Disclaimer: I watched this on a portable DVD player, sandwiched between my two nephews, with the three year old alternately sleeping on my arm and fussing for his Mommy. It is possible that I missed fascinating bits.

In short, my impression from the previews was on the mark for me: it looked dull, and I found it dull. Maybe if I’d ever been a little boy who wanted to have adventures, instead of having been a little girl who wondered why boys had almost all the adventures in TV and movies, it would have been different. And boy, does the movie play up “adventures are only for boys.” Actually, the first 2-3 minutes, before the montage of some of the most blatant emotional manipulation I’ve ever seen? I would have enjoyed that movie. The rest? Meh. I do want to give Pixar credit for making one of the leads an Asian kid (if his ethnicity was ever established, it was a part I missed) and for making a lot of the extras POC, but I can’t help but notice that it still came down to a pair of white guys duking it out.

Also, I spent way too much time pondering helium and the scientific feasibility of it all.

( annoying parts are spoilery )