Is Up Don Quixote Adaptation?

Rumour Claims 2009 Pixar Film Version of Miguel De Cervantes Novel

Jan 3, 2008

RUMOUR ALERT: Several sources claim that Pixar's 2009 movie Up is a loose adaptation of Miguel De Cervantes' Don Quixote.

Several online news services are claiming that Pixar's 2009 film Up is a loose adaptation of Miguel De Cervantes' classic novel Don Quixote.

Here's what we definitely know about the film: it's about a 70-year-old man who teams with a wilderness ranger to fight beasts and villains. Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.) is the principal director, with Bob Peterson (Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo) joins as co-director and screenwriter.

Time Magazine: A "Coming of Old Age Story"

According to an interview Docter did for Time Magazine, Up is a "'coming-of-old-age story' about a seventy-something guy who lives in a house that 'looks like your grandparents' house smelled.' He befriends a clueless young Wilderness Ranger and gets into lots of altercations."

According to Pixar, "Our hero travels the globe, fights beasts and villains and eats dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon."

This quote, which landed in the flick's Wikipedia stub, initiated a flood of rumours claiming that Pixar was attempting to adapt the tragi-comic novel, about an old man who decides that he is a medieval paladin, for the silver screen. Don Quixote is considered somewhat of a cursed property, since many directors such as Walt Disney and Terry Gilliam have tried and failed to bring their adaptations to cinemas.

Magical Mountain jumped on the bandwagon as well, with a stub calling the rumour fact. However the site didn't say where they got their information. Sci-Fi Wire reproduced the rumours but hasn't said whether or not they're true.

Disney Insider Claims Rumour is True

On the other hand, Pixar Planet produced a "Disney insider" who told them that Up was a Don Quixote adaptation.

"Disney has tried forever to make an animated movie based on Don Quixote," claimed the insider, known only as Joe. "Maybe this is John Lasseter’s way of realizing one of Walt’s unfulfilled dream projects?"

The details and corroborating evidence are pretty sketchy, so take this rumour with a very large grain of salt, at least until Docter, Peterson or Lasseter confirms that this is in fact the case.

The copyright of the article Is Up Don Quixote Adaptation? in Hollywood Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Is Up Don Quixote Adaptation? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.