# Was the first part of the movie Up as devastating for kids as it is to adults? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546 "2014-08-01T02:36:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/1 "2014-08-01T02:36:55Z")
would you expect a child to cry like you would an adult? i’m not sure if young children could relate to or understand the issues of fertility or death. would the sad music alone trigger feelings of sadness? or is it something you learn to associate as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/2 "2014-08-01T02:47:19Z")
No, no, of course they could if given an age-appropriate explanation (but not in the theater, please), yes (presuming previous cultural exposure to what kind of music is “sad”), yes. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/3 "2014-08-01T02:49:40Z")
Yes. Just as devastating. I’m guessing by the fact that you made this post that you were, in fact, devastated by the first part of the movie. My kids, my wife, and I were not. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/4 "2014-08-01T02:59:32Z")
No. But then I consider the “first part” ponying up for the tickets. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/5 "2014-08-01T06:42:17Z")
Gonna slide this over to CS since it’s about a specific movie. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/6 "2014-08-01T12:35:00Z")
Despite some people’s snark, I think this is a good question. I wondered that myself watching it. I wondered if kids would just glaze over the beginning. I expected that they would view it like it was in a foreign language. But since I don’t have access to young kids, I have no idea. I await other’s opinions on how their kids viewed it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/7 "2014-08-01T12:52:07Z")
There’s a discussion of the opening of this movie on the [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049413/board/thread/159910074). I haven’t seen the movie, but this discussion does contain spoilers. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/8 "2014-08-01T14:22:01Z")
My kids “got” it, but they didn’t find it as moving as adults typically would. They just don’t relate to the idea of a lifelong committed relationship quite the same way. Kids usually roll with the deep emotional stuff pretty well. Depends on the kid, of course. I have boys, that may make a difference. I have seen little girls get pretty broken up over the death of a cartoon character. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/9 "2014-08-01T14:45:53Z")
It did shake me up a little. My younger son was with me and didn’t seem to have a strong reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/10 "2014-08-01T16:10:22Z")
My then four year old didn’t have much of a reaction to it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/11 "2014-08-01T18:02:12Z")
I think a lot of Pixar’s success has been because their films are marketed towards adults. It’s not the kids dragging their parents to these but the parents dragging their kids. The whole Incredibles retro James Bond vibe. Finding Nemo’s theme of dealing with losing a wife and then a child. Toy Story’s theme of kid’s growing up and leaving the nest. Monster’s Inc deals with a lot of workplace humor. Make a kid’s film and get the parents buy in and you’re golden. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/12 "2014-08-01T19:44:05Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I think a lot of Pixar’s success has been because their films are marketed towards adults. It’s not the kids dragging their parents to these but the parents dragging their kids. > The whole Incredibles retro James Bond vibe. Finding Nemo’s theme of dealing with losing a wife and then a child. Toy Story’s theme of kid’s growing up and leaving the nest. Monster’s Inc deals with a lot of workplace humor. > Make a kid’s film and get the parents buy in and you’re golden. I think you are largely right… and then there’s Cars and then Cars 2 and then Planes…which are terrible and mostly aimed at kids. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/13 "2014-08-01T20:05:11Z")
I worried a bit about that, since I’d heard there was a death early in the movie. But it didn’t scare or even touch my son as much as it did me. I’m not even sure he fully grasped that the old woman who died and the adventurous little girl were the same person… or that elderly Mr. Frederckson was the little boy with the broken arm. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/14 "2014-08-02T00:07:33Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’m not even sure he fully grasped that the old woman who died and the adventurous little girl were the same person… or that elderly Mr. Frederckson was the little boy with the broken arm. Dude, spoilers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/15 "2014-08-02T00:24:08Z")
Pixar are master storytellers. The only thing better than the opener of “Up” was the 15 seconds (yes, I timed it) of “Ratatouille” where they gave the Peter O’Toole food critic’s back story. Superb. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/16 "2014-08-02T00:43:37Z")
Nope. Understanding the sense of loss and emptiness when you discover you can’t have children is something that they can’t relate to. Smacked me in the head like a 2x4, and my niece couldn’t undstand why I was crying. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/17 "2014-08-02T00:56:36Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > Nope. Understanding the sense of loss and emptiness when you discover you can’t have children is something that they can’t relate to. Smacked me in the head like a 2x4, and my niece couldn’t undstand why I was crying. As someone who has never wanted children, I found their inability to fill their adventure journal terribly devastating. I gasped in sympathy at the infertility reveal, but both my husband and I were crying about how they never got to fulfill their travel dreams together. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/18 "2014-08-02T03:49:02Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > As someone who has never wanted children, I found their inability to fill their adventure journal terribly devastating. I gasped in sympathy at the infertility reveal, but both my husband and I were crying about how they never got to fulfill their travel dreams together. And then we find out she DID fill the journal with the adventure of her life with Carl. She did lead a fulfilling life after all. Oh, man, there sure is a lot of dust in the room tonight… ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/19 "2014-08-02T07:32:57Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > As someone who has never wanted children, I found their inability to fill their adventure journal terribly devastating. I gasped in sympathy at the infertility reveal, but both my husband and I were crying about how they never got to fulfill their travel dreams together. You know what makes it even sadder? Elle and Carl had a miscarriage, no one buys a crib and starts painting a nursery because they want to get pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/20 "2014-08-02T07:34:42Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > I think you are largely right… and then there’s Cars and then Cars 2 and then Planes…which are terrible and mostly aimed at kids. I have heard from numerous parents that all three of those are their kid’s absolute favorite movies, they are also my son’s. Kids don’t give a rat’s patooty about character growth or emotional depth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546.md?page=2)