Fun With Balloons!
Some people might call it sappy and sweet while others could call it sappy and disgusting, but I found the latest creation from Disney Pixar, UP to be wonderfully funny. I could relate so much to the characters in the movie. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 10 years and I cannot imagine living my life without him. While watching this movie, I will be the first to admit that I did get a little misty eyed and NO, it's not the first Disney movie to make me cry. I'm a complete and total wreck when it comes to watching movies and even television shows because I tend to relate to much to the characters and put myself in their shoes. But, I digress. If you didn't get the opportunity to go watch Up on the big screen in Digital 3-D then you'll just have to settle for a regular showing of this beautifully animated masterpiece!
After a minor altercation with the construction crew who is building a strip mall where his neighborhood used to be, Carl Fredricksen is being forced into a retirement home. The 78 year old retired balloon salesmen decides to take matters into his own hands to avoid this inevitable disaster by tying thousands of balloons to his house and "floating" Up Up and away to his dream disaster in South America. Unfortunately, Carl has a stowaway who just so happens to be a very annoying 8 year old "Wilderness Scout" who is trying to get a badge for helping an old person. This movie had me crying and laughing all the way through. There are some very interesting characters in this film, including Carl's house which becomes a very "BIG" part of the movie as well as Dug, the talking..."Squirrel"...(oh sorry) dog as well as Kevin, a large flightless bird.
If you're looking for stocking stuffer ideas, this would be a great one. It's available now on Disney DVD and Blue Ray with TONS of bonus features including two shorts, Dug's Special Mission, and the Many Endings of Munz as well as Adventure is out there, a documentary telling the film makers trek to South America for film research.
It’s a tricky question and an even trickier answer because there are so many variables to consider. For instance:
• How big are the balloons?
• How heavy is the object?
• How quickly to do you want the object to rise Up?
We have come Up with a general formula you can use to figure out how many balloons it would take to lift... well, just about anything!
• Helium has a lifting force of about 1 gram per liter.
• An average size party balloon is approximately 30cm (one foot) in diameter.
• It can hold approximately 14 liters.
• That’s 14 grams of lift power per balloon.
• Estimate and subtract the weight of the string and the latex balloon.
• Formula: 1 balloon = 10 grams of lift power.
Disney • Pixar’s Up Blu-ray™Combo Pack?
At approximately 227 grams (or 0.5 lbs) in weight, it requires approximately 22 balloons to send the movie Up, up and away!
A Blu-ray Disc™ Player?
Most models weigh just over 2 kg (4.5 lbs.) which requires 200 balloons to add a whole new meaning to Blu-ray™ “high definition.”
Your Neighbor’s Dog?
A happy Labrador Retriever dog weighs in at about 32 kg (70 lbs). It would take approximately 3200 balloons to lift this furry friend off the ground.
Fun Fact: The voice of Dug (the Dog) in the movie Up is actually the voice of Co-Director / Screenwriter, Bob Peterson.
A Bicycle?
The average bicycle weighs approximately 19 kilograms (or 42 lbs). You will need approximately 1,900 balloons
to turn a 2-wheeler into an air-bike.
Fun Fact: Before the Wright Brothers built their first flying airplane in 1903, they operated a small bicycle repair shop.
A Sumo Wrestler?
The average weight of a Sumo wrestler is approximately 148 kg (or 326 lbs). That means it would take about 148,000 balloons to send this guy Up.
Fun Fact: Sumo wrestling was established as a national sport in 1909.
A Small House?
This figure can vary in terms of quantity of balloons given the size and scale of the house. Let’s say the house in Disney/Pixar ’s movie Up weighed about 46,000 kg (that’s 101,413 lbs). That means it takes approximately 4,600,000 balloons to send Carl's home Up and away!
Fun Fact: Nearly 70 animators worked on the movie Up during peak production.
* I received a review copy of this DVD in exchange for my opinion of the movie. No other form of compensation has been received and the opinions stated above are my own. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.
1 comments, add yours here:
I am positive that "UP" is on the grandcrew's list. I'll get it for them just so I can watch it. That's what Grandpa's do, yes it is.
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