The first Pixar film released in 3D was Up. Pixar’s 2009 adventure was presented in stereoscopic 3D, making it the studio’s first feature released in that format.
Up follows Carl Fredricksen, a widower who attaches thousands of helium balloons to his house and flies toward South America to fulfill a promise to his late wife, Ellie. He unexpectedly takes along Russell, a young Wilderness Explorer, and their journey introduces them to a talking dog, an unusual bird and the explorer Charles Muntz.
The film’s 3D release is sometimes confused with later Pixar movies that made especially prominent use of stereoscopic effects. Cars 2, Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo were associated with 3D releases or conversions, but they did not precede Up as Pixar’s first 3D feature. The question concerns release format, not Pixar’s first use of computer-generated imagery or the first film shown at a particular theater.
Up premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and opened theatrically in the United States on May 29, 2009. It was also the first animated film to open Cannes.