Is the Fat Kid from Up Asian?
Forget all the speculation about Adam Lambert's sexuality. (We mean it! Forget! He's dead now, there's nothing we can do, we have to keep moving!) The new hot is-he-or-isn't-he question is this: Is the fat kid from Up supposed to be Asian? Let's investigate!
Disney isn't usually shy about tooting its own horn when the studio breaks racial boundaries (talk of The Princess and the Frog's black heroine dominated animation chatter until that first, iffy trailer came out). So far, though, they haven't said zip over whether Up's Russell might be Asian, despite the tentative questions arising online.
Phil Yu, who blogs about pop culture over at Angry Asian Man, thinks Russell's definitely Asian. Having seen the film, I could go either way -- the character's look is ambiguous, and a relative is glimpsed in only one scene (though she has dark black hair). The best evidence of Russell's ethnicity, though, might come from the actor who voiced him: young Jordan Nagai, at left.
Why is the question relevant? Well, Russell might be Disney's very first Asian male co-lead, if you don't count that drippy dude from Mulan. And at a time when Hollywood is in no hurry to cast an Asian actor as the star of a movie (unless he knows martial arts), it's significant that one of the summer's biggest movies might quietly signify some small progress.
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Comments
I thought he was asian the moment that I saw him. After watching the movie, his mother also looks very asian.
He is a Korean American. My roommate is an animator at Pixar.
The character is based on Peter Sohn (and the two look very similar, a quick google will confirm that), so yes he is Asian. And maybe it's not a big deal to some, but it's a big deal to the Asian American community that is rarely represented in the media without stereotypical roles and actually has some--gasp--character development/significance in the film, especially in something as big and as mainstream as a Disney Pixar film.
And no shit there's Asian American boy scouts.
Well, Asians are from Africa and there are some African populations with the epicanthic eyefold. That Bering Strait BS won't work here, son. American Indians =/= Asians.
I knew he was Asian the instant I saw him. Black hair, peachy skin, almond black (small) eyes, all the traits of a stereotypical Asian.
Russle is not asian he is an american our character creater is asian and it is the way she draws
The animators designed Russell as an Asian-American, and modeled Russell after similar looking Peter Sohn, a Pixar storyboarder who voiced Emile in Ratatouille and directed the short Partly Cloudy, because of his energetic nature.
American "minorities" are very racist. They act so persecuted, they all themselves "people of color" which to them includes ANYONE except whites (even though white people are not white) and most stupid, they get offended when white people AREN'T racist towards them or don't fit their racist stereotypes.
So big deal. The kid is Korean-American. White people can enjoy the movie, Asian Americans can throw a fit that they can't say there aren't "regular" (non-martial arts) Asians represented in American cinema.
Good for them, keep the racism going.
wow. lucky you, you dont have any stereotypes to fit. except for that of the stereotypically ignorant, self-righteous caucasian majority member, who despite never having experienced "racism," supposes themselves an authority on the matter. of course you must know so much about acting "persecuted" and how stupidly we get offended at completely non-offensive things.
it must be so difficult for you, how we "minorities" must continually deal with this social construction called "race." i mean, its not like you could help being born into the one slice of the socially-constructed cake, that got all the frosting. so maybe all us "people of color" should just leave it alone, let you get back to eating your frosting... that delicious, racism-free, white frosting. sorry we're so judgmental down here, its just that cake without frosting kinda sucks.
Guys!!!!!!!!!!! Stop fight and take a look at this!!!!!!!!!!!! Who would argue he's not asian after you see this picture below!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=11166158&id=504230036#!/photo.php?pid=11166158&id=504230036&fbid=472015870036
Bloed, zweet, maar geen tranen @ eerste optreden ever met 't bandje
Renske gaat toch maar proberen te twitteren, misschien helpt het bij die keelonsteking... kakkeel. Thank Yous!
racists=cowards. that's all.
Are your muscles sore or painful? To build muscle you have to break the muscle down. When the muscle rebuilds, you gain strength and muscle. The pain is due to the tiny tears in your muscles fibers. Some mild soreness is normal. If you are in pain you may have injured yourself.
Why can't he be inuit? Or just jewish with a squint?
He's Samoan...
Samoan, I agree. but im from Bangladesh, and I have a short cousin, 8, who talks just like that..big gulps of breath and sloth-like slow drawls. He even looks like the voice actor in the pic. #Race is cool#.
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