"good afternoon. my name is russell. and i am a wilderness explorer in tribe 54, sweatlodge 12. are you in need of any assistance today, sir?" i could help you cross the street. i could help you cross your yard. i could help you cross your. porch? well, i gotta help you cross something. "good afternoon. my name is russell." "and i am a wilderness explorer in tribe 54, sweatlodge 12." "are you in need of any assistance today sir?" ow. "good afternoon. my-" see these? these are my wilderness explorer badges. you may notice one is missing. it's my assisting the elderly badge. if i get it i will become a senior wilderness explorer! russell makes the explorer sign: his thumbs form a "w", his fingers the "wings" of a bird, then the "claws" of a bear. "the wilderness must be explored! it's gonna be great! there's a big ceremony, and all the dads come, and they pin on our badges. yep! then i will be a senior wilderness explorer! carl leans in close to russell. snipe? me! me! i'll do it! i'll find it, mr. fredricksen! two blocks down! got it! sniiiipe! here snipey snipey. hi, mr. fredricksen. it's me, russell. i found the snipe and i followed it under your porch, but this snipe had a long tail and looked more like a large mouse. please let me in? huh. i've never been in a floating house before. goggles. look at this stuff! russell finds ellie's house drawing sitting on the pages of the open atlas. wow, you going on a trip? "paradise falls: a land lost in time." you going to south america, mr. fredricksen? carl takes the page and puts it in his pocket. you know, most people take a plane, but you're smart because you'll have all your tv and clocks and stuff. russell runs over to the steering rig. whoah. is this how you steer your house? does it really work? oh, this makes it go right, and that way's left. hey look, buildings! that building's so close i could almost touch it. wow! this is great! you should try this, mr. fredricksen! look, there's a bus that could take me home two blocks away! hey, i can see your house from here! i know that cloud, it's a cumulo nimbus. did you know that the cumulo nimbus. warm air goes by cool air, and the airs go by each other and that's how we get lightning. mr. fredricksen, there's a big storm coming. it's starting to get scary. we're gonna get blown to bits! we're in big trouble, mr. fredricksen! look! see? cumulo nimbus. my pack! got ya! whew! i thought you were dead. i steered us. i did! i steered the house! after you tied your stuff down you took a nap, so i went ahead and steered us down here. oh we're in south america all right. it was a cinch, with my wilderness explorer gps. my dad gave it to me. it shows exactly where we are on the planet. with this baby, we'll never be lost! russell gestures, tossing the unit out the window. oops. sure, but i don't think they have busses in paradise falls. nah, i'll just use my city bus pass. whoah, that's gonna be like a billion transfers to get back to my house. mr. fredricksen, how much longer? what was that, mr. fredricksen? whoah! they slide toward the edge. and stop. the drop is thousands of feet. carl is terrified. okay! this doesn't look like the city or the jungle, mr. fredricksen. the wind picks up and they struggle against it. you mean assist you? okay, i'll climb up! sorry. the hose jiggles as russell climbs out of frame. hey, if i could assist you over there, would you sign off on my badge? we could walk your house to the falls! yeah, after all, we weigh it down. we could walk it right over there. like a parade balloon. carl considers this. sand! i found sand! huh. this is fun already, isn't it? by the time we get there, you're gonna feel so assisted. oh, mr. fredricksen, if we happen to get separated, use the wilderness explorer call. caw caw, raaar!! wait. why are we going to paradise falls again? cool! my mom loves that game! i'm tiiiired. and my knee hurts. my elbow hurts and i have to go to the bathroom. well, i didn't have to go then! russell goes limp and lies face down in the dirt. i don't want to walk anymore. can we stop? there's no tigers in south america. russell rolls over to show carl a badge. zoology. okay! here, hold my stuff. i've always wanted to try this! mr. fredricksen? am i supposed to dig the hole before or after? oh. it's before! huh? tracks?! here, snipe. come on out, snipe. snipe! the footprints continue for a time, then stop. huh. russell munches on a chocolate bar. ha! gotcha! don't be afraid, little snipe. i am a wilderness explorer so i am a friend to all of nature. want some more? hi boy. don't eat it all. come on out. come on. don't be afraid little snipe. nice snipe. good little snipe. nice. a massive shadowy creature rises up over russell. giant snipe! i found the snipe! are they tall? do they have a lot of colors? do they like chocolate? it's a snipe! but you said snipes eat-- whoah! russell giggles. uh-oh! no no no no no kevin, it's okay. mr. fredricksen is nice! yeah, that's his name i just gave him. can we keep him? please?? i'll get the food for him, i'll walk him, i'll change his newspapers. yeah it does. russell points up to the roof of carl's house. hey, look! kevin! ellie? you were talking to a rock. russell points to another rock shape. hey, that one looks like a turtle! look at that one! that one looks like a dog! the "rock" walks forward. it is a dog! uh, we're not allowed to have dogs in my apartment. the dog nuzzles russell, who nervously pets it. hey, i like dogs! sit boy. hey look, he's trained! shake! uh-huh. speak. cool! what do these do, boy? can we keep him? please please please? but it's a talking dog! hey dug! who you talking to? dug, stop bothering kevin! hey! quit it! why? wait. wait, mr. fredricksen. what are we doing? hey, uh, we're pretty far now. kevin's gonna miss me. which one's the front? is this step three, or step five? carl rolls his eyes at russell's ineptness. there! russell struggles with a tent pole, trying to winch it into place. all done. russell turns, revealing a large red welt on his face. that's for you! awh. tents are hard. yeah, but. can i tell you a secret? alright, here goes. i never actually built a tent before. there. i said it. well, never outside. i don't think he wants to talk about this stuff. well, he's away a lot. i don't see him much. well, i called, but phyllis told me i bug him too much. phyllis isn't my mom. carl realizes he put his foot in it. but he promised he'd come to my explorer ceremony to pin on my assisting the elderly badge, so he can show me about tents then, right? mr. fredricksen, dug says he wants to take kevin prisoner. we have to protect him! can kevin go with us? promise you won't leave him? cross your heart? where's kevin? he's wandered off! kevin! dug, find kevin! oh, look! there he is. her babies! kevin's a girl? the bird gobbles the food and jumps off the roof. wait, kevin's just leaving? but you promised to protect her! her babies need her, we gotta make sure they're together. yeah. this was her favorite chocolate. because you sent her away, there's more for you. carl rolls his eyes and sighs. kevin? uh-huh. i liked his other voice. muntz laughs. yes!! russell is served a hot dog. his waiter can't resist and eats a bite. hey! hey! hey! hey, that looks like kevin! yeah! that's my new giant bird pet. i trained it to follow us. she likes chocolate. yeah, i gave her some of my chocolate. she goes ga-ga for it. but we haven't even had dessert yet. kevin? muntz walks to the window and looks out. atop the roof he sees the bird. i am hurrying! they're coming! help! help! hang on to kevin! kevin! no no no! kevin! stay down. she's hurt real bad. can't we help her get home? you okay, kevin? kevin goes back to sleep. russell looks at her bandaged leg. you know what, mr. fredricksen? the wilderness isn't quite what i expected. it's kinda. wild. i mean, it's not how they made it sound in my book. my dad made it sound so easy. he's really good at camping, and how to make fire from rocks and stuff. he used to come to all my sweatlodge meetings. and afterwards we'd go get ice cream at fentons. i always get chocolate and he gets butter- brickle. then we'd sit on this one curb, right outside, and i'll count all the blue cars and he counts all the red ones, and whoever gets the most, wins. i like that curb. he looks up at carl. that might sound boring, but i think the boring stuff is the stuff i remember the most. they walk in silence. carl understands. look, there it is! that's it, go kevin! go find your babies! run kevin! run! oh no! no! carl pulls his house away from the flames. let her go! stop! kevin! carl beats out the flames with his jacket. he extinguishes the flames. you gave away kevin. you just gave her away. here. behind him, russell throws his sash on the ground. i don't want this anymore. russell walks away. he sits on a rock, alone. i'm gonna help kevin even if you won't! ooph! yes! don't worry kevin! i'll save - growling dogs move toward him. let me go! he's not my friend anymore. where are you keeping kevin!? let me go! i'll unleash all my wilderness explorer training! hey, where are you going? i'm not finished with you! mr. fredricksen! you came back for kevin! let's go get her. but i want to help! i want to help! he manages to get his arms free. ha ha! whoooaaah! i can't do it! huh? you leave mr. fredricksen alone! hey! squirrel! mr. fredricksen! that was cool! russell and dug dangle from it, sitting on kevin. the bird holds on to the hose with her beak. carl laughs, relieved. sorry about your house, mr. fredricksen. look at you. you're so soft. i wish i could keep one. bye kevin! the bird looks back toward carl and russell and calls out one last time before disappearing into the mist. ready? carl gives a thumbs up. wow. blue one. that's a bike! mr. fredricksen, you're cheating. that's a fire hydrant.