UP! Game Launch Party

Have you seen the preview for the latest Pixar movie, UP? Well. At our house, we’ve watched the preview like maybe 5000 times. Because seriously, I have never met a kid as film obsessed generally, and Pixar obsessed specifically, as Ralph Blair.

So last week, when we were invited to attend the launch party for the UP video game, the whole family was beyond excited. The party was fantastic — held in a perfect kid space called Kidville on the Upper West Side. There was a great place space with gym equipment. Balloon animals and face painting. Lots of food. Helium balloons everywhere — brilliant. And 3 screens setup where you could play the UP video game on either Wii or DS.

Right before dinner, the party attendees gathered in a screening room and Ronnie Del Carmen of Pixar, took us through 4 extended, unreleased clips from the movie. (It is so good. I can’t wait to see the whole thing. The kids in the room — and adults as well — were all mesmerized as the balloons appeared and the house rose over the city.)

Once we were familiar with the characters from the movie, we were introduced to the video game by two developers from Heavy Iron. There are different versions for Wii and DS and we were able to learn about both. My favorite part of either version of the game is how carefully the makers kept violence out of them. I also appreciated how the characters’ behavior in the movie was reflected in the games. Very cool. You can check them out and even download a game demo here.


Ralph with Ronnie Del Carmen from Pixar. Ralph is a bit embarrassed of his bulging lower lip — he just had a “lip bumper” installed as part of his orthodontia. He’s such a good sport.