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Live-Action 'Up' Remake? Fan Art Ignites Debate!

Up's Carl Gets a Stunning live-action Makeover: Is a Live-Action Remake on the Horizon?

Disney's Live-Action "Up": Imagining Carl Fredricksen as a Real Person

New live-action art imagines what Pixar's Up would look like as a live action movie. This 2009 classic tells Carl Fredricksen's (voiced by the legendary Ed Asner) heartwarming and emotional adventure to South America! It's got everything:  thousands of balloons lifting a house, a quirky young boy named Russell (Jordan Nagai) and some truly wild adventures with Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer). The original won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Animated Feature;  it remains to this day, incredibly beloved for all its memorable moments.   This new piece, from artist @ylanast on Instagram, beautifully captures the beloved Carl in astonishing detail: and a live action version!

The time-lapse video is incredibly moving! You can see every brush stroke and shading and what it means; showing every detail. This really shows Carl’s sadness, all his wrinkles; showcasing his bushy eyebrows; recreating the iconic frown that makes Carl Fredricksen the deeply iconic character he truly is. This stunning imagery, created with the soundscape from the film’s iconic opening, perfectly conveys the very heart and soul of this beloved classic and does not require CGI; instead just a capable and supremely talented artist and the emotional expression really helps convey those underlying feelings to other viewers.

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What Does This Mean for a Potential Live-Action "Up"?

Collage of Carl and a diary entry in Up Image

Disney’s been on a live-action remake tear lately. Think: The Little MermaidBeauty and the BeastCinderella, and Mulan! They also seem to want more; adding newer projects such as a Moana remake planned for 2026!  But there’s still no Up live-action. Pixar’s Pete Doctor once said he was against those remakes— preferring creating new and original projects and even his refusal shows that live-action wouldn't work well for many films.

This amazing art demonstrates what that adaptation might look like.   The intense expression could showcase far greater depth. Those moments which convey sadness are amplified greatly— potentially more emotional! People often recreate this beloved world and the house in real life– this art displays just one possible way this famous animated story might adapt. This creative expression, although lacking additional plot details, might create excitement for another production in this universe which otherwise wasn't really available prior.

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Should "Up" Go Live-Action? A Difficult Question

Carl and Russell flying the house together in Up Image

A live-action Up could be interesting, maybe adding another kind of humor. But that would bring an extreme risk— diluting those elements that are beloved by people everywhere! The original opening? It’s amazing; one of animation’s most unforgettable sequences! Live action may simply ruin that perfection.  The animated medium adds this inherent sense of magic; avoiding needing the clumsy additions created with CGI which would totally detract from any kind of emotional storytelling.

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Conclusion: A Touching Tribute to a Timeless Classic

Up Pixar Movie Poster Image

This stunning art showcases @ylanast’s artistic prowess; a beautiful tribute! It successfully transports Carl into a more realistic context— the use of this method successfully demonstrates that artistic creativity remains a valid and potentially viable method to promote even an extremely well-known project, through those means unrelated to normal productions; making for unique experiences and emotional expressions.

The question of a live-action Up remains; its challenges enormous and those considerations numerous. Yet it shows those kinds of things which would necessarily define such a potential remake! Should they consider this project? The answer's complex.  Those earlier moments might not successfully translate.

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