For the first time, an animated film in 3D – Disney-Pixar’s UP! – will open the Cannes Film Festival. The CG film will be the Opening Ceremony film of the 62nd Festival de Cannes on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009. It will be released on May 29th in North America.
UP is a comedy adventure in which 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen fulfils his dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America, only to discover that he has brought with him his biggest nightmare, a 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer stowaway.
Its screening at Cannes puts UP! in rarefied company. Previous animations to be distinguished by being Official Selections at Cannes include: Dumbo [1947], The Fantastic Planet [1973], Fritz the Cat [1974], Shrek [2001], The Triplets of Bellville [2003], Shrek 2 [2004], Over the Hedge [2006], King Fu Panda [2008], and Waltz With Bashir [2008].