Since I wrote so favorably of the Pixar film WALL•E last year, I thought I should jot down some of my thoughts about the newest Pixar film, UP, which I believe I enjoyed just about as much as WALL•E.

One of the things that seemed to strike a lot of people (myself included) about WALL•E was the remarkable first 30 minutes or so of the film, wherein we are introduced to the little trash compacting robot and his love interest, EVE, without any dialogue or practically any spoken word at all, beyond the simple exchange of names.

UP begins in a somewhat similar, visual story-telling fashion. The film centers upon a grumpy old widower named Carl Frederickson. But we first meet Carl as a young boy who dreams of exploring the world. After we see Carl meet and form a lasting childhood friendship with a kindred, would-be explorer spirit, Ellie, the film flashes forward into a short silent montage that shows most of Carl’s life unfold in a matter of minutes, as he marries and grows old with Ellie, and sadly, is left alone after her death.

Much like the introduction of WALL•E, this introduction of UP is beautiful, essentially flawless film making by any standard. And what’s more, it is executed with a surprising and subtle amount of charm and feeling surrounding love and loss that creates real empathy for the character we’re about to spend the next couple hours with. 

Carl’s loss of Ellie at the end of the silent montage is gripping, and must be the heaviest moment in any Pixar film. Yet the filmmakers did a nice job of tastefully, however lightly, transitioning from this dark moment of loss in the film while also keeping it embedded as the deep emotional undergirding for the rest of Carl’s story, which soon thereafter takes off, if you will, like an almost Indiana Jones style adventure ride.

It’s interesting that, since the release of UP, I’ve noticed some people expressing the desire to see Pixar start making some films specifically geared toward adult audiences. The idea behind this desire is that the last couple Pixar films start out with a surprising tone of sophisticated and understated filmmaking and mature themes which could have made them masterpieces. But then, as they pick up pace toward the middle, they tend to become geared more to keeping kids entertained and lose hold of some adults as a result. This is what has some people mildly lamenting the more slapstick, kid-oriented elements that stick out in films like UP as they progress, (e.g., talking dogs that can fly their own fighter jets). 

I can certainly understand this feeling, and I imagine a strong case can be made that many Pixar films do have significant weak points in the midst of really impressive strong points. I also have to admit, I too would be really interested to see Pixar branch out some from their current brand of family films. But still, I’m not so sure that either the kid-oriented elements or balanced approach per se should be the focus of criticism about these films. In fact, I can get plenty of enjoyment myself from seeing silly things like the occasional talking dogs (at least in UP, where it’s done somewhat creatively), or a giant goofy exotic bird, or a bunch of silly robots here and there to lighten things up.

Worthy of further consideration are comments on all this I’ve read from parents who are very pleased with what Pixar has been producing. And, of course, they are happy with Pixar’s brand of filmmaking, because it provides them the rare opportunity to see movies that both they and their children can equally enjoy on different levels and maybe even on some of the same levels. This is what Pixar has always done so impressively and perhaps better than any others currently out there. And I think they do it so well, because they demonstrate a genuine respect for both children and adults in the way they make films.

As a result, at their best, Pixar has been able to make films that are fun, entertaining, intelligent, and moving (without being oversentimentalized) for children and adults alike without dumbing down, overstating, or overplaying things for kids, nor resorting to crass humor (just because it will go over kids heads) or cheap nods to pop culture trends to win over adults. 

Altogether, this has made Pixar pretty much a one-of-a-kind with an impressive list of consistently good and thoughtful films that adults and kids can both look forward to enjoying together. I, for one, see no reason to complain if Pixar wishes to keep this UP.