Up, Up, and Soaring to Box Office Success

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. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story

1A. 91% of the events are borrowed 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.

Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “Unlocking the Ideal Plot Structure”

1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones

Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.

We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.

Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!

The ideal plot structure of Up is # 869,994 that emerges from interweaving the universal quests of Vengeance, Accumulation Power & Honour.

2. Plot structure potential of UP: $219-267MM

2A. Plot structure evaluation

An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.

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 interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Up has a quest interweaving score of 0.50 and is at par. An example of interweaving the quests of Russell & Carl:

2B. Estimating revenue potential of plot structure

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.

We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.

Up has a script potential score is 0.33 and the movie will appeal to 9.49 – 11.60% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $219 – 267MM in the domestic market. The movie’s actual revenue was $293MM.

3. The ideal plot structure of UP

We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.

We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.

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.

Tags: 2009, Accumulation, Blockbuster movies, Bob Peterson, Duryodhan, Hanuman, Honour, Mythology, Pete Docter, Pixar Animation Studios, Plot Structure, Power, Prediction, Ravan, storytelling, Valmiki, Vengeance, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures