Willingly Suspended Disbelief

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2009)

When asked if Disney's Pocahontas was historically accurate, one critic replied, "It's got a talking raccoon, for God's sake." So here. Old Man Fredrikson lifts his house off the ground with thousands of toy balloons. An 8 year old with a GPS navigates the house to South America, steering with a coffee grinder attached to two shower curtains. When they get there, Fredriksen meets his childhood hero from the 1930s, who is still upright and vigorous, albeit embittered and paranoid, at age 100+. Just go with the fantasy, talking dog collars and all. There's always plenty going on in a Pixar film.
I'll skip over the love story, which stands out, to a couple of less conspicuous points. I loved the dogs, who spoke what we'd like to think are dog thoughts. And anyone who thinks they lowered the tone of the movie should consider the wide range of dog behavior that Pixar left out and most animation studios would have wallowed in.
I also loved the contrasts between the 8 year olds: Carl and Ellie delighted with a few found objects and their imaginations, and Russell laden with every piece of gear money could buy. And the contrast between the two views of nature: Muntz, wanting to catch it and put it in a museum Teddy Roosevelt style, and Russell wanting to leave it in place. The manly hero of 70 years ago has soured into a fascistic bully by modern standards. The politics are a lot more subtle than The Incredibles or Wall-E, but they're in there just the same.