Not UP to par with other Pixar classics

Rating: 3/10 (31 May 2009)

I own every Pixar film on DVD but I have to say that UP may be the first one I pass on. I was very excited about seeing the film today after reading several good reviews. I think now that perhaps some reviewers out there are letting the Pixar reputation get to them. I can't believe ANYONE would say this is one of the best films of the year. Films like MONSTERS, INC, FINDING NEMO, WALL-E and TOY STORY deserved accolades like that but UP doesn't have the heart those classics did. The film is at its best early on when the characters aren't talking much. We see a montage of the lead character's life as a young Carl meets an exuberant girl named Ellie. We see them marry, live a life together, experience the highs and lows of life and finally, we see Carl loose his beloved Ellie and become a widower living alone in the house that always was their home. This sequence is moving and made me think that Pixar was about to strike another home run. However, at this point the characters start talking more and the story starts to get a bit...much. Carl decides to tie a bunch of helium balloons to his house in order to fly the house off to South America on the adventure he and Ellie were never able to complete together. He unwillingly takes along a young boy scout stand-in (Russell) who ends up on Carl's porch when the house takes off. Russell is determined to earn the patch for helping the elderly required by his troop in order to graduate to senior status. The balloon premise is a bit far-fetched but since it's an animated film, you go with it. However, once in South America, things get progressively weirder. Carl and Russell end up walking through the jungle and mountains with the house strapped to them, floating above. I think I knew the film was NOT going to be the usual classic I was used to from Pixar when they come across a bunch of talking dogs. It seems Pixar, whose done films about animals who can talk and done films just about humans, wanted to mix the two so they write into the story these dogs with collars that allow us to hear their thoughts. The dogs belong to an old adventurer living in the area who is determined to capture a big, ostrich-like bird to prove he's not the fake the world judge him to be decades ago when he claimed the bird existed. The adventurer has hundreds of dogs and not only do they search the jungles for the elusive bird, they also cook for their master, serve meals AND fly planes. Very weird. I think if you're going to make a film about smart, talking animals - make a film about smart talking animals (FINDING NEMO) and if you're going to do a film about humans, do one like THE INCREDIBLES about humans. In UP Pixar tries to mix the two and it just doesn't work. The ONE character who I thought had the most heart and was most interesting, was Kevin, the big bird who doesn't talk, seems devoted to her young and takes an instant liking to the human boy who probably reminds her of her babies. I heard kids in the audience more than once asking what was going on because they couldn't quite understand the story. I suspect UP will not be one of those films kids will watch over and over again like they do with the other Pixar classics. Pixar has some incredibly talented people but in UP I think they spent too much time on "cool" ideas and not as much time on developing the story and characters into something we could care about and believe in.