Frazz by Jef Mallett for April 15, 2012

I look forward to the Frazz Sunday’s. Not all of them are humdingers, and admittedly overweight backpacks is cliche, but Jef’s art manages to put a smile on my face nonetheless.

Oh, the humanity!

Love the Pixar plug in the top of the page (FYI, it’s the one-eyed green monster Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.)

And those balloons have to be filled with helium for his trick to work.

What I’m trying to figure out is where the kid got a couple hundred dollars for balloons.

He must get one a’ them cartoon allowances…

You have perceived the reason it’s not working. The balloons are pushing against the ceiling instead of pulling on their strings.

Oh no, I need to add that campy Danny Deckchair to my quque…

By the way, the news a few weeks ago had an article about how helium is in short supply for a while.

Try googling Up. It is a movie.

@TrapperJohn: Up is an animated movie (googling might actually help!), where an “old guy” attaches thousands of balloons to his house and sails off to South America.

Trapper – it is a Pixar animation film where an old man escapes getting dragged to a nursing home by tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying away in it.

Pixar movie, 2009. Try the Internet Movie Database: www.imdb.com.

I love Frazz. It’s clever without being mean-spirited. And Jef Mallett is a class act and a really nice guy. I emailed him a comment on one of his strips in my local paper, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal and very cordial reply.

@Trapper JohnUp was a movie

at least he didnt call it a briefcase… some people call them that around here, and it galls me like nothing else, its totally wrong. book bag im not fond of either, it doesnt flow off the tongue like backpack does, but at least its not wrong, although its not 100% right either, since you can use it for more than books.

I should try this at the airport. The security will really love it.

Also, great coloring today!

One mole (22.4 liters) of helium will lift 25 grams in air at sea level. Lifting a book bag weighing 5 kilograms (11 pounds, which seems about right) will therefore require about 200 moles, or 4500 liters, which is to say a blob about seven by seven by three feet. That’s not counting the weight of balloons and string, of course…

“UP” is an animated movie from a few years ago that featured a bitter old man who had to move to make way for a thoroughfare. Rather than have his house demolished, he strapped a gazillion helium balloons to it and just sailed away from all his problems . . .

“UP” is a Pixar (animated) movie about a widower (Carl – the cranky old guy) who ties hundreds? thousands? of helium balloons to his beloved house full of memories so he doe not have to go forcibly to a retirement home. Condensed edition: he has the adventure that he and his late wife were saving up for.

@TrapperJohn: UP was a Disney Pixar movie from a couple years ago where an older gentleman fixed hundreds of helium balloons to his house and it allowed him to fly his house to South America in search of Paradise Falls. Quite cute.

Doesn’t ANYbody read the previous comments before commenting???

Sorry, Susan — didn’t see your comment ;O)

I’m always amused by the strong connection between balloons and “Around the World in 80 Days.” That’s strictly Mike Todd’s magic, no balloons in the book!

Susan, I was wondering the same thing… I’ll bet Trapper knows the answer to his question Now… :oD

It’s a Pixar movie. An old man that retired from selling balloons ties a BUNCH to his house in an effort to travel to a place he has longed to go to since he was a boy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/

True, that would be hard to search. “Up” is a Pixar film about an old man who flies to South America by attaching balloons to his house. (It’s better than it sounds.)

Note to self – check BEFORE assuming correct answer is actually living somewhere in the dark recesses of my brain.

No hot-air balloon.

Darn that Hollywood imagery to heck!

When you checked, I trust you found it is Phileas, not Phineas.