The movie is a love story about a young boy and girl, Carl and Ellie, who meet and share an obsession with becoming world explorers.  We fast forward through the simple, but happy, life that they share with the common goal of eventually saving enough money to embark on a treacherous exploration to visit the mysterious Paradise Falls in South America.  They tackle the ups and downs that come with life, living without great wealth, and we see that it is a fantastical dream of visiting Paradise Falls that stays with them through the many years of their marriage.

I think it’s a commentary on married life that sometimes there are ups and downs and there is a need for a happy, possibly unattainable, abstract concept to hold on to.  Wealth and opulence exists all around us and sometimes it’s hard to accept that maybe we just might not attain those aspirations in this life.  We just might not be the ones who get to have those experiences.  But is it still okay to dream?  Or should we forget the dream to realize the happiness that is found in the things that you do have the opportunity to experience?  Maybe we don’t need to have lofty dreams.  Maybe it’s more important to enjoy the small things in life that are wonderful and beautiful because of the people with whom we share them.

The movie has a beautiful theme of love and family relationships that runs throughout.  The young wilderness explorer, Russell, who stowes away with Carl has revealing discussions about his limited relationship with his busy father and we see the affect that it has on his attitude and spirit.  We also see the relationship between Carl and Russell as the old man learns how to be a father figure to a loving child.

I don’t want to spoil too much about the movie, so I won’t say anymore.  But I do want adults to see this film and think about the contrast between depression and happiness and reality and fantasy that are portrayed in the relationships in this movie.

Image: Disney-Pixaf

Post from: Blisstree

Up: A Commentary On Relationships

“Yes, they are honey. Now go back to sleep.”
“Are they in this land?”
“No. We don’t have any pyramids here in this country.”
“In Brazil?”
“No, not in Brazil. In Egypt. Now got to sleep darling.”
“The Egypt in Africa?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“Are people in Egypt called Egyptians?”
“Yes, they are. Now go to sleep, honey.”
“Have you been to Egypt, Mommy?”
“No, honey. But your grandparents have. They went on a cruise down the Nile.”
“What’s the Arrow?”
“Nile. It’s a river in Egypt. Now go to sleep. It’s late. Or early, really.”
“What time is it?”
“Two. Now go to sleep.”
“Is the Nile deep?”

… You get the idea. Nearly two hours, a bathroom trip and a glass of water later, my son finally drifted back to sleep.

I knew when we decided to have a child that there would sleepless nights – especially in those newborn years or the teenage years when your child is old enough to drive. I just assumed there’d be a grace period in between where parents could catch up on all the sleep they missed out on when their newborn was wailing every two hours. Or that time when he was a year old and he got into that jag where he woke up every night from 2 a.m. – 4 a.m. without fail wanting nothing but my undivided attention. (After two weeks of that I broke into a slobbering, tearful mess and begged my doctor for help, which came in the form of OTC Benadryl, but that’s another story.)

Apparently, I’m not alone. Sleep deprivation among parents is common, according to a study by a researcher with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a health survey of more than 79,000 adults in 18 states and Washington, D.C., consisting of married parents with children living at home, unmarried parents living with children, and married or unmarried adults without kids, parents were more likely to report insufficient sleep than adults without children. Among the sleepless, moms topped the list.

The solution? Researcher Daniel P. Chapman suggests sleep education among families with children, “particularly mothers.” Um …. Ok.

Source: WebMD
Photo, Flickr, peasap

Post from: Blisstree

News Flash: Parents are Sleep Deprived

Up- Imagine two kids that fall madly in love and end up marrying one another, the two share a secret promise that they’ll one day go to a falls. Then one day, Carl is an old man, his wife is gone and a boy scout is at his door asking if he can walk him across the street for his

IMG: Amazon.com

Land of the Lost (June 5)- Dr.Rick Marshall is sucked into a time tunnel and with two others, one of which is a “redneck.” The three meet a caveman and befriend him and learn all about the jungles of the Dinosaur world. Now the only trouble is they have to find their way back to their time. Can they do it?

Transformers 2: Revenge (June 24)- You saw the first Transformers and loved it. Why would you ever miss the second one? I hear this one is suppose to be better than the last one and we all know they’ll have to really figure out how Shia, aka Sam, hurts his hand. Remember his real accident crushed his hand late last year during the filming of the show. With the “Revenge” we’ll get to see how the Transformers defend the Universe this time and not just the states.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhtGnCa8×2k

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (July 17)- I don’t think there is a need to go into this one. Who doesn’t know what’s happening? Will Harry live for another show and which person will actually die?

Ice Age 3: The Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D- Ellie and Manny from “The Meltdown” fell in love and are now expecting a little one of their own. Sid ventures out to find a kid of his own and ends up stealing dinosaur eggs. Course we all know what happens when someone steals someone’s baby…there’s going to be one very mad momma and probably a lot of funny adventures in dealing with this egg. Will you be there?

Post from: Blisstree

Top 5 Summer Movies for Kids