Ahh, the first day of summer break….cloudy skies and forecast for rain. That means at 11 am we were already in line for the movies, Disney’s Up! Alas, the 11:30 screening was in 3D, darling daughter was going to have to NOT freak out about wearing the glasses….oh boy. (FYI it was $24 for an adult and one child for Monday morning movie, good lord)
Okay, so we sit down and there is but one other mom in the ENTIRE theatre. Good thing for theatres admission prices are up but you think they might take note that they are out of control and out of reach for way too many. Can’t imagine what its like for a family trip to the movies including snacks! First, there was the preview for the next Harry Potter flick, which is so scary Ava nearly jumped into my lap and repeatedly kept asking “mama, is this the movie?”. Poor kid was terrified that I was taking her to some fright show. Next, a preview for Toy Story 3! Thanks goodness for Toy Story, that had her (and me, I love Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head!) laughing out loud. Okay, Pixar redeemed. Now, onto the short animated film the preceded the main event. It was some cloud depiction with storks and babies, cute enough but then there was the villain cloud. Again, child in lap clamoring, “mama, is this the movie?”. Phew, it ends.
Alright, main event, here we come. The movie begins with two goofy kids, adventure seekers, who grow up and fall in love, forever. This tear inducing sequence culminates when the main character Carl and his wife Ellie are in their golden years. Beautifully executed to the point that my darling daughter exclaimed, “I want to go home. I miss gramma Suzen”. Stunning animation and a thoughtful presentation with virtually no dialogue. Well done. Next comes the reality that Carl is alone, cranky, and surrounded by looming urban developments. Eventually he snaps and whacks a construction worker, injuring by means of violence – enter blood, police and an ambulance. Not good, especially when trying to instill in a young child that yelling and hitting are wrong. Ugh, now she is scared and angry. And this is only just the beginning. Enter, packs of violent barking dogs, a mean villain who is trying to take a mother bird away from her babies, and cranky old man being cold to a young boy. As an adult, I love Carl and Ellie. I can empathize with their plight and really love that the story comes full circle back to their adventure book (which, actually does make for a great activity with your kids this summer, see the template here). 
I believe in them as characters and so forth but I am 32, clearly not the target audience. Disney, I must ask, are you suffering from a personality disorder? Wildly swinging from something so good to something going down so quickly. Perhaps maybe and perhaps they just can’t seem to make a movie for children under 5 that won’t scare the crap out of them that doesn’t involve the sexual stereotyping of princesses. Thank goodness we have Toy Story 3 to look forward too. Bad news is we have to wait an entire year.
