Inspired by Metropolis (1927), the short debuted on October 12, 2006 at the 42nd Chicago International Film Festival at Columbia College,[1][2] and was released theatrically with Pixar's Ratatouille on June 29, 2007.

[4] Working from memory, Stu is expected to use an array of thousands of identical unlabeled toggle switches for this purpose; Mr. B's neutral expression gives no hints of which ones to use.

Eventually, after checking his notes, Stu does succeed in maneuvering Ernie out the window and up into the ship, but he shuts off the tractor beam without closing the cargo hatch.

Stu cheerfully grabs the steering yoke and begins to maneuver; a moment later the ship slams to the ground, crushing Ernie's house.

[5] The short was inspired by Gary Rydstrom's own experiences as a sound mixer, and how uncomfortable and difficult it is to operate the large, complex piece of equipment when there are lots of people watching and taking notes.