Carl is sitting alone in his dark living room in the Up movie, watching television when the someone at the door knocks. He opens the door to a chubby Asian-American boy dressed in a scouting uniform.
The boy reads a script out of his Wilderness Explorer Handbook that introduces himself as Russell and he asks if Carl is in need of any assistance today. A stone-faced Carl replies, "No." Russell continues to enthusiastically give suggestions on how he can assist Carl,(crossing the street, crossing the yard, crossing the porch) and Carl continues to decline.
Some readers have made the suggestion that there is significance when Russell says that he has to help Carl cross something and it could be a reference to Ellie telling Carl to cross his heart in a promise. What do you think of that theory?
Russell wants to earn his "Assisting the Elderly" badge for his Wilderness Explorer sash and it's the only remaining badge he needs to become a Senior Wilderness Explorer. So Carl makes up a bird called a Snipe, and says its been ruining his azaleas. He goes on to tell Russell the elaborate method to find it.
