Pixar takes forced sentimentality to new heights

Rating: 6/10 (2 April 2010)

As with Wall-E, I couldn't help but feel less than enthusiastic while viewing UP. It's a well put together package, of course, but rarely have I felt that the emotional responses the film makers were going for were so forced. Many of the bits were amusing, and many came off as trite and trying way too hard to inject some humor or cuteness into the proceedings. For a viewer such as me, simply parading cute looking characters on the screen is not enough to warrant the masterpiece status that Pixar seems to get with each film. That being said, the film was beautiful to look at, no argument here. It had some moments that truly clicked, such as the opening montage. In fact, as predictable as the movie's story arc was, the first third of UP was enjoyable.The one thing that really did bother me during my viewing was that I consistently had to say to myself "it's only a kids movie." Which is fine and all, but should a movie with such mainstream and critical acceptance really need this sort of free pass to be considered great? It seemed a scene couldn't go by without a major continuity error (by the way, WHY ARE THERE CONTINUITY ERRRORS IN AN ANIMATED MOVIE) or some new level of ridiculousness that betrayed the previous set rules of the film's universe. It was as if I was playing a kids game where the rules keep changing. I expected the overbearing sentimental themes seen in the beginning and end, but between the physics involved in an old man pulling a hose along by a garden hose and the whole ridiculous talking dog storyline it eventually came to a breaking point. There are ways to show sentimentality in a way that doesn't obviously manipulate the viewer, and pointing this out doesn't mean I don't enjoy an emotional story arc. Give me Finding Nemo or Monsters Inc any day over a film like this, which seemingly exists for those that need inspiration to be beat over their head repeatedly for 90 minutes.