A Bone To Pick With Pixar

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2009)

I went to see Up last month on the weekend of it's release, and I must say, I was a bit disappointed. While the film did possess a group of quirky, lovable, and original characters, as is typical of Pixar, the film lacked in other areas. Seeing as how Pixar films are my favorite animated films, I cannot let this travesty go unnoticed.
The film starts with a young boy watching a documentary in a movie theater about an explorer named Charles Muntz. The boy idealizes this man, but his methods are frowned upon by fellow explorers due to his lack of follow-through; he is never able to bring back specimens of rare creatures that he supposedly finds on his expeditions. Muntz vows to travel to South America and not return until he has captured a beast.
The boy, named Carl, goes home and meets a girl named Ellie with wild red hair and an adventurous attitude. The two become close friends, grow up together, and get married. A montage reveals the long, fruitful life they shared, ending with Ellie's death. Carl, deeply crushed by this, swears to fulfill Ellie's dream of traveling to faraway lands. So, when a construction crew threatens to send the now-elderly Carl to an assisted living home, he ties hundreds of balloons to the roof of his house and succeeds in lifting off and sailing away to the clouds. Little does Carl know, a wilderness explorer named Russell has stowed away underneath the porch and hung on for the ride.
People who are used to the happy Pixar films of the past will be a bit set off by Up. The first third of the film is more dark than anything else, but luckily it is followed up by a happy ending.
The aspect of the film that ruined it for me was the talking dogs. Now, before anyone reading this automatically shuns it, please hear me out. While Doug was extremely funny and possibly the greatest part of the movie (aside from Kevin), the army of talking hounds came across as a bit corny, especially the incredibly annoying chipmunk voice.
Another part of Up that bugged me was the agility of the old men. For Christ's sake, these eighty-some year old guys were climbing up the side of blimps and flying houses, running through jungles and on top of mountains, and SWORDFIGHTING! (That part really got me). For a Pixar film, Up was very lenient in terms of physical believability. And to people who will argue, "It's a kid's movie, relax," or, "It's an animated movie, relax, you wouldn't ignore it if The Dark Knight, an eighty year-old man came and saved the day by coming in and smacking the Joker with a steel walker. Of course they wouldn't. All other Pixar films, even though almost every one has either fantasy of sci-fi elements, has kept in close respects to basic physics.
I have taken the time to write everything that I didn't like about Up, but it was not a terrible movie. It still has very funny dialogue and an intriguing visual style that make the film an enjoyable one to experience. Although it is definitely not Pixar's bets, as some comments suggest, it is entertaining and fun. If you are a fan of Pixar films or animated films in general, I recommend Up. You will most likely enjoy it more than I did.
My rating: 5.9/10.0