
UP
Up, Up, and Soaring to Box Office Success
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$219–267MM V $293MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
9.49 – 11.60%
Script Score
0.33
Directed by Pete Docter, the movie follows the adventures of a 78-year-old who ties thousands of balloons to his house to fulfil his dream of travelling to South America. It explores basic human quests of ambition, honour, power and vengeance. Mythosis uses 4 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.

1. The invisible plot structure of UP
1A. The script of UP borrows 91% of its events from 4 mythological tales
Carl’s quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Valmiki and Carl both forge new relationships when they shift their focus away from themselves
Russell’s quest is driven by the desire to serve their clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Hanuman & Russell demonstrate loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Muntz’s quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan and Muntz become ruthless after repeated failures.
Alpha’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology. Both Ravan and Alpha take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences.
There are 3 underdeveloped quests. Ellie’s quest for Independence, Kevin’s quest for Tranquillity & Dug’s quest for Idealism.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 869,994
Tales interweaved
Duryodhan, Valmiki, Ravan & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of UP’s plot structure: $219-267MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of UP
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Up uses 4 universal quests of Vengeance, Accumulation, Honour & Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Alpha mirrors the universal quest of Power. Carl mirrors the quest of Accumulation. Muntz mirrors the quest of Vengeance. Russell mirrors the quest of Honour.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Carl borrows 56% events from the universal quest of Accumulation. Russell borrows 16% from the quest of Honour. Both Muntz & Alpha borrows 19% from their respective quests.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Up has a quest interweaving score of 0.50 and is at par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Russell & Carl:

2B. Box office revenue estimation of UP
The plot structure of Up borrows from 4 mythological tales, its character quests are unique and their interweaving is also at par. The only drawback is that the remaining 3 quests, besides Carl’s quest are shallow.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.33
Audience appeal
9.49 – 11.60%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of UP
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Carl mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Carl’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.

Quest 2: Russell mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Russell’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve one’s clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.

Quest 3: Muntz mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
Muntz’s desire for Vengeance stems from the need to confront & punish offenders. The tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Vengeance.

Quest 4: Alpha mirrors the universal quest for Power
Alpha’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.

3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
UP’s plot structure suffers from the shallow quests of Russell & Muntz.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The ideal plot structure of UP is # 869,994. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Duryodhan, Valmiki, Ravan & Hanuman.
CONTACT: anandshiv@usemythosis.com for UP’s plot structure # 869,994.
Tags: Ravan, Hanuman, Valmiki, Duryodhan, Power, Honour, Accumulation, Vengeance, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2009