Victor Montana and his grandson, Donovan MacLean, are the winners of myBurbank’s 2021 Halloween Costume Contest.
The two dressed as characters Carl Fredricksen and Russell from the Disney-Pixar movie Up for Halloween, which was an idea conceived by Victor’s daughter and Donovan’s mother, Maureen MacLean.
Since the animated film’s 2009 release, Maureen and other family members have noticed a resemblance between Victor and lead character, Carl. Furthermore, as Donovan is seven years old and Victor is 77, similar to the characters’ ages, this made for a matching costume she believed would be perfect for Halloween.
Maureen prepared the costumes for Victor and Donovan, which included Carl’s signature thick frame glasses and Russell’s boy scout uniform. She then finished off the looks with some colorful balloons from the 99 Cents Only Store to represent the balloons that carry Carl’s home along his journey with Russell.
“What’s funny is those are all [my dad’s] clothes. The only thing I had to get was the little bowtie and the glasses,” Maureen said. “I put together the costume for my son…and then it just kind of came together. They looked just like them.”
The Saturday before Halloween, Victor and Donovan wore the costumes to a trunk or treat celebration at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During this event, children wear their Halloween outfits and receive candy from the cars of fellow churchgoers. Maureen says the Up costume was a big hit at this year’s gathering and attracted a positive reception from attendees.
“When we were there a lot of the people there were like, ‘Oh can we take a picture of you?’ because they really liked [their] costume,” Maureen said. “So people were fans of both of them at the trunk or treat. It was really cute.”
Once the costume contest entries concluded, all submissions were evaluated and narrowed down to four finalists. A Twitter poll then decided the winner, and 59.3 % of Twitter users voted in favor of the Up outfits. In second place was a costume that replicated The Karate Kid character Daniel LaRusso’s shower Halloween costume, which gained 21.5% of votes. A Rick Astley costume from local musician Austin A. Carter received third place, and a James and the Giant Peach Miss Spider outfit ended up as fourth place.
The prize for the first place victory is a $50 gift card to Tallyrand Restaurant, along with a Tallyrand t-shirt. Victor and Donovan are both big fans of the well-loved dining location, which has served delicious and freshly made American classics since 1959. Maureen expressed their excitement in being able to soon visit the restaurant for a special meal together.
“Tallyrand is definitely one of their favorites here in Burbank and we totally plan on letting them have a grandfather, grandson lunch date together for their winnings,” Maureen said. “It’ll be really fun.”
Aside from this prize, winning the contest has given Victor, Dononvan, Maureen, her husband, Thomas MacLean, and their loved ones a fun memory to cherish for years to come.
“I love it because it’s such a good memory for our family,” Maureen said. “As they get older I feel like we’ll look back on it and just be like, ‘Do you remember this? This is your costume with Grandpa.’”
