How Old Was Ellie When She Died in Up?

As a passionate Pixar fan and animation expert, I‘m often asked about details related to characters‘ backstories that aren‘t explicitly covered in the films. One common question is exactly how old Ellie was when she died in Up. While her specific age isn‘t stated, we can piece together relevant details from the movie and official Pixar sources:

Examining the Up Timeline

• Ellie is introduced as a child in the opening montage, estimated to be around 8-10 years old based on her appearance and behavior
• She meets a similarly-aged Carl after moving into her new home
• Over the next few minutes of the montage, we see glimpses of Ellie and Carl developing a close childhood friendship
• As teens, this friendship blossoms into romance
• In their early 20s, Carl and Ellie get married
• Together, they work odd jobs, save up to fulfill their dream of exploring South America, and even begin renovating a ramshackle old house
• During this young adult period, it‘s reasonable to assume Carl and Ellie are likely in their 20s and 30s

• Later in the montage, Ellie suffers a miscarriage which deeply impacts both her and Carl
• In the following scene, she is shown in a hospital bed, frail and weak – marking the likely onset of her final illness
• Ellie ultimately passes away, leaving Carl heartbroken and alone

Piecing these narrative points together, it seems Ellie was in her mid-to-late 70s when she died, given the 60+ years of life and relationship milestones shown leading up to her death.

Examining Character Ages

Additional clues come from the ages of other key characters:

• Carl – He is confirmed to be 78 years old later in the film. Given he and Ellie grew up together from a similar age, it is likely she was close to the same age.
• Charles Muntz – The explorer who Carl idolizes is shown to be in his 20s and 30s during newsreels from the 1930s. When Carl meets him at the end of the film, he is quite elderly leading to estimates he is perhaps 90+ years old. As Carl and Ellie are younger than Muntz, but older than most other characters, ages in the 70s-80s seem reasonable guesses.

Factoring in these character age anchors, most Pixar experts agree Ellie was likely in her mid-to-late 70s when she passed away in the film‘s opening.

Addressing the Question Directly

So to answer the original question directly: Ellie appears to have been approximately 76-78 years old when she died in the film Up. This would match Carl‘s confirmed age and allow enough time to fit in the 60+ years of backstory shown in the opening montage.

Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to share expert insights on decoding Pixar movies and characters.