Russell starred as a secondary protagsnist in the film "UP", along with Carl, the main protaganist.
Russell was a "Wilderness Explorer", and needed one more badge to complete his sash - the "assisting the elderly" badge.
Carl denied his help, as he was setting off to fulfil his promise to his deceased wife, Ellie, as the house was about to be reposessed by the council, and Carl was going to be put into a retirement home. The dream that Carl and Ellie shared was to have a house on Paradise Falls. Carl used to sell balloons to children while he was a working man, and so rigs his house to be full of many, many, MANY, balloons, and raises his house into the clouds. He later discovers Russell is clinging onto the porch of his now mobile house, begging to be let in. Eventually, through thunderstorms and many close calls, they both manage to manuverer onto stable ground, some while away from Paradise falls. Later, they find a bird which Russell names "Kevin" a legendary bird (little did Russell and Carl know). After a whole lot of stuff which makes up most of the film, they meet Charles F Muntz, who had been searching for "Kevin" his whole life and went mad as a result. Muntz finds Kevin and takes the bird, while Carl gets the house to Paradise falls, with Russell reluctantly leaving his friend behind. Carl looks through an old scrapbook Ellie made, and on the last page, she wrote "Thanks for the adventure, now go have a new one!" Enlightened, Carl steps outside just in time to see Russell flying on some balloons, using a leaf blower to propel himself to Muntz' ship to find and rescue Kevin. Russell manages to sneak aboard the airship, but is quickly captured by Muntz' dogs. Carl goes to rescue Russell, emptying his house of all the furniture, so that he can take off and search for him. A whole lot of crazy stuff happens, eventually resulting in Muntz' getting his leg caught in some balloon strings, and falling to his death, and Russell reveals to Carl that his dad "Isn't around much anymore", how they used to get ice cream, sit on this certain cerb and how he would count all the blue cars and his dad would count all the red ones... And that he has nobody to present his final badge to him at his ceremony. Carl leaves the house, but leaves it behind, so that he can go home with Russell. in Muntz' airship.
At the ceremony, Carl presents Russell with a Grape Soda badge, the same one Ellie had given to Carl all those years ago. "The Ellie Badge"
At the end, it shows that the house had landed exactly where Ellie had wanted - Looking out over the falls.