In terms of Biology, the small Kevin in Turning Red might be a more common cousin of the big Kevin that Carl and Russell find in South America. It could be because where Kevin lives is so remote, that the large version of her species were able to thrive and other cousins of Kevin that are smaller were more easily found and studied. And it adds further to Muntz's story of finding the giant skeleton and why the scientists claimed that it was fake is because they didn't think that Kevin's species could have ever gotten that large.

whether this theory is right or not, the details and symbolisms that are being used as evidence prove that UP is an incredible film. the movie was definitely made with carls adventure being the exact one he had dreamed of, and it’s beautiful. whether it really goes on it or not

But wouldn't the skeleton in the classroom be a replica? Like the human skeletons in science classrooms. Which would also mean that there has been at least one Kevin discovered in order for there to be a replica of the skeleton. But still.

At this point I think Carl is probably the most emotionally relatable Pixar character to date, if not second behind Hector. We all miss you, Ed. Hope you and Ellie are happy together.

The bird in the classroom would be a mass produced item and if it's in a science or history class that covers something like discovered breeds, Charles Muntz is interesting to keep kids engaged. So the model is just to show the 1:18th scale replica version for visual aid.

On the question of whether Muntz would have been so easily stripped of his guild rank, I could easily see there being some kind of internal politics at play. He's apparently been showing them all up since before he even hit puberty, of course there would be some bruised egos looking for an opportunity to knock him down a peg.

To be fair I dont think most schools by 2002 would have live skeletons in their classrooms. That is probably a replica modeled after it and it could be shrunk down to not take up half of the room, like a small display that they use for teaching about avian bone structure or whatnot.

A bird skeleton in a classroom will only be a plastic model that does not need to be full scale. But aside from that connector cameo, yeah: Carl's adventure is too made-to-order, even for a pixar story. If J had dogs, he'd have also added how Munz would have to keep acquiring his purebred dogs from breeders, because he'd have been left with muts by the time of UP.

Alternative theory; Russell goes to the nursing home to get his 'Help the elderly' badge, he recognizes Carl from the zoo and sees that he is feeling 'really sad' so starts talking to Carl. They start playing a game of 'exploring'. The whole adventure is actually a story Russell made up to help Carl feel better. Which is why we see Carl at the award ceremony at the end.

"Of course this is happening in your head, [Carl], but why on Earth should that mean that it is not real?" -Dumbledore

I gotta say a few things #1 maybe the skeleton in Turning Red is another fabricated skeleton designed to fit the building/room, #2 as for the storm complaint, Russel literally said he steered the house towards paradise falls with his GPS, also he’s a wilderness explorer and did you see all of the badges he has, I’d say he’d have what it takes to pull that off #3 as for the amount of balloons, sure there aren’t nearly enough to lift the house, but remember this is a cartoon we’re talking about, and also an even smaller amount of balloons was able to lift the balloon stand and that many balloons can’t lift that and this is when Carl isn’t even imagining, #4 lastly as for Charles, we never see him looking for Kevin, we only see his dogs, it’s possible he never collected any of his previous animals, and the dogs did all of the work for him, that’s why he was so successful. Several months later I just wanted to clarify why I was so defensive about this movie. Not only is this my favorite Pixar film of all time, but the trip is the payoff of the beginning. Carl’s youthful life was full of things he had but was taken away from him. He had a potential child taken away, the adventure with his wife taken away, and his happiness taken away. Then his trip to paradise falls replenishes all of that, it gave the kid he wanted in Russel, it gave him the revelation he never lost the adventure with his wife, and it gave him his happiness with a new world with Russel and Dug. And this theory that none of that happened, ruins the whole payoff, and means Carl always had things taken away from him even though he did nothing wrong.

I always viewed Up as Carl's journey into the afterlife- he died in the house the night before he was going to be taken to the nursing home. Even for a Pixar movie the whole premise was just ridiculously convenient.

I always viewed it as carl died in the house and this was his journey to the after life . With Russ being the angel to guide him there And Kevin and Doug are animal guide's. Then the chairs at the end on the cliff symbolise Carl and Ellie being reunited. Kind of like a journey to the land of the dead. Either ancient Egyptian or Greek lore.

Honestly, this is based on the premise that it’s a Kevin skeleton. Look up any flightless bird, they look like that. Kiwi, penguin, dodo. It happened

One thing that ought to be noted about the Roosevelt situation. Old people, even those who are still sound of mind, especially the very old ones, tend to mix up memories. It could be he met Roosevelt, and went on safari with someone that cheated at card games. However, it is most likely Carl made it up to process his grief.

I think this one might be a little too big of a stretch. 1. That's a classroom skeleton so it'll be smaller and made of plastic. 2. In the scene where the scientists are analyzing the skeleton Munts brought back they were comparing it to an image of that bird this to me implies either they were seeing if it was possible for such a bird to exist or comparing it to a species of that bird that has been discovered and found it didn't match. 3. We see it only takes a small amount of balloons to lift even Carl's balloon stand who's to say they're not filled with a super helium that can lift the house. 4. Even if Carl went into his house fell asleep the night of his hearing and passed out this would mean everything is a dream but what happens if Carl wakes up? and if he's not asleep but rather passed away that's something tradgic but believeable. 5. Russel had a GPS to navigate to paradise falls and by then Carl already told him about where he's going. 6. I don't think Carl would've been asleep nearly as long as it would take to get there after that storm but idk. 7. Russel found the bird. 8. Charles Munts is 90+ year old explorer who has stuff like canine walkers and machines in his blimp to take care of his dogs but the fact he made collars that help them communicate is odd. 9. Carl and Russel return home by the end of the movie however where does Carl live now? (I haven't seen that series about Doug on Disney+ (the one that takes place after up))

The smaller skeleton I would think is most likely meant to be a replica. Edit: To be clear I still like the theory, this was just my thought process and I thought I'd comment it since J didn't bring it up in the video.

Okay I’ve had this theory for years and I’m so excited to see someone actually look into it

Franklin Roosevelt was a treasure hunter, he was into the Oak Island hunt before he was confined to a wheelchair

Maybe Muntz got to keep that creature, because Roosevelt lost it to him in a bet. Maybe Muntz is the son of an adventure, and the father and son played cards with Teddy Roosevelt. Dug Days is canon with the movie, right? (the short films on Disney+) If it is, that means that Dug was found among the other dogs that Muntz had at Paradise Falls.

Dude forgot that the word "Replica" existed for 19 minutes.

I don't think you can say that the skeleton in the classroom is suppose to be the same species as Kevin. A lot of skeletons can look similar another. For example an Ostrich and an Emu

Alternatively, that school skeleton is just a model of the fake skeleton Muntz showed decades earlier. Maybe they were learning about the history of discoverers or whatever.

This is a wild theory to craft with it almost completely being centered around the idea of a middle school having an actual bird skeleton in their classroom and not, say, a scale replica based on either a possible later discovery by explorers who weren't murdered by Muntz or maybe Carl and Russell documented the discovery and Kevin's family was put on the Endangered Species list...

As rare as the Kevin bird seems to be there’s no way they found enough of them to be selling real skeletons to middle schools, even if their population was on the rise. Since it’s almost certainly a reproduction, it isn’t necessarily actual size and could easily have been scaled down for classroom use.

A few years ago we went to a Halloween party and my big sister and I gave my grandpa a bow tie and tied balloons onto his stick and dressed him up as Carl. It was kinda freaky how similar they looked. If I could post a pic here I would.

I know I sound like a broken record, but the skeleton in the classroom is almost most definitely a scaled down model bruh.

I respectfully doubt this theory. Not for its implausibility, you made good points: it just feels like an extension of the "it was all a dream" trope that a lot of theorists immediately latch onto anything that's even remotely fictional. This is set apart from those for actually having evidence, but I'm still distanced from it.

I genuinely just think that Muntz is simply just lying. Getting a kick out of someone idolising him and making himself seem more impressive than he really is, hence the faking of the the discovery as well. Kevin being a mother and clearly a more intelligent species of bird than one would grant her on first sight, i’d say the reason she has been so elusive for Muntz yet appears for Carl is that it can sense intentions and who is good and bad, like dogs can do. Just my two cents.

I honestly don’t want this theory to be true 😂

He does not say "president Roosevelt", just "Roosevelt". From Google: "During an expedition to China funded by the Field Museum of Natural History in the 1920s, Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (sons of President Theodore Roosevelt) became the first foreigners to shoot a Giant Panda. In 1924, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. led an expedition to China with his brother Kermit."

I mean most of the fantasy world stories can be said to be going on in someone's head and not actually happening to them. Especially in animated stuff

I think it is all in Carl's mind that is why the story lines up so perfectly.

I mean, the timeline and continuity errors are much better evidence then the skeleton. I doubt a classroom in a Canadian public school would afford a real skeleton of a rare exotic bird. Probably just a scaled down replica.

I don’t think you noted the physicality of the film. Carl, an elderly man who needs a lift to traverse the stairs in his own house, can hold his house in extreme wind, pick up and throw his own furniture, and fight off a man who has murdered several professional explorers. On the contrary, it is highly unlikely that Carl’s imagination would create a situation where he and Ellie’s greatest hero is a fraud, a horrible madman, and a murderer. It would be more likely that he would imagine a new villain that he and Muntz would need to team up to overcome, and Carl would be responsible for the vindication of a grateful Muntz. That would realize Ellie’s greatest childhood dream.

More likely: The Kevin in Turning Red is a different species of a different size. Remember, "Science tested the skeleton and proved it to be a fake" is words that also applies to the Platypus. And there are multiple species that are skeletally similar to other species of different size, on first glance.

The skeleton could be a plastic replica, which would account for the size and school availability. This doesn't counter the other good points you brought up, but it's halfway there.

"pay the math budget" is my favorite inside joke on this channel

The one I will argue on, Carl clearly just lives in a world or universe where the physics is different. Unless the part with Elle is also a dream, he is able to lift a balloon cart with only a few dozen balloons. Everything else, pretty convincing though.

It's possible that the skeleton seen in Turning Red is a replica skeleton of a different species of bird that is closely related to the Kevin bird that's already known to the public. This would make it so the skeleton Muntz brought back was unbelievable not because of the shape of the skeleton but the size, the thinking going the skeleton and the way it fits together wouldn't be able to support a bird that size.

Regarding the balloons (and assuming that there are enough to lift the house), they should be lifting up the house even before they’re released since their buoyancy force would be pulling up the tarp holding them down

A couple rebuttals. As for Muntz being too young to have done all of that exploring/discovering - even before hearing this theory I always thought it was odd for a 23 year old Muntz to have the resources to do all of this stuff (safaris, exploring, building a blimp, etc...) not to mention having the connections to be able to go on a trip with a former president. Solution: his family is LOADED because his father was the also a famous adventurer. So the majority of Muntz's collection actually came from his father's expeditions that he brought young Charles along for. That could also explain why people thought he would fake the Kevin skeleton and why he would take it so personally and run away for 75 years, he had been struggling to get out of his more famous father's shadow and prove that he was an even better adventurer than his dad, so proving that the skeleton was real became equivalent to showing that he wasn't just his daddy's little helper, abs essentially became his all encompassing white whale. As for a smaller Kevin skeleton being so common that it is in a junior high classroom I have a couple plausible (or at the very least possible) answers. A. That specific class could have coincidentally been learning about adventurers from the early 20th century and that was a reproduction of the infamous "fake" skeleton that brought down the famous muntz family. Or a student could've chosen Muntz as the subject of a report/presentation and made that statue as a visual aid to show how easily Muntz could have made a fake. Or B. A similar but much smaller cousin to Kevin's species was discovered somewhere else in south America in the 75 years since Muntz left, and for whatever reason is notable enough to be put into classrooms, but it was never connected to Muntz for a few reasons - 1. Muntz had been forgotten to time by 99% of the world as a charlatan who faked his discoveries, 2. Even among Muntz's no connection was made between the birds because Muntz claimed to have discovered a giant species of bird whereas the ones that got discovered were much smaller, AND young Carl and Ellie only ever saw the giant statue in that news real footage, so they would have no idea what the bird would look like alive, so when the miniature cousins of Kevin were discovered they never connected them to Muntz because it was a much smaller bird from a different area of South America. If you saw a black and white video of the skeleton of a 9 foot tall bird from Western South America but then 30 seconds later you were told that it was fake, all when you were 6 years old, and then 50+ years later you see a new bird species was discovered in Eastern South America and the new bird was bright and colorful and very much alive and about 1 foot tall, you're be fed even going to consider that they could be the same species. Just a couple

If Kevin was based on the skeleton Muntz found... wouldn't she have had raptor arms like the skeleton instead of wings like she's shown to have?? Wanted to compare it to the classroom skeleton but honestly I can't make out what's there...

I had no idea this was even a question. It always seemed pretty clear to me that the movie from the balloons forward was a fantasy. He left reality behind literally and figuratively, and confronted manifestations of his own insecurities and grief before finally allowing the things that had been holding him back to fall away, leaving him free. And I don't think it's a death story. He DID meet Russell before he flew away after all. Maybe the end of the movie, when he's friends with Russell, is real too.

The end of the movie proves it happened , the pictures of carl and russel back in the states.

So fun story. My grandmother lived into her late 90s, was a hardcore card player (gim rummy and bridge), and was an all around hardcore hunter into her old age. People from ww1 / depression era stock were just more hardcore. She was also a pilot for the USA during ww2, and almost all her contemporaries that went through pilot school were the same.

I think this theory does make sense. Between all the logical inconsistencies in Up like Muntz supposedly finding all that stuff before he was 23, and going on expedition with Roosevelt, etc. and the fact that there’s a Kevin skeleton in a classroom in 2002. But I personally don’t want the theory to be true, because I feel like it kinda ruins a movie when it turns out to all be a dream or just in the character’s imagination or whatever.

I think one of his dogs names was Roosevelt. The card game thing is a reference to that painting of dogs playing poker.

I've been watching & enjoying your channel for a long time. This hypothesis of yours is the first time I wanted to cry! It makes more sense that Carl had a breakdown & you Made me see it, instead of blindly believing!

Most skeletons like that in class rooms are fake and for display purposes. And with Muntz unveiling that skeleton, they probably just saw that skeleton made fake models of it for display. Do you think they would put a real skeleton in a classroom lol. (And also it’s just an easter egg it doesn’t mean anything.)

In the beginning of Up, we see Carl resist any and all changes, even inevitable ones. By the end of the movie, he has let go of the illusion of control and lives life more in the moment. Because Pixar movies are thematically centered around memories; I think it's about a person learning how to carry on someone's memory in a meaningful way. Hunkering down in the house wasn't a fitting way to honor the memory of Elly; joyfully participating in life is and that's what we see by the end of the movie.

I didn't want to believe it but I think Ellie at the bird exhibit and the colours matching up is what seals the deal.

Kevin model in turning red is definitely a model since rare large bird wouldn't be in a classroom

In the flashback you showed, about 20 balloons was enought to lift up a metal cart, so helium might be a lot stronger in the UP universe Also, seeing as the end of the movie Carl showes up at Russels scout meeting, and the crowd react to him, both Russel and Carls history has to be real.

YES! Great theory as always👏

Pixar people: adds a comedic line or a fun Easter egg to the script Theorists: oh my god guys this changes everything

Had this Friday booked off from work and spent all day watching your channel and I loved every minute of it 😊 (I’m UK based so it’s 20 minutes till 11pm at the time posting this comment)

Who else thinks Up is the best Pixar film? So underrated

I dunno, J. My great uncle passed away at 102, and at 98 he was still doing 100 push-ups, 250 sit-ups, and walking five miles every day, all before lunch. It's definitely extremely rare, but also not out of the realm of possibility at all. I'm not sure Muntz is the evidence you think he is. That being said, very compelling video!

For the how he mentioned Roosevelt point, I always assumed Muntz lied to make himself look cooler (See how he looked away as if trying to think of the name) and Carl either didn’t do the math or didn’t care since he’s meeting his childhood hero, so why would be care about a little lie like that? Russell wouldn’t be focused on that as he didn’t even know who Muntz was.

The thing in the classroom would be a replica, schools don't have budget for pencils; they're not getting exotic skeletons. And a 13 foot skeleton wouldn't fit in a classroom, it would OBVIOUSLY be a replica.

You mean, he made it up?

Fun theory but one of those times when I think you guys think about it too much

If I may quote Dumbledore: “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”. Just change Harry to Carl.

Its funny how Pixar throws in a fun non-canon easter egg into their movie and it becomes an entire theory.

One problem in this theory(there might be more but this is the one I'm mentioning), if it was just Carl's imagination, why make his childhood hero, whom he still is shown to respect, a bad guy and try to kill him. If anything, Carl would have made him an even better person rather than vilifing him. Also, Muntz never actually said which Roosevelt. Could have been some random relative

I always figured that Muntz found all those things while looking for Kevin

“Would they really have stripped him of his place in the explores guild so easily?“ This coming from someone who’s channel is heavily built off of an author whose name they refuse to even speak… I would say yes he could easily be stripped with standards like that.

"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

Bold to assume that's a real skeleton and real to scale at that...

That's pretty depressing to think about. But then where was he the whole time this took place, since they came for his house right before he took off? Or is the theory that he imagined them showing up too?

"actually no one cares about 2002" Spiderman: Am I a joke to you?

Okay J, I don't know if you've been in a classroom recently, but they don't tend to put real human or animal bones on display. It's most likely fake. And possibly scaled down because Kevin is taller than most classrooms. Not that that discredits the other stuff you said. Very fun video.

Us: WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS? DOES THAT MEAN UP NEVER HAPPENED? Animators: We just thought it would be a cool easter egg to put

I swear you did a theory on this years ago….

I’ve never seen an Up video made by them! I’m excited to see it! And I’m also just happy that today was a day they posted!! I love them!

"Of course this is happening inside your head, but why on Earth would that mean it's not real?"

Whether it happened or was in his head, the story is great. I like the theory.

I love your videos ❤❤❤

The follow up show on Disney + completely deflates this theory. The "Red" skeleton cameo of the bird is just that, a simple cameo/Easter egg put in there by the animators for our delight.

This really interesting theory on up. I agree with you about this. It all makes sense now.

Carl's entire journey through purgatory.

Of course it’s all in his head. But why should that mean it isn’t real? Sidebar - here’s a harry potter question that’s been bugging me: why does Ron have Charlie’s old wand? Most wizards seem to keep their original wands (unless they break or the Elder wand is involved) but Charlie apparently got a new one even though his old wand is perfectly functional. Why?

Finally you need to do more up videos

Thanks. You guys just made my day dark

The problem with this theory is it could apply to ANY story with fantastic elements. Monster's Inc. being Boo's dream rather than real is more believable as well. Toy Story? All in Andy's imagination.

As sad as it is, I still like the Carl is dead theory and paradise falls is his heaven

This theory really made me very sad. It makes sense and makes Up even more heart breaking.

I don't think Carl would imagine his childhood hero as irredeemably evil just because he faked one skeleton.

It is posable that the skeleton in Turning Red IS just a model Mabey for the kids to study

You also need to keep in consideration that Turning Red takes place in Canada, and that it could be possible that the skeleton in the classroom could be a different species however, sharing common traits with "Kevin" through multiregional evolution. If the skeleton is real, the size difference could be a side effect of living so close to the north pole, or in a colder climate compared to the warmer and more central South America.

The science of the movie Up (Matpat's Film Theory) and This theory video can definitely be paired up and watch them side-by-side

Couldn’t it just be a smaller model of the bird we see in turning red. Kind of like how we see smaller versions of the human body on display.

Wow, you guys went a bit extreme on this one! I've always thought it was kind of obvious that yes, Carl is imagining everything, BUT he's doing it because of an energetic kid who came to earn a badge for supporting elderly and ended up becoming his friend. It's their shared fantasy.

there's a handful of holes and possible other explanations in this theory, ultimately i still believe it actually happened canonically

Question why couldn't a skeleton be a replica? Not like grade schools have actual skeletons of endangered birds.

Most model skeletons aren't made of bones. The "kevin bird" in the classroom isn't necessarily real.

Nah.... I actually refuse to believe this

The other explanation of the skeleton in the class room is not authentic but a scale model of what they think it may look like.

It’s not a blimp! Blimps have soft sides!! It’s a zeppelin!