"Up" sinks under the hype.

Last year, Pixar put out “Wall-E”. It was greatly praised, and flirted with Oscar. I didn’t see it theatrically; I waited until DVD. Surprising, I found it every entertaining and movie. I also thought it had an Important Message, and I even have a copy in my library.

This year’s Pixar film, “Up”, has been uniformly praised by critics and moviegoers. It’s allegedly one of the best films of the year. I didn’t see this in a theater either, as I thought it looked stupid. But, given the Oscar Expansion, I decided to rent it, hoping lighting would strike twice.

Here is a list of what “Up” is:
1. It’s moving. I cried through most of it.
2. It contains some family-friendly characters.
3. It is well animated and vibrantly colorful.
4. It has a moral (not message, moral), even if I disagree with it.

Here is what “Up” is not:
1. It is NOT a great film.
2. It is NOT worthy of a Best Picture Oscar (although it will get the nod, I’m sure)
3. IT IS NOT A CHILDREN’S FILM.

If you examine Pixar’s films, there is definitely a trend. “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo” are classics. My personal favorite is “Monsters, Inc.”. But with their latest efforts, it’s becoming more and more evident to me that Pixar is flipping the script (or jumping the shark, as the case may be).

What happened? They started out with kid-friendly stories, exploring universal themes, like friendship. These stories were well-written, with a nostalgic adult pull for adults, while still fresh enough to entertain children. They should be praised for that (and are, ad nauseum).

But now we’re getting into the territory of non kid-friendly themes. People will say that “Up” is really about friendship between an old man and a young boy. But I also see the Disney head rearing in there – we’ve got lost/absent parents (a true Disney hallmark). For example, the whole reason Russell gets into this in the first place is just to see his dad.

But even worse than that, there’s FAR too much talk about death. Personally, I wouldn’t want to explain to my six year old what a nursing/”retirement” home is, or why someone wouldn’t want to go there. Or why older people have a tendency to accumulate stuff and live in the past. Or dwell on unfulfilled dreams.

Looking at the film from an adult perspective, I can understand why people liked it. There’s comfort in a love lost. It’s always reaffirming to know that our memories live on, even if our things don’t. And it’s always great to feel loved and appreciated – regardless of the source.

In my opinion, “Up” sinks under all the hype, making it a real downer. It’s one of the most depressing films I’ve seen in a long time – or maybe that’s just me being my usual jaded, adult self.

"Up", Rated PG, 96 minutes (**)