Russell

**Russell** is the deuteragonist of the 2009 film Up.

Russell is a Junior Wilderness Explorer who accompanied Carl Fredricksen to Paradise Falls. He loves being a wilderness explorer and has earned every badge and has even explored the real wilderness.

## Background

### Personality

Russell is a loud, hyperactive, anxious, high-strung, and curious but fun-loving boy. His behavior and personality often annoys Carl throughout the movie. The fact that he had chocolate with him suggests that he may like candy, which could also explain why he is overweight.

Russell beholds a spirit that somewhat reminded Carl of Ellie in Russell's curious nature and determination to do the right thing in helping Kevin, and they bond in a grandfather/grandson-like relationship.

### Physical Appearance

Russell is apparently an overweight kid since his shirt does not cover his whole stomach. He is always seen wearing a Wilderness Explorer uniform and his merit badges. He also appears to be of Asian descent. Russell has short, spiked hair, which is normally covered by a hat.

## Film Appearances

### Up

Russell was missing the "Assisting the Elderly" Wilderness Patch, the last one to put him in the rank of Senior Wilderness Explorer. He showed up at Carl Fredricksen's doorstep, hoping to help him in crossing something to assist him. Unfortunately, Carl tries to get rid of Russell by saying that there was a "snipe" bothering him and tells Russell to look two blocks down to capture it. When Carl sends his home (and him), in the air with 10,000 balloons, Carl finds Russell holding on for dear life, waiting for Mr. Fredricksen to let him in. He at first tells him, no, and Russell is forced to wait 5 seconds before Carl decides to let him in eventually. Carl was going to land the house so that they could send Russell home, but a storm ended up propelling them to South America.

He makes friends with an exotic bird which he names Kevin (not knowing it's gender), and then finds out that Kevin is really a female, searching for her eggs (he continues to refer to her as Kevin). He also makes friends with Dug, a dog who can literally speak his mind, by using a collar his master, Charles Muntz, created for him. He gets weary easily, and can't climb, showing that he is physically weak. He showed braveness when he went to rescue Kevin from Muntz's clutches. He is then captured and tied to a chair, then is sliding down the walkway to his end. Luckily, Carl saves him and sets him back in the house. But Russell falls all the way to the end of the garden hose. He then has the strength to climb when he sees Charles attack Carl. When attacked by Dog Fighters in their jets, he yells out "Squirrel!", distracting the dog pilots, and destroying their aircraft in the resulting crash. When Charles Muntz falls to his doom, the house is still on the garden hose. Kevin, Dug, and Russell are all still on it. When the house falls, all 3 jump to the hose, which Carl still has hold of. He sees them swing on it, and Russell screams out "That was cool!" At the end of Up, he gets his "Assisting the Elderly" Wilderness Merit Badge, presented by Carl Fredricksen (which is a soda can cap from Ellie). Then, he and Carl go and have some ice cream, just like Russell and his dad used to do. Carl's Zeppelin is hovering above both of them, and it seems that they have kept Dug since he appeared at the Wilderness Explorer ceremony with Russell's mother.

### Short Films

#### Dug's Special Mission

Russell and Carl only appear at the end of the short film where Dug tries to find a new master after being scolded by Alpha, Beta, and Gamma that he caused them not to capture Kevin, the bird that Muntz was to capture, and Dug reunites with the two during the events of the film where Carl and Russell arrive at the rocky area of Paradise Falls where they encounter Dug during the events of the film. When Russell asks Dug to speak, he then responds to him as he and Carl are surprised that he can talk before the image cuts to black.

#### George and A.J.

Russell only makes two brief appearances in the short film during the event where Carl takes off with many balloons in his house and later during the end of the short film where he and Carl arrive back to the spot where the nurses George and A.J. are at as Russell tells Carl that he would like to use the Spirit of Adventure's helm the next time they use it.

## Television Appearances

### Dug Days

Russell appears in the final episode "Science", where he adapts Muntz's dog translators to fit on smaller animals as a science project for a Wilderness Explorers badge, remotely attaching them to a squirrel, a blue jay, and a snail and studying how they end up communicating. When he gives Dug a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and leaves Carl's yard to take out the trash for his mother, Dug gets into an argument with the squirrel and the blue jay over the sandwich and the nature of being a wild animal. After Dug allows them to keep the sandwich and split it, Russell remotely removes the collars.

## Disney Parks

Russell is a walkaround character in the parks, appearing regularly at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney California Adventure.

At Disney California Adventure, Russell and Dug appear at the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail in a Wilderness Explorer's Camp theme added to the attraction in June 2011. Guests can participate in various activities at the camp to earn badges and become Senior Wilderness Explorers at a ceremony held at the Ahwahnee Camp Circle.