Did you guys know that the actor who voices Russell, the chubby kid in the highly anticipated Disney/Pixar movie Up is an adorable Asian boy named Jordan Nagai? This is Nagai’s first role; he was discovered in a casting call by Pixar.
From the previews alone, I was charmed by his adorable voice and wanted to eat up that cute, chubby boy up. And now to find out the actor behind the voice of the cute kid is not only adorable himself, but an adorable Asian boy, well, I just feel like a proud mom, auntie, or older sister. I was already looking forward to the movie, but learning this news just makes me way more excited! Okay, my squealing teenager moment is done.
What next?
Other posts you may be interested in:
Recent Comments
- Asians Behaving Badly: Japanese American Woman Sues Because Crunch Berries Aren’t Real Berries
- Jake: Nips? Flipz? How about someone take one for the team and sue those racist confectioners for products that...
- Newsflash: Some Asian Men Cheat on their Partners
- Hip Hip Hooray for MVP Hideki Matsui
- Simon Tsui: Hip hip hurry for Hideki Matsui! A lot of people question whether someone else deserved being MVP,...
- Rachel Lee: Asian Teens Behaving Badly
- ABC’s Modern Family: “I’m from Denver.”
- slinslin: while i definitely dig that asian americans are getting more representation on tv ('i'm from...
21 Comments to “Disney/Pixar’s Up and the Voice of Russell, Jordan Nagai”
Tim wrote:
Lots of controversy about whether the cartoon character is supposed to be Asian himself. There’s debates on various sites on the Internet about whether he’s Caucasian or Asian, and if he’s Asian, he’s the first leading Asian male character in a Disney pic. Here’s one conversation: http://www.movieline.com/2009/05/is-the-fat-kid-from-up-asian.php
Disney so far hasn’t commented on the race of the little boy character.
Posted on 23-May-09 at 9:22 am | Permalink
Phil wrote:
So anyone know Russell’s ethnic background? Japanese? Chinese? Korean? Filipino? Vietnamese? Hmong? mixed?
Posted on 23-May-09 at 4:17 pm | Permalink
jee wrote:
You know what’s funny Tim? After I found out the voice behind the character was Asian, the character looked more Asian to me. hahaha
@Phil – I have a friend who is Japanese, and her last name is Nagai (no relation to Jordan). But I don’t know the official word on his background.
Posted on 23-May-09 at 5:00 pm | Permalink
cindy wrote:
yeah. didn’t look asian to me for preview,
but TOTALLY asian after i found out the kid was.
ha! disney DOES tend to draw characteristics into
the cartoon from whomever is voicing them, at least
from what i’ve seen.
too cute!! and hurrah for first time actor!
Posted on 23-May-09 at 6:25 pm | Permalink
Phil wrote:
I’ll admit when I first saw the trailer I thought the character was of Asian descent based on certain stereotypical views. With further research, turns out that the character is based off one of the animator’s of Pixar, Pete Sohn, who voiced Emile in Ratatouille.
http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/up-director-pete-docter-on-talking-dogs-youth-scouts-and-adventure.php
Here’s a pic of Peter Sohn,
http://www.superiorpics.com/pictures2/Sohn_sd1.jpg
Posted on 23-May-09 at 8:33 pm | Permalink
Phil wrote:
“With further research, turns out that the character is based off one of the animator’s of Pixar, Pete Sohn, who voiced Emile in Ratatouille. ”
Peter, not Pete. I forgot the r.
Posted on 23-May-09 at 8:35 pm | Permalink
Emma wrote:
Controversy aside, that kid’s adorable. And I think he looks Japanese.
Posted on 24-May-09 at 8:16 am | Permalink
JC wrote:
I’m a bit shocked that PIXAR used an Asian boy in this role. I mean, this is the studio who won’t even put a Japanese or Korean car in Cars. Hollywood is so racist, even their best people are believe white = default.
Posted on 24-May-09 at 5:19 pm | Permalink
John wrote:
Russell looks more half-Asian, half-white to me.
Posted on 24-May-09 at 8:55 pm | Permalink
byron wrote:
I’m just glad to see that there’s a non-white character in the movie whose purpose has nothing to do with his ethnicity. As a black man, I kinda wish we had this for Tiana, the new Disney princess, but at least it’s more diversity around for everyone.
Posted on 29-May-09 at 12:27 pm | Permalink
Derek wrote:
Byron: Totally agree. Little steps. Blacks have paved the way for the rest of we ethnic minorities (I’m American of Chinese descent) in this country, and I’m grateful every time true equality (regular roles without regard to race) is depicted on film. Kudos to Pixar/Disney. More of the same, please.
Side note: Hilarious resemblances of the old dudes to Spencer Tracy and Kirk Douglas.
Posted on 30-May-09 at 12:49 pm | Permalink
John wrote:
I just saw the movie – it was fantastic. Jordan does a great job doing the voice of Russell.
Posted on 30-May-09 at 10:14 pm | Permalink
Lisa wrote:
His eyes looks very Asian to me.
Posted on 31-May-09 at 8:18 pm | Permalink
Tom wrote:
Nagai is a Japanese last name.
Posted on 01-Jun-09 at 12:44 pm | Permalink
ch3rrychew wrote:
actually, the lil boy in UP is based off of a director at Pixar. The guy, I believe, is korean. I saw a picture of him standing next to his character and they look so much alike!
Posted on 09-Jun-09 at 5:15 pm | Permalink
8Asians.com » Popular Posts in the Past 15 Days wrote:
[...] Disney/Pixar’s Up and the Voice of Russell, Jordan Nagai [...]
Posted on 15-Jun-09 at 6:02 am | Permalink
jeesuh wrote:
The most recent credible source I heard was that Russell is supposed to be Korean. When I was watching it, I kept thinking he was Japanese, partly because I knew the kid behind Russell is Japanese.
Posted on 15-Jun-09 at 9:35 am | Permalink
csc3 wrote:
i can totally see that
Posted on 15-Jun-09 at 10:05 am | Permalink
thecutestkitty wrote:
I saw this movie in 3D today. I knew nothing abut the movie other than the commercials on newtwork t.v. Fabulous movie! And my impression was that Russell was Asian. My mom just thought he was a chubby kid. I'm hoping he was supposed to be an Asian kid. He is sooo cute.
Posted on 15-Jun-09 at 8:17 pm | Permalink
Janix wrote:
He's Japanese-American…
I'm happy they picked an Asian voice actor
Posted on 20-Jun-09 at 11:54 pm | Permalink
8Asians.com » Russell of Disney/Pixar’s Up *is* Asian! wrote:
[...] those online debates about Russell’s ethnic background can end now. After these scripts, there cannot be any more [...]
Posted on 03-Jul-09 at 4:44 am | Permalink
Post a Comment