- “We're not actually going inside the Spirit of Adventure itself?”
- ―Carl Fredricksen, before entering the airship
The Spirit of Adventure is Charles Muntz's famed zeppelin featured in the 2009 Disney/Pixar animated feature film, Up.
Background[]
Development[]
- The Spirit's design is based largely on the German airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, but with 8 engines on her hull that can be pivoted forwards and backwards, similar to the USS Macon's vectored thrust engines.
- The airship's aircraft carrying hull is based on those of the ZRS airships used by the US Navy, the USS Akron and USS Macon, and the large hooks on the upper wings of the biplanes it launched suggest similar hangar incorporation to these two ships.
- It could also be said that the airship is based on one of Goodyear-Zeppelin's later concept designs, the ZRCV, which was to have an elongated gondola as with the Spirit.
Role in the film[]
Up[]
Muntz traveled the world in this airship, and has used it to collect various things he found along the way. The giant airship has several chambers, including a dining room, a hall of animal skeletons, and the bridge. The bones of a large bird (the species Kevin is) can also be seen in the airship, including all the helmets of fallen adventurers he has knocked off (under the suspicion of stealing his prized target) and stored inside. The airship also has a hangar to carry small biplanes.
During Carl's mission to rescue Kevin, most of the animal skeletons and antiques in the exhibition hall were damaged and/or lost (some due to Muntz's violent rage to kill Carl, others due to Dug accidentally pushing the lever that turned the dirigible sideways after being cornered by the dog pack). A small portion of the exhibition hall (the window where some portions of animal skeletons fell on) was also damaged.
After Muntz's death, the airship is now owned by Carl and Russell, with Dug as the new leader of the dog pack, which they use to return to the U.S.A. At the end of the film, the airship is parked over the handicap spot by Fenton's Ice Cream as Carl, Russell, and Dug observe passing cars.
George and A.J.[]
In the short "George and A.J.", Carl lands the Spirit of Adventure on George and A.J.'s van, crushing it completely, much to their horror.
Dug Days[]
The airship appears in the opening of the series. It was revealed to be sold when Carl decided to find an actual home for him and Dug.
List of Museum collections[]
- Arsinoitherium
- Deinonychus
- Coelophysis
- Megaloceros
- Smilodon
- Thylacine
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Spirit of Adventure is described during the news reel shown at the start of Up as "longer than 22 prohibition paddy wagons". The average police wagon of the prohibition era was approximately 25 feet long, making the Spirit's length greater than 550 feet with a possible hull diameter (width) of about 100 feet. The true length of the Spirit has been revealed to be approximately 1,300 feet long.
- In real life as of 2009, such functional zeppelins like this one no longer exist. It's unknown that how Muntz sustained this relic for so long.
- In the opening theme of Dug Days, it is revealed that the airship was sold for money so Carl and Dug could afford to live in the suburbs.