# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**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, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/21 "2014-08-02T12:28:06Z")
> [@grude](#): > > 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. Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it - and I don’t want to see it again soon ☹ - but my own recollection was that something happened such that either they could never have kids, or never had the heart to try again. (I’ve known many couples who have suffered greatly from miscarriages but did manage to have kids - though now that I think of it, maybe considering this was “older times” there wasn’t the medical tech to help them.) I think my assumption at the time was something like miscarriage/non-viable pregnancy + found something very wrong with her and had to perform a hysterectomy. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/22 "2014-08-02T14:20:23Z")
i’m not sure i know how to reconcile the idea of music being the universal language vs a need for a child to lear- maybe a child knows that it’s sad music but simply not have much sadness to tap into. > [@grude](#): > > 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. shit. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/23 "2014-08-02T15:56:05Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it - and I don’t want to see it again soon ☹ - but my own recollection was that something happened such that either they could never have kids, or never had the heart to try again. (I’ve known many couples who have suffered greatly from miscarriages but did manage to have kids - though now that I think of it, maybe considering this was “older times” there wasn’t the medical tech to help them.) I think my assumption at the time was something like miscarriage/non-viable pregnancy + found something very wrong with her and had to perform a hysterectomy. That was my understanding of the scene in the doctor’s office: that she had not only lost a baby, but had just learned that she couldn’t/shouldn’t have another. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/24 "2014-08-03T00:42:04Z")
Ya know I think that ‘devastating’ is too strong a description for the beginning of _Up_. Bambi’s mom & Old Yeller’s deaths were devastating. The beginning of \*Up \*is just sad. And sad with a purpose, it sets up the framework for Ed Asner’s disgruntled character at the beginning and his eventual change of heart at the end. For little kids who don’t yet have a clue about the birds & the bees they’re not really going to get it at all (except maybe the death of the wife). Even for older kids, the concept of the extreme sadness for a couple not being able to have children is not really something they can relate to. Their priorities are just not anywhere near there yet. Great, great film BTW. Deserved its Best Picture nom… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/25 "2014-08-03T03:13:42Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > 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… Seconded. A sad but not devastating part of the movie for our boys. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/26 "2014-08-03T12:29:30Z")
Am I the only one who, on seeing the thread title, thought it was about _ **Up!** _, the Russ Meyer’s 1976 sexploitation movie??? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/27 "2014-08-03T12:43:18Z")
They purposely kept the opening silent so kids who aren’t ready to deal with it won’t understand that the old man had just lost his wife. That was one of the great things about the movie. If you missed that part (as most kids do), it’s just an old man and an annoying kid going on a vacation. If you got it, it’s an old man finally taking that vacation that him and his wife had been saving up for. ---
**Author:** ![MrSBaldrick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/87869e/32.png) [@MrSBaldrick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSBaldrick)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-the-first-part-of-the-movie-up-as-devastating-for-kids-as-it-is-to-adults/694546/28 "2014-08-04T02:40:04Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > Am I the only one who, on seeing the thread title, thought it was about _ **Up!** _, the Russ Meyer’s 1976 sexploitation movie??? After reading this, I reread the entire thread with that in mind … humour can be found in the most perverse things. 😃 [Previous 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=1)