A different feel from other Pixar films; but still good

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2009)

A friend warned me that I would feel disappointed by "Up". He said it just wasn't as clever and complex as Ratatouille or Wall-E or other past Pixar offerings.
But another friend saw it, and recommended it, so I behooved myself to check it out.
I agree with my first friend that "Up" is a narratively relatively modest undertaking. But I also feel that what it does achieve is notable.
It's taken a while for certain aspects to come to the fore in my mind. However, I did immediately notice one honest and useful moral: For all his exertions, Fredricksen doesn't get to really have an adventure until he lets go of a frozen, romanticized version of "adventure" that got stuck in his character makeup at an early age. I thought it was great how the story sets this up and creates the situation where he has this breakthrough. Very nicely done.
And then there were other interesting things the film achieves. The pacing of the story is odd. In a way, it's hard to say whether this reflects daring or ineptitude on the parts of the folks responsible for the shepherding the narrative. But, in the end, I have to say there was something grand about the way the story rolls along slowly and yet also with a lot of strength. It's as though it aspires to be operatic; with an emotional depth that tries to match the breadth of the spaces and times involved. Sort of like "Waiting for Godot" meets "Dennis the Menace"! I should mention that, about halfway through the film, the pace gets picked up, and stays "up" for a long time; a bit "too much", in my book, and quite likely a nod to the kid customers in the audience.
And then there's that whole side story of Fredricksen's deceased wife (no spoiler there; you see this coming from a mile off). Very nicely done.
With the proviso that, indeed, you will see something a bit different from prior Pixel work--no harm in variety!--I can recommend this movie.