Up’s Opening Montage Went Through Multiple Last-Minute Changes

“We overwrote that opening like crazy,” director Pete Docter told The Ringer in 2022. “I would guess we had 30 to 40 minutes of material that we slowly whittled down.” Some of that whittling included cutting out dialogue that was originally slated to appear in that scene, but eventually, they realized they could rely solely on Giacchino’s score and the visuals to tell this part of the story. “Being [a] fan of silent films, I kept pushing to see how much we could take out, and discovered that it seemed like the less we had the more emotional it felt,” Docter said. “No dialogue, no sound effects — just music and visuals. It’s pretty tight. Every shot is a setup for elements we use later in the film.”

Striking the exact right balance was tricky. They even toyed with removing the part where Ellie has a miscarriage because they thought it might be too heavy for audiences; thankfully, they put it back in, and the film retained the full emotional portrait of Carl and Ellie’s journey. “We made lots of changes and adjustments, and it was really hard to know whether we were making it better or breaking it,” Docter said. “Some days it would be super emotional, and other days we wouldn’t feel anything at all. Oh no, we took out three frames — did we break it?”

You can listen to my full conversation with Michael Giacchino on today’s episode of the /Film Daily podcast below:

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“Up” is streaming on Disney+, and while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the short film “Carl’s Date,” which serves as a sequel to the movie.