"Up"

An elderly widower and retired balloon salesman saves his house from the wrecking ball in a remarkable fashion, launching himself on a long-dreamed-for adventure to South America, in the computer-animated comedy from Pixar. The Disney release, nominated for five Oscars, was only the second animated film ever nominated for Best Picture, and won two Academy Awards.

By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan

Pixar's Resume

"Up" is the 10th feature film from Pixar, the company that produced the first feature-length computer animated film, 1995's "Toy Story" (for which director John Lasseter received a Special Achievement Academy Award). Since the Best Animated Feature category was introduced eight years ago, Pixar won for "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles," "Ratatouille" and "WALL-E."

Ready for Adventure

"Up" opens with the meeting of young Carl Fredicksen and the tomboyish Ellie, who share a love for adventure, idolize the great explorer Charles Muntz, and dream of traveling to exotic locales themselves.

A Lifetime in 4 Minutes

The wordless montage sequence of Carl and Ellie's courtship, marriage and life together captures the joys and sorrows of a couple's union: buying a home and planning for the future, as well as infertility, aging, dipping into savings for life's unexpected challenges and, finally, illness, death and grieving. It packs more emotional power into a few minutes than many films do in their entirety.

Darkest Before Dawn

Alone, and with his house in the sights of a ravenous real estate developer, Carl fights to protect his home, but finds himself on the losing side. That doesn't mean he'll take eviction lying down.

A Whole Lotta Helium

On the morning he is due to be moved into a retirement home, thousands of colorful helium balloons emerge to carry his house aloft.

Sail Away

A ship's wheel, curtains, rope and pulleys allow Carl to steer his house South, to fulfill the dream he shared with Ellie of visiting Paradise Falls.

Not Found in Wilderness Explorer Handbook

Tagging along on the ride, however, is young Wilderness Explorer Russell, whose desire to help is, alas, undone by his own enthusiasm.

Wicked Weather

Carl reluctantly takes his passenger through storms to South America, his house gradually sinking due to the balloons' leaking helium. The pair then set off to find Paradise Falls.

On their way they encounter an extremely friendly dog named Dug, and come across an exotic bird (dubbed "Kevin"), the capture of which has been a lifelong obsession of Muntz.

Muntz and Friends

Muntz, we discover, is alive and well and residing on a zeppelin, along with a pack of assistant dogs, whose thoughts are translated into English via special collars. They conspire to steal the bird, prompting Carl to make a fateful choice.

Dogfight

In a climactic showdown, dog-piloted airplanes try to bring down the house.

Paradise Falls at Last

In addition to its humor and adventure, "Up" is also a touching tale of achieving nearly insurmountable goals.

It Is Written

It is also a moving story of memory, regret, and of passing on the lessons learned to others.

Vet Voices

Ed Asner ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Lou Grant") provides the voice of Carl, while Muntz is performed by Christopher Plummer, who this year is nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his turn as Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station".

Dream

A gouache painting of Paradise Falls by design artist Lou Romano. As part of their research Pixar artists traveled to South America, to the flat-top mesas (or Tepui) that inspired the film's landscape. The bizarre rock formations they found were initially thought too unbelievable.

See "Art of 'Up'" (Lou Romano's blog)

Carl Studies

Disney/Pixar: Pete Docter, Daniel Lopez Munoz

As the story developed, the character of Carl also changed, from the initial image of a grumpy old man selling cheerful balloons, to someone whose unchanging ways were signified by his blocky, square shape (as opposed to other characters' rounded, curvy shapes). Once he'd freed himself of feelings of guilt over his failings towards his dead wife — which she in a touching note allows him to do — he emerges as a stronger, heroic, even taller figure.

Graphics

The incredible attention to detail in "Up" is evident in the graphics used for even the most minute or fleeting of objects, from peeling billboards, store fronts, household goods, and ID tags to the "Ellie badge." Among Russell's Wilderness Explorer badges is one, top left, for 2-D cel animation.

See "Up" Graphics (Paul Conrad's "Super Robot Monster" blog)

Keeping Score

Composer Michael Giacchino was nominated for Best Original Score for "Up," which features a melodic waltz for Carl and Ellie that is transformed into an airy accompaniment once Carl sets off on his adventure. Giacchino also scored this year's reboot of "Star Trek," and was previously nominated for the music of the 2008 Pixar film "Ratatouille."

Except From Cue "Married Life"

The director of "Up," Pete Docter, poses with the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film at the Governors Ball Sunday, March 7, 2010. "Boy, never did I dream that making a flip book out of my third grade math book would lead to this," he said.

Composer Michael Giacchino (sporting an "Ellie Badge") accepts the Oscar for Best Original Score. "I was nine and I asked my dad, 'Can I have your movie camera? That old, wind-up 8mm camera that was in your drawer?' And he goes, 'Sure, take it.' And I took it and I started making movies with it, and I started being as creative as I could. And never once in my life did my parents ever say, 'What you're doing is a waste of time.' Never. And I grew up, I had teachers, I had colleagues, I had people that I worked with all through my life who always told me, 'What you're doing is not a waste of time.' So that was normal to me, that it was OK to do that. I know there are kids out there that don't have that support system, so if you're out there and you're listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it. It's not a waste of time. Do it, OK? Thank you."