Up, up and away

Not since the release of Happy Feet in 2006 have I looked forward to the opening of an animated feature. This time around, it is the latest Pixar/Disney animated movie Up featuring the voices of Ed Asner as Carl Fredericksen and Jordan Nagai as Russell. The movie opens wide on May 29.

Every time I see this trailer, I crack a smile from Russell introducing himself to Mr. Fredricksen to the scene in which Russell is smeared across the window of a blimp.

Props to Pixar for casting a minority lead both on screen as well as voice over. Even before I discovered that Jordan Nagai (presumably of Japanese descent) was the voice behind the character, instinctively Russell appeared to me to be Asian. In an interview however director Pete Docter attributes the character traits of Russell as having been largely based on Pete Sohn, one of the animators at Pixar. 

So while the outward and physical traits are Asian, the personality and character traits are, well, Caucasian. All across the internet, this topic appears to be hotly debated: Is he Asian or isn't he? 

The question is relevant since Hollywood never seems to be in a particular hurry to cast an Asian male lead unless he knows martial arts. Come on people, surely there's more to Asians than that! While Asians comprise 15.2 million people or 5% of the US population, Asia with its approximately 4 billion people makes up 60% of the human population. So while the vast majority of media in the US centers on the vast majority of the populace, I am also aware of quite a bit of hand-wringing amongst studios who are expected to grow their numbers year-over-year. They are often looking to local language acquisitions as a strategy to increase international revenues. 

But here's an idea: With a target market of 4 billion people, surely there's an opportunity to cast more Asian leads that are relevant to that audience. I realize of course that many of the 4 billion are often unreachable (i.e., lack access to media outlets, television, cable, theatres, etc.). Still, shave 75% off and one is still left with 1 billion (3 times that of the US population) to reach and monetize. Perhaps this was Pixar's implicit or explicit strategy.   

Whether it was intended or not, the fact that first-time actor Jordan Nagai was cast in one of this summer's largest blockbuster movies might signify some progress in this regard. Sorry to put so much pressure on you little buddy.

Punchlines

Holy mother of god. Could the weekend newspapers get any fatter?

I wish. That way when I throw them at my cat, she knows I mean business.