When Pixar released their whimsical darling of a feature Up, there was no question that it would grab the Oscar for Best Animated Film. For years now, no other studio has been able to hold a candle to Pixar in terms of visual style and strong writing. I'll happily go on record as saying that Wall-E is the best animated feature to hit theaters in the past decade and even some of their less stunning projects (Cars and Monsters Inc come to mind) are still better than most movies produced for the pre-teen demographic. Nonetheless, I found myself feeling ambivalent about Up. It was a perfectly serviceable kid's movie and it had a unique premise, but it just didn't thrill me the way Wall-E did the previous year. Though I do recognize why Up wasn't a cinematic highlight for me. Plainly, because I don't have any kids.

If I was a father, Up would easily be one of my favorite things about 2009, just as every Pixar feature would be one of my favorite things about whatever year they debuted. Children live in an enviable state of mind that is free from the confines of taste. As such, they end up being the target demographic for some criminally terrible movies.

Every year, studios produce the kid's movie equivalents of all the middle-brow garbage that flood theaters aiming for older audiences. There's functionally no difference between crap like the 2007 CGI Alvin and the Chipmunks adaptation and unforgivable dreck like the same year's I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Both are slick, mindless and utterly substance-free movies that not only play to the lowest common denominator, they actually make that denominator lower just by existing.

While I have no patience for philosophy-driven movies intended for adults, as they usually end up being hollow and preachy, I can totally understand wanting the movies people show to their children to promote values. Or more specifically, good values. It's disturbing how readily we dismiss the vapidity, materialism and vanity of kid's movies by assuming they're nothing more than fantasy. I know Pixar movies aren't designed with 20-something bachelors in mind, but I appreciate that they're based on an admirable and consistent set of values.

If I was responsible for a child, I would have no reservations about taking him or her to see Up and its story about regret and mourning. It's encouraging that the movie, for all its fanciful elements, is still solidly grounded in its depiction of a man and his wife's realistically not-adventurous life. Just like Wall-E's unambiguous condemnation of consumerism and Ratatouille's examination of classism, Up puts a lot of trust in the ability of children to process complex ideas about humanity. These films ask children to think about the society in which they live, to question the validity of its trends rather than expecting them to accept the most meaningless and destructive components of life as not just normal, but actually good.

Of course, if Pixar movies were just polemics they wouldn't be worthwhile, either. It's because the studio manages to make meaningful pictures that are also very entertaining that it's such a cultural gem. It'll probably be several years at least before I'm in a place to get excited about new Pixar features, but I'm still glad that John Lasseter and company are part of our society.