Seriously...

Do your boring lives a favour... read THIS:

http://writebadlywell.blogspot.com/2009/10/use-as-many-adjectives-as-you-can.html

Up-ped. Or not.

Its been a while since I watched UP. But for some odd reason, I'm unable to get my mind off the movie. Not sure if its what the movie made me feel or the starkly contrasting views of others... but for some reason, the movie made me feel inadequate.

Up, I followed until a little over the middle of the story. I loved the imagination, the characters and everything about the movie. Starting off as a simple sweet story of 2 kids and their wild adventures, the story suddenly forces you to grow up somewhere in the middle. The house uprooting itself and taking off was one of the best moments in the movie, as expected of course. And the idea of taking all of his memories along with him to fulfil the ONE promise that was the basis of the life he created with his wife was fabulous. But the moment I realised it was also about fear of change and consequently exposing the hypocrisy of his supposed hunger for adventure… it just scared me. I think I slunk in under, somewhere between the shadow cast by the low flying house and the ground. The bright stark colours of the balloons, the talking dog and the fat Asian lonely kid… everything just seemed to curdle something inside me. And the metaphor became as weighty inside me as the animation suggested on screen. I actually took off the 3D glasses for a moment…. cos I couldn’t stomach it, but it just reminded me of life without glasses.

I’ve discussed this movie with others. I’ve heard them say that its about the struggle of change and accepting and learning to let go… and its about finding friendship in adversity, and human nature and re-growing roots, about re-discovering friendship and learning the true spirit of adventure. I get all of it. And maybe you are right. But for some reason, I got stuck at the weighty metaphor. and I cant get it out of my head. I don’t know if its because I see a part of myself in it. Or because it sounds frightfully similar to a loved one… but whatever the reason is, it depressed me.

All I know is that now, animation as a genre is something I will think before watching again. There is something unpalatable about animation now… possibly because I assumed it would be about simple happy light stories.. a lil bit of humour and excellent creativity. Getting enmeshed into the plot of the story was something I didn’t bargain for… and UP had me leave a part of me in it and come back. Cos I didn’t really see the ending… I just watched blindly.

I called the movie dark after watching it.. but that’s not it. It isn’t dark like Japanese animation dark… its… just… a little too grown up for me. It’s a sort of mature I don’t want to see. Somewhere between the old man’s angered vulnerability… and the obese innocence of the child… I found myself in a very uncomfortable place… like stuck between 2 people in an auto ride and constantly figuring out whether you want to sit back or in front… or like when you get elbowed throughout dinner.

Anyway… I’m done talking. Have you watched UP? What did you think of the movie?