Yeah, I agree - I mean, it is astounding that the change of Company hands didn't faze them, and that they're actually capable of making good sequels(though we'll see if that's consistently true over the next few years), but they still may fall off course. I hope fervently that that does not happen, however, and right now, there's no reason why it should other than my own cynicism. I do wonder what will happen once Lassetter retires, but that probably won't happen any time soon.

One of my favorite things about Up is that Ellie never becomes a MacGuffin - she's always there, she's present, she's honored, she's a distinct emotional force throughout the story, and it's her final message that is able to give Carl the strength to both overcome Muntz, and to finally let her go.

Also, I found Russell's role in the film interesting. In any other film, he'd be used largely as comedy relief, I feel, but rather it's Carl's bonding with him that allows him to finally continue to live his life and move back to the city rather than remaining in South America, which I feel shows that he is honoring Ellie's memory by obeying her command to go find his own adventure.