I’m not sure if Pixar’s latest two films have been so disappointing because of the unrealistically high reputation they had developed and earned with Ratatouille (their best film in my opinion), or if their quality is actually diminishing; but Up, following Wall-E, makes for two, overly sentimental, juvenile films in a row.
– The film could have at least adhered to some sort of realism or rules, but it just gradually became more and more of a fantasy film to the point where it just seems to be making up whatever it wants in order to reach an ending. I can suspend my disbelief of a house that drifts down to South America via a mass accumulation of helium balloons; it was hinted at in the beginning, and established in the first act. But this is more of an exaggeration of reality than fantasy. No problem. Then the ‘talking’ dogs show up. Aside from the fact that personified house pets is, and always has been, lame, it introduces all kinds of obvious flaws. Ok, though, at least they’re trying to be scientific about it – they’re wearing collars that translate their thoughts to whatever language you need. And then they’re flying airplanes shooting at the good guys; this crosses the line into idiocy.
– Why is it some kind of ultimate compliment when people say “It’s so amazing, those folks at Pixar, because they make movies that adults and kids can like,” or “I brought my kid, and it was a grown-up story about a grown-up dealing with grown-up issues, and my kid was completely transfixed!” Last I checked, this is a sign that the filmmakers are dumbing down their content. It’s much less surprising that the kid is loving it than the adult, who should know better than to think of it as anything more than a decently-made family film, not a masterpiece of filmmaking, or even an interesting one. Animate a story instead of shooting it with a camera, and your audience’s expectations and standards are cut in half.
– The film isn’t sad, and the opening ten minutes that everyone keeps talking of backstory are mediocre. The only sadness evidenced here is the established notion that growing old and watching your loved ones die is devastating. Up shows this happening, and is only a reminder of sadness; it never actually evokes its own pathos. I can ask anyone around the age of 80 to tell me their memories of their parents and I have no doubts that it would be more affecting than any moment in this film. The problem is, again, accessibility. This is a children’s film, and its address of its themes is juvenile and simplistic.
– This is Pixar’s ugliest film. After Wall-E, their most gorgeous film, I was stunned at the drop-off. The humans are more synthetic and the landscape more Hallmark-card than ever. With a more ridiculous plot comes a less realistic animation scheme to lower our expectations, I suppose. It could come off as flexibility to adapt to certain mode of storytelling, but instead it’s a cop-out that allows other cop-outs. Being colorful does not make something beautiful.