BlogHer - Disney - Comments

I cannot wait to see it.

ameliasprout — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:26:59 -0500

Why shouldn't movies deal with infertility and loss in a real way. I was lucky in that I didn't have any issues, but I saw people very close to me deal with it when I was young (both loss and multiple failed IVF's & adoption) and I consider myself very fortunate because of that. If we don't talk about it, how will things ever change?

"fat kid"

momtrolfreak — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:27:41 -0500

Hey Jen,

Hmm, maybe you're right. I guess I wasn't thinking of Russell as an allegory as much as a literal character. It reminded me of the morbidly obese future-humans in Wall-E as well, aho roll around on the ship. Just thought it was weird and was not a fan of him eating chocolate the whole time since my three year old kept asking for chocolate bars after that (and since). Greeeeeat. ;-) It was a wonderful movie though, seriously, one of the best films I've seen in a long time, including grown-up films. Pixar rocks. thanks for your comment, I'll keep those points in mind the next (four thousand) time(s) we watch it on DVD. :-) Laura

Laura

momtrolfreak.com

Great movie, great review : )

loribeth — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:29:56 -0500

Thank you so much for this, Mel. I've seen the movie but haven't had time to write about it on my own blog yet. I am currently living childless/free after loss & infertility (I'm also a scrapbooker, which ties into another key plot point). Carl & Ellie could very well be my dh & me, 30-odd years from now.

I had been forewarned about the opening sequence by another blogger. Even so -- I was reduced to a puddle of tears within seconds of the cloud babies appearing. Tried not to sob too loudly (because there were children all around me), but I was shaking like a leaf. My dh was squeezing my hand so tightly I thought he was going to crush a bone. Once I pulled myself together, I had to take my glasses off to clean them because they were so waterlogged, I could not see the screen. Had to bring out the Kleenex again toward the end of the movie when he rediscovers Ellie's scrapbook.

Despite the tears -- I thought it was an absolutely wonderful movie, for so many reasons. And I appreciated its message hugely -- that it's possible to have a full & happy life without children, and that you don't necessarily have to go to Paradise Falls to find adventure (there may be adventures to be had in your own backyard, if you know where to look). Kind of reminded me of "The Wizard of Oz" in that respect. (I can remember bawling my eyes out as a kid when the wizard took off in his balloon from Oz to go back to Kansas, leaving Dorothy behind.)

I think the best kids' movies appeal just as much (if not more) to adults, & Up falls squarely into that category. I have a feeling parents will probably make more out of the opening sequence than their children will. I'm sure the kids will be focused much more on the adventure, Kevin the colourful bird and the talking dogs. (There's a sequence with dogs playing poker that's taken straight from the classic picture -- dh & I totally cracked up, but I think we were the only ones in the entire theatre who got the joke.)

"the fat kid"

jenben — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:30:00 -0500

HI Laura,

I don't actually think they were making fun of the "fat kid" at all. I think they were trying to make a point of how different children are these days from the children of the past. The club Russell was in was a take off of the boy scouts yet he had never even been camping-outside. He was unable to keep up and whined that he was tired because that's how kids are these days (or at least how my 5 and 7 year old boys are). I honestly think it was more of a commentary on how times have changed with regards to how kids grow up. Thanks so much for opening up the conversation about this.

Jen

This is a most awesome post.

lauriewrites — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:19:00 -0500

And a wonderful treatment of how the overall theme of loss and reinventing yourself in the face of it is a lot of what life is about (at some times more than others.)

That opening sequence may well be the best montage - real or animated or Pixarized - I've ever seen. Count me in as one of the criers, and yes, it was projection in addition to empathy for these characters. Mine? Have not parented, have no idea if I'm fertile or not, don't know how it will play out, still feel loss as a result of not fulfilling a role in life that I always thought I would, that nonetheless remains complicated for a bunch of reasons. I found myself amazed later by how powerfully one silent scene in an animated film can tap into so much, even subconsciously.

I haven't read the posts but I can only think that people who reacted in anger did so as a result of their own circumstances. Children are faced with many more potentially alarming topics in movies and on tv, some of them you list here. I couldn't handle Bambi then, can't now. And I would never have thought to be upset by the depiction of absentee parenting - to see a sympathetic character go through that and have a kickass time anyway and find an (elderly) friend in the process. Awesome! I loved the intergenerational (and subtly multicultural) aspect of this film.

My only complaint? Would have loved to see more of power-girl Ellie in the beginning, but she made her mark.

Interesting and just the way of the world that people can look at the same thing and see it in such entirely different ways. I love your reflections here, Melissa.

Laurie

LaurieWrites

Great movie...

Reproductive Jeans — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:50:12 -0500

Mook and I went to see this on our first date night since o-man was born. I did NOT know what to expect--I heard someone say "bring tissues" but had no clue it would mean I needed a BOX of tissues. Mook and I both shed a tear-and squeezed hands as we saw ourselves on that screen in the dr office getting our diagnosis.

I wonder if anyone @ Pixar was dealing with/has dealth with infertility, as they are such a tight-knit group of people--very family oriented.

This will be a great movie to show o-man one day when we are telling him about our journey to bring him into our life.

Our journey of passing on our family "jeans"
reproductivejeans.blogspot.com

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Can't wait to see it

jreale — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:38:15 -0500

Wow, what an insightful, lucid post. Perhaps you'll launch a career as a film critic next?

Sincerely,

Jody Reale
Boulder, CO
http://www.jodyreale.com

Yes, Up tore me UP!!

Jo Anna Guerra — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:38:38 -0500

Ugh! It tore right at the heart of me, too. We took our twins to see it for their kindergarten graduation celebration.

Soooo....already a wreck, what with the babies growing up and flying from the nest in 12 more years and all that, and then this! Outright confronted with my failures, not living my life to the fullest, not taking those missed chances, still waiting to fulfill my dreams, still waiting for my next adventure to come knocking on my own front door.

It was waaay too much for a Thursday afternoon.

The Adventures of Saia & Chago (http://saiaandchago.blogspot.com)

"Love" is the right word

FeeFiFoto — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:49:15 -0500

FeeFiFoto

I think one thing that makes Pixar films so touching and meaningful is that they deal unashamedly with real, legitimate LOVE. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible bicker, but they love each other, and their kids, ferociously. Woody and Buzz develop more than respect for each other -- they love and take care of each other like close, bickering brothers. The love between Carl and Ellie is real, palpable and wrenching, and the love that Carl and Russell develop for each other is believable. In contrast, the love in Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, even Pinocchio, is artificial, based on a brief meeting as opposed to a long lifetime of evolving emotion. We may all want to get married like Cinderella and Prince Charming, but we all want to be in a long term relationship like Carl and Ellie's.

Loved it.

FerociousKitty — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:59:42 -0500

I wasn't expecting this film to be so deep, and I loved the wordless montage of Ellie and Carl's life together.

I saw couples of all ages, sans kids, in the theater.

My test of a really good kid flick is if I can stay awake through it (i.e., it has a storyline that doesn't make me comatose). I dozed a little on "UP", but that's only because I was tired. Otherwise, it was a winner!

Co-Parenting 101

Love as an adventure

halflifecrisis — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:07:54 -0500

I also teared up at many parts of the movie (the montage of Ellie and Carl's life together, the part where he reads her book again) but was most touched by it's idea of adventure. I loved how the film transformed the outdated vision of adventure offered by Muntz's obsession with capturing the wild bird into the modern vision of adventure offered by Carl's determination to keep his promises to Ellie and Russell. Love, as a husband and a father, is its own adventure.

http://halflifecrisis.com

Me Too

banteringblonde — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 09:40:57 -0500

I thought is was very "DEEP" .. yikes, my husband and I looked at each other and just hugged as we were leaving!

Cry Baby

jes — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:32:07 -0500

I didn't just cry throughout the beginning montage. I balled throughout probably 3/4 of the entire movie. And then, as my husband and I were walking out of the theater, I started crying again. And then, as we were driving to a friend's house, I started crying again. It was a tad bit embarrassing, but we both loved the movie.

EASILY Pixar's best movie yet, better than both The Incredibles and Finding Nemo. We watched it in 3D, definitely worth the extra $3, and I loved that the entire film was 3D, not just certain parts. This movie will definitely be in our collection.

Jes Ferris
Find me at BlogHer.com and Chirky.com

couldn't agree more!

momtrolfreak — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:18:32 -0500

Wondering, though, what you thought about the way it makes fun of the fat kid the whole time? I was a little concerned about the message--I wrote more about it in my guest review for Momicillin: http://www.momicillin.com/2009/06/05/disney-pixars-up/

I totally cried though. Especially during the miscarriage part? Seriously, who greenlighted that? ;-)

Laura

momtrolfreak.com

I saw it tonight.

lauriewrites — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:28:49 -0500

It was beautiful. I don't think we have to even say we don't have children, Suzanne, because it was more a story of aging and finding fulfillment in life than anything...and it just happened to not be live action. I loved Russell but it was Carl and Ellie's story...and I totally agree with Maria that I wish we'd seen more of her.

There were moments of such extreme visual and emotional beauty that I was weeping for happy and sad reasons. I've not been watching Pixar films for years but this made me want to catch up - and since I didn't see it in 3d, to drag someone with me to do that very soon.

Laurie

LaurieWrites