Disney/ Pixar went all out at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009 to produce an eye-catching stunt to gain attention from the hordes of international journalists and photographers attending. On a pier across from the Carlton Hotel, workers tied an enormous cluster of balloons, almost identical to the one created with computer graphics in their new film, Up.
It was impossible to tell whether thousands of small helium balloons had been bundled together or whether an outsized balloon was being concealed by hundreds of smaller ones. The balloons were fastened to a miniature house resembling the one in the film and lit brilliantly. According to director Pete Docter, the original plan had been to release the balloons to carry the house over the Riviera, but strong winds caused them to keep the balloons tied to the pier for fear of an incident!