Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2009

Pixar has been a force for innovation in the animation industry, and the studio’s latest film, Up (titled Uncle Carl’s Flying Home for Japan), is no exception. Yet beyond the outstanding animation and vivid imagery, it’s the storytelling that remains the driving factor, said the filmmakers during a recent appearance in Tokyo. Directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson, producer Jonas Rivera and story supervisor Ronnie Del Carmen said that there’s a certain joie de vivre in the process. “The best thing about Pixar is that everybody has fun making films,” said Docter, who also directed Monsters, Inc and wrote WALL-E and the two Toy Story movies. “If you took an idea like Up to another studio, they’d think you were insane. With every Pixar film, we try to do something different,” Up, shot in 3D, tells the story of Carl Fredrickson, a cantankerous 78-year-old widower (voiced by Ed Asner) who tethers thousands of balloons on top of his house so that he can set off on a journey to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting the jungles of South America. But he finds himself reluctantly sharing his ride with a young stowaway. “The potential for 3D is great, but ultimately, audiences will decide if it is viable,” said Rivera. “For us, it is just another way to tell the story, which always comes first.” While in Tokyo, the four filmmakers had an opportunity to judge the reactions of one Japanese celebrity—former pro wrestler Animal Hamaguchi. The 60-year-old said he had been inspired by Carl’s quest to fulfill his dream, and then broke into his cheerleading routine, much to the amusement of the Pixar visitors.