this big heart doesn't have a chance to be heard

Rating: 5/10 (31 May 2009)

Once again, I shouldn't have trusted that preview, or it might have been that the short before "Up" was so wonderful, or was it that the mostly silent introduction to our main character was nothing short of glorious... somewhere, though, this film lost its ability to touch in the way other Pixar and animated features have done in the past.
"Up" is supposedly about achieving our dreams, discovering who we really are, learning to adapt to the changes life brings to us, and so many other themes that it is a wonder we even recognize them, as the film changes from an intimate portrayal of two lonely people to a rather hectic adventure that barely rises above average.
The animation is, of course, superb, and the vocal work by all the people involved is first-rate. Problems arise when we notice than other than the amazing prologue, most of the good stuff has already been show in the preview. The other sections don't quite muster enough emotional power to make us care. For instance, the vistas aren't impressive, the set action pieces near the end don't carry much wallop, and it's hard to have a movie that lacks. The film just feels like some non-threatening film that is paying tribute to movies that had originality and the right tone. I couldn't help wondering what people like Spielberg and Zemeckis could have done with this movie, and the echoes of "Wall-e" kept haunting me, as I remembered the lyricism of that movie that made us remember what it is like to be human in the middle of all these choking technology. "Up" doesn't quite take you up for the ride, or make you feel "up". There is no cathartic moment, no real payoff, and the best moments are the sentimental moments when pictures of their loving relationship is on the screen.
Marketing can do wonders, and this will be a huge moneymaker. Hopefully it will only receive the credit it really deserves, and audiences will be wiser so next, we enjoy something beyond a small, sweet film that couldn't quite give us what we expected.