I've seen every Pixar film and "Up" ranks somewhere in the middle. All respect due to Dan but I thought "Wall*E" was considerably better if only because the first half of Wall*E is f*cking brilliant (the second half...not so much). "Up" never really worked for me story-wise even though it had some really lovely moments, especially the "marriage montage" and the talking dogs were comic genius.
But "Up" also revealed, more so than other Pixar films, some of the conventions they're forced to engage in, especially the "action-packed" second-half (a problem I also had with "Wall*E"). I didn't have a problem with that in "The Incredibles" (which I loved - top 3 Pixar film) since it's supposed to be an action flick but it felt out of balance in "Up." I also thought making Russell's dad absentee was transparently forced.
I did enjoy the Bay Area shout-outs, especially Fenton's (note: I *wish* Piedmont Ave looked like what the Pixar rendition of it does, but alas, no).
No "Toy Story 3" teaser trailer for my screening
And the Pixar short before "Up" sucked balls. One of the worse I've ever seen.
Weak Pixar Films: Cars (I stopped watching halfway through out of sheer boredom and never regretted not finishing it) Bugs Life (Seven Samurai with bugs. Meh.)
Good Pixar Films: Up Toy Story Monsters Inc
Great Pixar Films: Ratatouille Toy Story 2 Wall*E (the first half carries the entire weight here) The Incredibles Finding Nemo
I agree with your analysis of Up and WallE I just liked Up better than WallE. For all the reasons you said.
In Toy Story the animation of the humans did not work. Pixar is much better at that now.
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Not me. I like a lot of it but it's way too long.