Fredricksen House

**The Fredricksen House** (sometimes referred to as, "**Ellie**") is a location from the film *Up* (2009).

## Description

The Fredricksen House is a two-story house which used to be located in an unidentified American city. The house was retrofitted to serve as a makeshift aircraft, utilizing 10,000-20,000 helium balloons connected to a hollowed-out fireplace to fly. In this state, the Fredricksen House was also equipped with two crafted sails which could be maneuvered via a helm connected to a weathervane atop the house. The final resting place of the house is atop Paradise Falls in Venezuela, South America.

## History

### Film

The house's original builders and owners are unknown but it was constructed and abandoned prior to the late 1930s. The abandoned home became the club-house of an adventurous young girl named Ellie and later her play-mate Carl Fredricksen.

Years later, Carl and Ellie married and officially purchased the house to be their home. Together the two refurbished the building into a functional home and planned on someday moving to Paradise Falls in Venezuela. To make ends meet, Ellie became a zookeeper and Carl worked at the same zoo where he sold balloons.

As the years passed, the dream of moving to Paradise Falls faded further and further from their lives as they could not afford to move. It was not until the 2000s that a now aged Carl decided to splurge on tickets so the two could travel to the falls. Before they could do so however, Ellie fell gravely ill and died, leaving Carl a widower. Carl's form of coping with Ellie's demise came through leaving his house as it was and almost personifying Ellie as being part of the home.

In the late 2000s, Carl's house was part of a neighbourhood being demolished for big-city urbanization. When construction workers damaged part of his house, Carl attacked them and as a result was sued by the construction company and deemed a public-menace to be sent away to a retirement home. Carl retaliated by using large amounts of helium balloons to turn his house into a makeshift airship that he decided to navigate to Paradise Falls, only for a young Wilderness Explorer boy-scout named Russell to have stowed away on the vessel.

In South America they encountered a dog named Dug which had a specialized collar allowing him to speak and who chose Carl to be his new master. The two also came across the giant bird, "Kevin" which Russell named and adopted which in turn made them targets of Dug's owner, the now mad and elderly explorer Charles F. Muntz. Carl moved past wishing to isolate himself in his house on the falls when he discovered a journal kept by Ellie that detailed their own adventures together. This motivated Muntz to leave the Falls and use it to save Kevin (and Russel) from Muntz who died in the process.

Following this, Carl became the new owner of the *Spirit of Adventure* which he piloted back home where he spent more time with Russel. The abandoned house drifted atop to Paradise Falls where it would remain.

## Appearances and allusions

### Pixar Pier

The house is depicted on billboards advertising the Pier which show Carl, Dug, Kevin and Russell travelling to the Pier via the house.

## Connections

### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

Carl and Ellie's, "Paradise Falls" jug is located on a shelf in Trader Sam's bar. The bar is themed to the Tiki Bars of the 1930s-1950s but takes place at some point c.1960, presumably when Carl and Ellie would have been a young couple. Given that this would most certainly be a different jug, it is likely that Sam had some affiliation with Carl and Ellie and took the jug habit from them.

### Other

* **Toy Story**: Carl and Ellie have a signed postcard to Andy Davis found in his room in Toy Story 3.

## References

1. ↑ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/06/first-look-pixar-themed-billboards-to-welcome-pixar-pier-guests-at-disney-california-adventure-park/
2. ↑ https://insidethemagic.net/2016/07/five-years-of-adventuring-at-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar/