Up for adventure

The redhead and I caught the movie Up yesterday afternoon.

I can't remember the last time I was so deeply affected by a film. Within the first five minutes, my eyes grew wet with tears and by the end of the movie, I was a blubbering idiot in desperate need of an action film to redeem my manhood.

Stories have great power to move us, even animated ones. In a recent interview, Up writer and director Pete Docter said, "There's something of the divine in the way we respond to stories and how we're created as people—that we're so driven by relationship that even when we know we're just looking at a bunch of drawings, we still connect emotionally." Boy, do we ever! Even when we're not aware of it, our longing to connect with others moves in powerful ways.

The film had so many great themes: the consequences of misplaced priorities, the danger of devoting your life to the wrong things, the beauty and simplicity of an ordinary life, and our deep need to connect with others. I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet so I won't give away too much here. Check it out for yourself. Just be sure to bring a box of kleenex.