The 62nd Cannes Festival opens with “Up” by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson

This is the first time in the history of the Cannes Festival that a 3D cartoon is being screened as the keynote motion picture at the opening ceremonies, a sign that animation is coming into its own. Up, the tenth movie produced by Disney-Pixar studios, features a crotchety old man, who narrates the wondrous tale, and a little boy along for the ride with him, as the man’s house is lifted skyward pulled upwards by thousands of helium balloons. Their amazing journey will take them to the heart of a lost world, and in the process, they will discover themselves.

Directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson drew inspiration for their nostalgia-tinged cartoon from the great Disney classics like Dumbo, seeking to enchant audiences the old-fashioned way "whether in terms of the design, the language level, or the image structure." The team’s byword was "simplicity of spirit": the key to achieving "the simplicity that makes the subject crystal-clear and bright." "To create Up’s world, we could not use what had already been made, producer Jonas Rivera commented. We had to reinvent how people were represented, their clothes, hair, water, or any other element of the story. We had to define a graphic style in harmony with our subject for this fable and adventure. Our approach defined itself by looking for the real heart or for the dominant feature of each of its elements, which isn’t very common for a caricature."

Raising the excitement even higher, a live broadcast of the opening ceremonies including the French premiere of Up, voiced by Charles Aznavour, will screen simultaneously in four other French cities. Movie viewers of all ages in Paris, Rennes, Lyon, and Marseille will have an opportunity to delight in this 3D animated feature at the same time as Cannes festival goers.