Hit and miss home run

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2020)

In Up, we follow Carl Fredricksen, a widower and retired balloon salesman, who doesn't want his home to be destroyed by the development of commercial buildings, so attaches hundreds of balloons to it and flies it to Paradise Falls, him and his wife's dream destination.
Up is great. It's a fun, family film. The story is interesting and very engaging. However, the movie falls into two very obvious sections for me and I will review them as such.
The first section is the development of the story, right up to the point they reach Paradise Falls. This section is brilliant. Really great viewing. The beginning flashback sequence with Ellie is absolute perfection. It harkens back to the WALL-E and Ratatouille-esque silent story telling technique. It evokes a real sense of emotion while watching.
The second section is where Up loses steam for me. I think the humour becomes overly slapstick and for me, was hit and miss at times. Doug the dog provides comic relief and the "point" joke I found funny. However, I felt Russell became very silly. He is obviously an intelligent boy, but some of what he says and does doesn't reflect this.
However, in saying all of this, I think Up ends strongly. I really appreciate what how it wraps up and it redeemed some of my earlier grievances.
Overall, Up is brilliant. I don't think you're missing out on much if you skip it, but I still think it is worth watching.