Question: How old is Charles Muntz when Carl and Russell encounter him? When Carl was a kid, Charles appeared to be an old man. But, with the rest of the movie showing Carl at the age of 78, that would make Charles well over 100. How is he still alive?
Question: If Russell was with Mr. Fredrickson for at least 3 days, why are neither of his parents looking for him, or at least getting worried?
Answer: We, the movie audience, are never privy to Russel's parents and their reactions to circumstances which transpire. For all we know, an extensive hunt for Russell could have been initiated by his parents off screen.
Question: What are the dogs' collars rigged with that allows them speak?
Chosen answer: It is a fictional device that translates their barks into English (or, presumably, other human languages). It is impossible to say more than that because such a machine does not exist outside of the film.
Question: How did the movie get nominated for Best Picture? I thought there was a separate category for animated films.
Chosen answer: There's a separate section just for animated films to highlight them and give a wider selection recognition, similar to foreign movies, but they're not excluded from the best picture category, which is open to every feature.
Question: At one point, Carl asked Russell why he called Phyllis (Russell's mother) by her first name. Didn't Edward Asner, the voice of Carl, say this a lot on some old show?
Answer: Yes, it was a running gag on the Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). Ed Asner played Lou Grant, who always asked Bess (played by Lisa Gerritsen) why she called her mother Phyllis (played by Cloris Leachman) by her first name.
Question: Pixar usually shows Pixar characters in the next Pixar film into the films (like the Nemo in Monster's Inc, The Mr. Incredible doll in Nemo). Is there anything from Toy Story 3 in Up?
Answer: Yep, there is. As Carl's house initially flies away, there's a shot from inside a child's bedroom where they watch the house flying away. In that shot, next to the bed on the very far left of the screen, there's a small pink-ish teddy bear, who's a major new character in the upcoming Toy Story 3.
Question: I don't understand. What did Russell mean when he said, "Phyllis is not my mom." and why was this so dramatic?
Answer: It means his parents are divorced, or at least separated (since his dad is living with another woman), meaning he comes from a broken home and making the fact that his father never shows up to his events a lot harsher.
Question: When Russell can't climb the hose from Carl's house in the sky, Carl turns to Russell and shouts out "Caw, caw! Raar! Caw, caw! Raar!" as he goes up the ladder on the airship. Why is he saying that? At the end, even the audience said this as that kids received the badges on the stage. What's the meaning behind the words?
Chosen answer: Russell is part of a group called the Wilderness Explorers I think the whole "caw caw roar" thing might be something that the kids in the pack always do. Kind of like a special salute or signal.
Chosen answer: Carl and Ellie have two dramatically different personalities. Carl is more conservative, more reserved, a tender heart covered by a tough exterior which Ellie is able to break through, but which seems to recalcify after she dies. Ellie, on the other hand, is the sweet free spirit, rambunctious and adventurous. Throughout the film, each one conforms to the other until they ultimately blend into one beautiful unit. I think the makers of the film were trying to show that their respective personalities were a product of their upbringing, and reflected in the reactions of their families - hers larger, more fun, and more "hick" (we hear gunshots, for Pete's sake), and his more reserved, formal and patrician.
Michael Albert