Pixar's Up began in 2004 as 'Heliums' and an idea from director Pete Docter about escaping life when it gets irritating. Early versions had a floating city on an alien planet with two brothers and a tall bird. It didn't work, so the team stripped the city down to one flying house with one occupant, replacing magic with balloons. Docter had drawn a grumpy old man with cheerful balloons, which led to Carl, a retiree seen through a child's eyes. Co-writer Tom McCarthy invented Russell, and the first outline, where Carl wants to die in the sky, was reworked, giving him a goal: a trip to South America. Mentor Joe Grant advised an 'emotional bedrock', which became Carl's grief for his wife.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.