For a while there, Up was basking in perfect “freshness,” holding steady at 100% over at RottenTomatoes.com. 
But with 2 negative reviews submitted, a little air has leaked from the balloon. You can’t please all the people all the time, or so the saying goes, but what I’ve found even more interesting is how the critical community over at RT has leaped to defend the film’s honor. The New York Press’ Armond White, who didn’t care much for WALL-E either, picked Up to pieces, calling it “sentimental” and a “rip-off.” The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern lobbed in the second rotten grenade, writing that “I admired the film much more than I enjoyed it.” Subsequently, White and Morgenstern were drawn and quartered in the comments section at RT; dismissed as heartless villians bent on ruining Up‘s grand reception.
I can relate to the minority (re)viewpoint these reviewers hold. I thought WALL-E was burdened by a bolt-on, preachy plot, and when compared to other Pixar films like Toy Story 2 and The Incredibles, it just didn’t stack up. 
This stance of of mine draws some pretty fierce looks from the faithful, who defend Pixar’s honor with rare conviction.
Admittedly, I hold WALL-E up against the legendary library of previous Pixar films, not against the uneven mess that greets us at Blockbuster. And I’m not alone. At a recent Up screening, I heard several camps listing off where this lastest film ranks amongst Pixar’s historical output (I place it 4th, by the way). Few, if any, studios’ libraries are vetted in this same way. “That’s the best Dimension Films pic in years!” or “Probably the second best Sony Picture Classic biopic in a decade”; these lists don’t really exist (okay, perhaps Lucas Films and Disney Feature Animation). It appears as though we hold Pixar to a higher standard – like family. We expect only the best, and blindly leap to protect our kin from criticism, seeing the situation through a less-than-objective lens.
With 24 hours until it’s release, Up floats around 96% at RottenTomatoes, which is exactly what WALL-E tallied in 2008, putting it in the top 20 best reviewed movies of the year. So I won’t shed a tear for Pete Docter and his co-director Bob Peterson, who are probably still glowing from their rockstar reception at Cannes. And they surely don’t need to defend their film from the critics – the other critics will apparently do that for them.
i haven’t seen up, and i probably won’t for a bit, i don’t get so jazzed on 3d i guess. but i have to disagree with you on the wall-e vs. the incredibles thing. i think it’s ok for a movie to be a little preachy, and i at least gave them credit for being a bit more original.
toy story was just a remake of jim henson’s the christmas toy, complete with new toy that was from outer space. maybe some brave little toaster in there too. and the incredibles was great and all but it seemed like they pulled directly from way too many comics and hit a little too close to home on some. i gave wall-e credit for being it’s own thing for once.
for people who haven’t seen the influences and for sheer computery craftsmanship pixar movies are amazing! other than that i can’t really get into them.
*edit*
oh yeah! so i’m a little more interested in up because it looks like they actually wrote an original story! i guess i’ll come back and rant more once i’ve seen it haha!
please do. i’d love to hear you take on it. i won’t dig into any of my detailed critiques until a few days after the release, so i don’t spoil the milk…