Which Pixar film features a young boy named Russell? Up. Russell is a young Wilderness Explorer who accidentally becomes a stowaway when elderly widower Carl Fredricksen lifts his house into the sky with balloons.
Russell initially wants only one thing from Carl: the final merit badge needed to become a Senior Wilderness Explorer. His badge requires helping an elderly person, so he considers assisting Carl a straightforward scouting task. The balloon journey quickly becomes far more dangerous when the house reaches South America and the pair encounter a giant bird, a talking dog named Dug, and explorer Charles Muntz.
Russell is voiced by Jordan Nagai and is written as energetic, earnest, and persistent. His relationship with Carl gives the film an emotional counterpoint: Carl is grieving his wife Ellie and clinging to the past, while Russell needs attention and support from an absent or distant family life.
Up was released in 2009, directed by Pete Docter, and became Pixar’s first feature presented in 3D. Its opening montage is famous, but Russell’s unlikely friendship with Carl drives the adventure that follows.