8 Fun Facts About Carl and Russell from “Up”

1. A Ripe Old Age

At 78 years old, Carl Fredricksen from Up is the oldest protagonist in a Pixar film. Or is he? We have to introduce a couple of asterisks here. We should properly say “human” protagonist because, strictly speaking, WALL-E would be the oldest, seeing he was created 700 years before the events of the film (which takes place in 2805). We should also add that if we consider title characters, Miguel’s great-grandmother Mamå Coco was 99 years old!

2. A True Legend

Carl was voiced by the legendary Ed Asner. Director Pete Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera looked to Lou Grant (the TV character made famous by Asner) to help them strike the perfect balance between Carl’s good and – let’s say, grumpy mannerisms.

3. “Hey, That’s Not Me!”

Curiously though, Docter revealed that Grant provided more of an inspiration when it came time to develop the personality for Ellie (Carl’s deceased wife in the film). Carl’s look was inspired by Spencer Tracy, Walter Matthau,
and James Whitmore – so much so that when Asner saw the model of his character, he joked, “I don’t look anything like that!”

4. Grandpa!

Having a grumpy, elderly man as your lead character might seem like a bad idea, but Docter wasn’t at all concerned about having an older protagonist. He felt (correctly, as it turned out) that children would relate to Carl just as they related to their grandparents.

5. Bringing Russell to Life

Russell was voiced by Jordan Nagai, though interestingly, Jordan’s older brother Hunter initially read for the role. According to Docter, “As soon as Jordan’s voice came on, we started smiling because he is appealing and innocent and cute and different from what I was initially thinking.”

6. Getting Into the Part

Docter encouraged Nagai to act physically and vocally when recording the role, even lifting him upside down and tickling him for the scene where Russell meets Kevin.

7. Shapes

Have you ever noticed that Carl’s character design is rather blocky, while Russell’s is more rounded? That was done to symbolize how much Carl is attached to (and refuses to leave) his house, while Russell is more free-spirited, like a balloon!

8. Carl’s Mannerisms

When it came time to animate Carl, Pixar’s animators looked to their own parents and grandparents to copy their mannerisms. They even watched footage of the Senior Olympics! To further drive the point home, the team developed several rules that governed Carl’s movements. For one, he could only turn his head 20 degrees without turning his whole body, and he couldn’t raise his arms high in the air.

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