UP

Our little one's first time in the movie house last Wednesday. Twas also my first movie with Lakay here in Belgium (I know, I know. This is what parenthood does. Our next movie will probably be in the next two years again!)

On screen was UP, one of Disney and Pixar's entries for the summer (Belgium is quite late in releasing hollywood movies, which is not exactly a bad thing).

Was it worth it? Did it do justice to the fact that it marked "firsts" in our family life? I'd say a definite yes!

Not just because it was played on 3D screen. I liked the story and the message. I also liked the wit and humor.

The first part affected me more. It touched on the story of a couple who knew each other since they were kids fantasizing about adventures in the wild, and about putting up a house in Paradise Falls. These dreams kept them together as childhood friends who eventually grew together into a sweet old loving couple, only to be separated by death. That part made me wet my 3D glasses. (Sorry, can't help it.)

The message it seemed to me was about the real meaning of adventure. There was a part there where Russel, the cute annoying boy, said: "Sometimes the boring ones are the things that I remember most."

He was referring to the common ways families express love and affection to one another, sometimes too often that they become dull routine. But Russel's words put new color to these gestures. He's saying that they may be boring, and don't have the thrill of adventures in the wild, but they are the ones that are really worth remembering.

When Ellen (the child-turned-old-woman) died, she left the same message to her husband, Carl. They may not have been able to fulfill their dreams of going to Paradise Falls, but Ellen said that her life with Carl was the best adventure one can ever have --that life of routine between husband and wife, of going through the same motions everyday--that is one adventure that a trip to South America can never replace . (*tears again) For to be actually bored with forever is to think that the other is like a slab of wood that will never change. The same motions with the same other doesn't always mean the same thing. That's what makes us embodiments of adventure.

Good insight, I must say.

But then for a while, I found the second part quite ironic because it was filled with adrenaline-rush adventure scenes. I was about to dismiss it as one of those Disney movies that always ends up contradicting its very own points, when I suddenly gained insight. The second part wasn't just about physical adventure, it was also about the adventure of friendship. (Carl and Russel learn to become friends).

The decision to trust someone, to put your life in his or her hands -- can wind surfing or bungee jumping be more exciting than this?

So there you have it:

The adventure of forever, and the adventure of trust and friendship. I can't see how someone can actually say that life is boring, unless he has never learned to keep his promises, and thereby, never had friends.