Posts
I have not been posting nearly enough this year and I want to steer back
from that. To that end I have found a 30-day blog challenge and
fluffed it out to 31 entries (since December has 31 days). I have
done a 30-day
challenge before for movies, though that one was poorly executed (I started
it in the middle of a month, at one point I posted 2 entries on one day, it is
a mess). I did another one just this year in August on Video
Games, that one was better, go read it after this
one, all of it. Or don’t, no pressure.
Today is
day 17 and the topic is “Saddest Moment”.
It is another Top 5 List, because I
could think of 5 entries and they were all sad, so I am going to make a list. Strangely, even though there are 5 entries,
there are only 3 types of Sad… You’ll see what I mean.
Number 5
I have shockingly little connection
to this movie. I am sure I have seen it,
but I have almost no memory of it and know that it is sad more as a cultural
touchstone. Everyone sort of knows what
you are talking about when you mention it, and its effect on children has been
parodied a number of times. I am
speaking of Mother’s death in the movie “Bambi”.
This is a great scene, the snowfall
obscuring the whole world is a fitting metaphor for the loss of a caregiver. The sad impotent calls for help as the world
grows colder and darker… This is sadness type 1.
Number 4
This one is sadder, mostly because
of how it happens to a much stronger and more interesting character. There are lots of elements, the scope of the
threat, the immediacy, and the surrounding sense of dread and betrayal. Is it not enough to lose your father, but to
think you were responsible? That is the
icing. I am talking about Mufasa’s death
in “The Lion King”.
Less symbolic than the snowfall
certainly, instead you have the action’s pace continue as Simba must flee the
hyenas while going into exile while still grieving. He is alone, guilt ridden, and sad… This is
also sadness type 1, death of a parent.
Ever seen grownups
cry in a movie theater? Cause these next
three deal with the sort of sadness that strikes more at the heart of adults,
but to children serve more as dark prophecies for them to deny until self-reflective
episodes in their 20’s and 30’s when they attempt to write blogs on sad Disney
movie moments.
Number 3
We all grow up. But we don’t always get to grow up with our
fictional characters. When I am 70,
Batman will still be 30 something. When
I am 80, Captain America will still be 30 something. When I am dust there will probably still be
Lego bricks in toy chests. We do not get
to take the things we loved as children with us. Not because these things are unimportant or
lack value, but because we change as people.
It is important to leave our treasures with those who can take care of
them and treasure them so that those parts of us do not disappear.
This entry comes from the rare
Disney franchise that has sequels, the sequels grow the themes of the story,
and they reflect the time that has passed in the real world. I am speaking of Andy saying goodbye to Woody
and Buzz in “Toy Story 3”. This is
sadness type 2-A, loss of childhood via loss of treasured possessions.
(The audio quality on here will give you cancer. Just a warning.)
Number 2
This is a more obscure entry. I would venture to say that most people have
not seen it, and that I am kind of an outlier in that I managed to watch it
when I was a little kid. “The Fox and
the Hound” is about a puppy hunting dog, Copper and his time befriending a fox
cub, Todd. Why they did not name the
copper colored fox “Copper” I have no idea.
That is not what we are here for.
The point is that as the hunting
puppy grows into a hunting dog he and his friend grow apart. I think just about anybody can identify with
one of these two sides right? Your
friend goes off to the military or college, or you go, and returning home you
two have lost that connection you had previously. People grow and they grow apart. Especially from when they were children.
Spoiler alert, this movie ends with
Todd going into exile in the woods after being hunted by Copper, and them both
having to team up to fight a bear. The
final cleft between the two is tear welling.
This is sadness type 2-B, loss of childhood via loss of best friend.
Before I get to my number 1—and since
I can’t go a blog without reminding everyone how much of a cultured twit I am—I
would like to point out how the idea of a wild man and a cultured man becoming
friends to battle a giant and then one of them leaving the story is kind of
like the first few chapters of “Gilgamesh”.
It is not a 1-to-1 comparison, just a theme.
In that story the wild man Enkidu
befriends Gilgamesh and they go on adventures and ultimately Enkidu is
killed. I see Todd the Fox as Enkidu in
this story and I wonder if watching your childhood friend die saving you from a
threat after you had just been hunting them would be sadder than the parting on
strained terms ending that was present?
Should Disney have killed Todd?
It might have been sadder on one level, but certainly less identifiable. What do you think?
Number 1
And because
Pixar hates your happiness on a personal level, it is the opening to “Up”.
I do not think anyone will even
argue with me about this. This is the
sort of sad that cuts on multiple levels, of looking back on someone you lost, all
the opportunities you each missed out on, and all the pain of the deep personal
tragedies you had to share. This is sadness
type 3, forlorn and regretful.
Share your
own thoughts on this in the comments. I
know I am not the only person out there who is nostalgic for Disney products,
and I am sure many people disagree with my selection for today’s entry.
I picked Disney stuff just because
I knew there was so much of it to talk about and it lends itself to discussion
in the comments. So please, tell me how
my opinion about cartoon movies is biased and how your opinion on cartoon
movies is objectively right.
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