Kickstarter Bonus: The Time I Almost Did "Up"

One more time, today is the last day of my Kickstarter project. It's completely funded, but I'd like to overfund and add some other benefits. As bonuses, I'm offering some art that's never been seen and won't be in the final art book.

I completely fell in love with Up when I saw it. It was a heartbreaking, nearly perfect film. Boom had the Pixar license, and they were talking to me about Muppets, and it took all of seven hours for me to write them an e-mail begging to do an Up comic.

At the end of the movie, Carl is clearly living in the zeppelin, and hanging out with Russell and Dug. It was just begging for a sequel. You know why? Because with that setup it's Uncle Scrooge! Old guy, boy scout tagalong, going off having adventures.

The idea was almost instant, too. Living aboard the zeppelin, Carl finds a never mailed letter from Muntz. And while Muntz was crazy, he was still young Carl's idol. so he decides to deliver the letter himself. The letter takes him to Australia and gives the book the awesomely awesome title Up: Down Under.

I'm still proud of that, title, pitch, concept and everything.

Here's the thing: it got approved. The pitch went to Disney where we were told that they didn't really see Carl traveling much or very far after his adventure in the movie. But they thought the idea had merit.

So, here's what I did: I realized the end scene of Up takes place at a famous ice cream place near Pixar. That meant the movie took place in Northern California. That meant I could use Southern California. So the trip to Australia following in Multz's footsteps instead became a trip to glamorous 1930's Hollywood. My Outback Flying Doctor was replaced by an actress who, Doris Day-style, started an animal shelter/farm.

And you know what? It was better. The dog shelter made Dug even more important, and Hollywood was a better backdrop. I liked it more, even if I had to lose the title.

In my dream world, one day I'll pitch it to Pixar and we'll make the thing. It sure would be swell. And it could happen someday. After all, adventure is out there.