MANILA – The story of a 78-year-old man who tied thousands of balloons to his house and flew away to taste an out-of-this-world adventure has surely captured the interest of moviegoers worldwide.

Disney-Pixar’s animation film “Up” raked in $68 million on opening weekend in the United States last May.

“Up” opened in the Cannes Film Festival in France. It has been shown in other nations, including the Philippines, and will be released in more countries until December.

Behind the success of Disney-Pixar’s 10th full-length computer-animated film is the team led by Academy Award-nominated director Pete Docter.

Docter also served as screenwriter while Bob Peterson was the co-director and screenwriter. The film’s producer was Jonas Rivera.

Ronnie del Carmen, a Pinoy based in California, served as the movie’s story supervisor. He is presently working for Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville.

“This has been the most rewarding movie I've ever worked on,” he said in his “Tirade” blog.

He wrote about the warm reception the movie has received from fans, his studio, and people from the industry.

“We usually will get compliments on ‘a great job’ or ‘an amazing movie’ but this is different,” said del Carmen.

“People are thanking us for this movie's story. I am so honored to be part of this movie.”

Hilarious journey

“Up,” as stated on its official website, is a “hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth.”

The film’s protagonist, 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredrickson, “finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America.”

“But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russel,” the synopsis added.

Some children's books were published in tandem with the film, including “My Name is Dug,” illustrated by del Carmen.

The “Up” DVD, which will be released on November, includes an original short film directed by del Carmen entitled “Dug’s Special Mission.”

Forever grateful

“It's been such a gift to us who made it. [It] Made all the hard work all worth it,” he said of his latest film project.

“My thanks and eternal gratitude to Pete Docter who took me along on this journey and believed in what I was going to do for him,” he said.

He also thanked co-director Peterson “for showing me where the funny was only EVERY time,” and Rivera “for making sure I can show up for all of it and having my back.”

He then commended his team. “Our story crew was unobtrusive. We worked hard and kept on the path, fought the battles. I am so very proud of each and every one of them.”

“‘Up’ is welcomed into people's lives and I am forever grateful,” he said.

Paper biscuit

Del Carmen, 49, was born in the Philippines on December 31, 1959.

“He is maintained by his wife and kids and is not allowed too much peanut butter,” his website profile stated.

Before moving to Pixar, he worked for Dreamworks and Warner Bros. He listed his job titles on his website: “story artist, story supervisor, character designer, illustrator and all around pest.”

According to Wikipedia, his previous works include “WALL-E” (story/character design), “Ratatouille” (story), “Finding Nemo” (story supervisor) and “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” (storyboard).

He also worked on “The Road to El Dorado” (story supervisor), “The Prince of Egypt” (story), “Freakazoid!” (director) and “Batman: The Animated Series” (character design, storyboard).

He even tried his hand in comics for DC and Dark Horse. “Paper Biscuit,” meantime, is his self-published comic book.

He said his comic book intends to “house all my explorations in story, art and matters in between, whatever that may be.”

Photos courtesy of www.ronniedelcarmen.com