie Awards, in categories such as Animated Effects, Character Animation, Writing, and Music, winning awards for Editorial and Production Design. Brave was nominated here for Best Animated Feature too, but lost to Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph (2012).

LEGACY

Brave will always have a place in Pixar history, by being the first movie from the company to be co-directed by a woman; the first Pixar movie to have a fairy-tale-type story; and the first Pixar movie to follow a female protagonist. Merida also became part of the official list of Disney Princesses. However, Brave ultimately did not hit audiences in the same way as other Pixar movies have done both in the past and the present, making it one of the least represented movies of the Pixar movie collection on both screen and in the Disney Parks.

Pixar don’t generally set out to make sequels – unless the movie is so incredibly popular that they know good money can be made. Sorry, that was cynical of me; maybe if they hadn’t made Toy Story 4 (2019) I might have believed their official reasoning: that a sequel is only made by Pixar if they know that there is a good enough story to be told in a further movie. Brave works perfectly well as a stand-alone movie, so even though some fans may have wanted another outing for Merida and Elinor, it didn’t make sense to push the story past the singular film. Nor have Pixar decided to follow Disney’s lead and make live-action remakes of all their past movies – and I hope they never do.

If you did want to see Merida in a live-action format though, then there’s no need to be disappointed because Merida was a recurring character in Season 5 of Once Upon a Time (2011-18), first appearing in Episode 1 of the season. It is supposedly set ten years after the events of Brave, but as the storylines in Once Upon a Time don’t generally follow the storylines of the animated movies that some of the characters come from, it doesn’t make much difference! Episode 6 of Season 5 is even titled “The Bear and the Bow”, paying homage to the original title of Brave. Amy Manson was chosen to portray Merida in this series. Prior to her casting on Once Upon a Time, Manson had been cast as Medea in the British series Atlantis (2013-15). She went on to appear in movies such as Spencer (2021), as Anne Boleyn, and in series, like Bodies (2023), as Charlotte Hillinghead; The Nevers (2021-23) as Maladie/Sarah; and the Scottish crime drama Rebus (2024-present) as Rhona.

And if you wanted to see Merida in animated form once more, she featured in that much loved Disney Princess scene within Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). The recurring joke around Merida here is that none of the other princesses can understand her, partly for her thick, strong accent, and also because she is from “the other studio”.

Also on screen, a short film was released along with the DVD and Blu-Ray of Brave called The Legend of Mor’du (2012). The Witch tells us the story of the four princes that we hear in Brave. We are told that in an ancient kingdom, each of the four sons of a king had their own gifts: the youngest son was wise; the third was compassionate; the second was just; and the eldest was strong. When the king died, he proclaimed that the rule would be divided between each of the four brothers, wanting them to rule together to create a strong kingdom, however, this annoyed the eldest who felt he, and he alone, should be king. He declared that he should be king, and the brothers fought against each other. As the war came to a stalemate, the eldest son sought a way to victory. He found himself at the Ring of Stones and was led by the wisps to a cottage, that housed “a ravishing vision of loveliness”, the Witch, of course. The Witch gave him a spell to either fulfil his wish of becoming king or to mend the bond with his brothers. Luring his brothers with talk of a truce, he drank the spell, which turned him into a bear, which surprised him as he wanted the strength of ten men. The eldest son accepted his new form and defeated his brothers, but his people fought against, and fled from, the bear. Mor’du’s soul has been forever buried within his bear form. We then see that Wee Dingwall has found the Witch’s cottage, and she is telling him the story, showing him the cake spell that Merida received. He freaks out, saying he just wanted a drink of water, and leaves – after realising he needs to pull the door, instead of push it!

Julie Walters returned to voice The Witch again, and Steve Purcell, who was also a co-director on Brave as well as working on the screenplay, reprised his role as The Crow. Wee Dingwall was voiced by Callum O’Neill here and in Brave, though strangely, I don’t recall him speaking in the movie at all…

At the Disney Parks, Merida used to have her own meet-and-greet area at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Florida, called Fairytale Garden, which can be found next to Cheshire Café, to the side of Cinderella Castle. For Merida, the area was decked out with Scottish tapestries and an archery target. Her meet-and-greet location was open from May 2012 until July 2023, when it was refurbished to make way for a new Mirabel meet-and-greet themed to Encanto (2021) instead. Merida has since been seen at the gazebo in Liberty Square but she does not appear at scheduled times. She has also been spotted on the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade recently, though these characters do swap out fairly frequently. Within the Happily Ever After fireworks show, “Touch the Sky” can be heard with some narration from Merida. Clips from Brave can be seen throughout the show. Merida was a permanent feature in the daily Festival of Fantasy Parade, which has been running since 2014, with her own bagpipes-shaped float and using music from Brave, however, this section of the parade was removed when the parade returned after the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear if this float will ever return to the parade, or if it will be repurposed in some way. “Touch the Sky” from Brave also used to feature within the Epcot fireworks show Harmonious as part of the Europe section, along with some small animations, but this show was removed in April 2023.

At Disneyland, Merida used to have her own dedicated meet-and-greet area, themed with a tent like we see at the start of Brave, archery paraphernalia, and small animatronic figures of her three brothers, still as bears. This area was opened in 2012, around the same time that Merida’s location at Walt Disney World opened, but nowadays, it looks like Merida can be seen walking around Fantasyland at times. She also had a small meet-and-greet location during Pixar Fest 2024 at Disneyland near the Fantasyland Theater. Sadly, even though Disney California Adventure has Pixar Pier, and Disneyland has the Pixar Place Hotel, it looks like Merida and Brave in general are not particularly referenced, though Merida is on the mural of Pixar movies within the Pixar Place Hotel. It looks like Brave can join the same club as A Bug’s Life (1998) as being one of the forgotten Pixar movies…

In the Disney Parks outside of the US, Merida has been seen at Disneyland Paris, most recently at Princess Pavilion, and around the castles at both Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland. There are also clips of Merida riding on a mechanical horse in front of Shanghai’s castle as part of the Golden Fairytale Fanfare stage show. It is unclear if Merida has been available to meet at Tokyo Disneyland though I have seen one photo of Merida at Tokyo DisneySea from 2021.

Within shows, Merida is featured within the Princess section of the show Mickey and the Wondrous Book at Hong Kong Disneyland, which has been running since 2015, singing “Touch the Sky”, shortly after Ariel’s “Part of Your World” and Rapunzel’s “When Will My Life Begin”. Although a similar show appears at Shanghai Disneyland, called Mickey Storybook Adventure, this section is instead relaced with Moana, Mulan, and Rapunzel singing “I See the Light”, but there is a mosaic of Merida within the Enchanted Storybook Castle.

Outside of this, there are no specific attractions solely focused on Brave, Merida, or any of the characters. Since Merida is a princess though, she may appear at character dining locations such as Cinderella’s Royal Table at Walt Disney World or Auberge de Cendrillon at Disneyland Paris, but these princesses swap out on a regular basis. Children can also choose to be made up to look like Merida at the various Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique locations across the Disney Parks. There is also likely to be some other sort of merchandise, like pins or ornaments featuring Brave’s characters, around a milestone anniversary.

You may also be lucky enough to see rare characters from Brave appear at the Disney Parks on occasion. It was a while ago but in 2013 for a special event celebrating Scottish food and drink as part of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival that year, Elinor was available to meet guests with Merida. Elinor was also seen during Merida’s Coronation ceremony that took place at Walt Disney World in 2013 when she was officially crowned as a new Disney Princess. It is possible that Elinor may be seen at future Special Events.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Everybody has a mother. Everybody has a father. Even if that’s only biologically-speaking. This universal truth is why portrayals of family life and parent-child relationships are common on stage and screen, and in literature.

There are ample opportunities for different takes on these types of relationships because each one is different to every person. Sometimes the parent-child relationship is not easy or even healthy. Parents may distance themselves from their children, or the child may distance themselves from their parents, perhaps as they get older. One can be absent from the other for a wide range of reasons.

Brave specifically looks at the mother-daughter relationship which can be fraught with friction, arguments, unsaid words, and angry, impulsive comments. Many mothers have said that all they do is fight with their daughters, especially teenage ones, and that is the sort of relationship Merida and Elinor have with each other.

I did not have that experience with my mother; we are very similar so we don’t tend to disagree or argue on many things, and even if we do, one of us will be apologising soon after. My dad likes to say I am my mum’s “mini me”, which is quite accurate. We aren’t a “mushy gushy” sort of family but I love my mum, and I’m lucky to have such a close relationship with her; I know many aren’t so lucky.

The message that Brave looks to teach us, which can apply to any familial relationship, not just mother-daughter, is that with communication, honesty, and listening to the other person, these relationships can become workable, albeit not perfect. Having a parent-child relationship irretrievably break down is not good for either person, so even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with your family, and perhaps that relationship has broken down in the past, it’s best to try and find some way of making sure the relationship continues in some form, in some way, to avoid that feeling of regret years down the line.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Pixar, Merida & Elinor (2012), Disney+.

[2] Credit: Mark Harrison, ‘Mark Andrews and Katherine Sarafian interview: on making Brave’, DenOfGeek.com, 22^nd April 2016.

[3] Credit: Pixar, ‘Brave 2012 Behind The Scenes’, WonderLand YouTube Channel, 31^st October 2020.

[4] Credit: Chase Wilkinson, ‘Pixar’s Brave Took Inspiration From a Lesser-Known Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale’, CBR.com, 25^th November 2021.

[5] Credit: Petrana Radulovic, ‘Prince of Egypt director Brenda Chapman: ‘We wanted to do something that reached more adults’, Polygon.com, 17^th December 2018.

[6] Credit: Steven McKenzie, ‘Andrews and Sarafian on Disney-Pixar’s Brave’, BBC News, 19^th November 2012.

[7] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Behind the Scenes of Pixar’s Brave’, Time.com, 24^th February 2012.

[8] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Disney Pixar’s Brave’, VisitScotland.com, date unknown.

[9] Credit: Pixar, ‘Brave 2012 Behind The Scenes’, WonderLand YouTube Channel, 31^st October 2020.

[10] Credit: Pixar, Deleted Scenes (2012), Disney+.

[11] Credit: Germain Lussier, ’11 Things We’ve Learned About Pixar’s ‘Brave’ [D23 Expo]’, SlashFilm.com, 22^nd August 2011.

[12] Credit: Eriq Gardener, ‘‘Brave’ Trademarks Pose Problems for Disney-Pixar’, HollywoodReporter.com, 21^st June 2012.