You're sure to tear up when you see UP

I really really didn't want to like the new Disney movie, Up. I am not a big fan of computer animation, never have been. The first time I saw that Pixar desk lamp thing dancing around, I felt like I was witnessing a murder - the death blow to the old school hand-painted cels that I grew up with. There just wasn't the same warmth and humanity you felt watching a light fixture hop up and down on a red rubber ball that you got watching Thumper and Bambi get to know Flower the Skunk.

All that changed when the Diva, the Professor and I went to see Up yesterday. The Mad Cow was dealing with a traumatic morning and didn't want to go anywhere (Oscar the Grouch and I thought the Diva started summer school yesterday but she actually starts on the 22nd so I had to pick her up. The Mad Cow was still asleep so I figured I could get home and back in 5 minutes. Of course, he woke up and freaked that I was gone)

I cried harder and stronger during Up than I did when Bambi's mother was shot or when Nemo's Dad couldn't find him. The kids always tease me about being a crybaby since I find a reason so sob away at any movie we go to. The Diva never lets me forget how I was crying the ugly cry (yes, with hanabata and Alice Cooper black streaks running down my face) during the 3-D Hannah Montana movie. No, it wasn't because of the obligatory Jonas Brothers placement during the film (although that was very painful), it was the result of thinking to myself that someday, that would be the Diva on stage singing to a crowd. Well, that and the realization that I would be as obnoxious a stage parent at Miley Cyrus' Mom who let her ride in an Escalade without a seatbelt or as irritating as Billy Ray Cyrus insisting on singing a duet as part of the movie.

So, while we are watching Up, I am crying like I have an onion shoved up my nose and I hear the Diva sniffling away on my side. I thought that she was either being funny and mimicking me or was having a delayed allergic reaction to mango season. But no, she was actually crying. "Oh, it's so sad....." said the Diva with the heart of stone.

The Professor just thought we were nuts. I know he was thinking, "FEMALE HORMONES!"

In case you have been living under a rock and haven't been exposed to the media fubar, Up tells the story of an old man (voiced by Ed Asner) who decides that he will fulfill his late wife's dream of living near a waterfall in South America. He ties helium balloons to the house and as he is airborne, he discovers that the short fat Asian kid (with a real Japanese kid doing the voice - hooray) who had been harassing him to get an "assist the elderly" Wilderness Badge is on his porch. They make it to South America but land short of the waterfall so they have to walk through the jungle to get to the location in a few days. On the way, as is the case with all things Disney, they encounter the following:

1) A giant bird named Kevin who is actually a Mom

2) A big fat dog named Doug (who looks like a brown version of Rayni) who speaks in English

3) A pack of dogs who all speak English who are looking for the bird (totally hilarious esp. the Doberman Alpha whose translation collar goes on the fritz so he speaks like Alvin the Chipmunk)

4) An evil mad adventurer who was the old man's hero when he was a kid but is now totally demented and obsessed with catching the bird

The only thing that was missing from your standard Disney film was a catchy tune by Elton John. I kept waiting for an Hakuna Matata moment but it never came - thank Buddha!

What made the movie so great was it was a social commentary on many of today's ills. It really made you think about your views on a lot of serious topics: the devaluation of the elderly, coping with life after losing a loved one, absentee divorced fathers, the maternal instinct, bullying and social hierarchy, worshipping false heroes. You really couldn't leave the theatre without wondering about your own values. Would you save a friend if it meant giving up your life's dream? Could you rid yourself of a lifetime of possessions in order to help someone in need?

Usually, when I watch a computer animated film, being an artist, I focus more on the technical side of it - how was that animated, how did they get that to look so realistic, etc. but this time, I found myself wondering about the deeper issues in life. The film really made it clear that you are not living if you are chasing someone else's dream. If you are living for someone else or living in the past, you are missing what is going on around you presently. Your life needs to be YOUR life, your dreams need to be YOUR dreams. Wow - so deep.

My absolutely favorite part of the movie was the "Cone of

Shame". When the dogs were punished for some wrongdoing, they were forced to wear the Cone of Shame. Having spent the last few weeks dealing with Tiger and her own cone, it just brought home how totally stupid every dog looks with a plastic satellite dish around the head. Like Tiger, the cartoon dogs kept banging into things and getting whiplash - like furry bumper cars or something.

You do not need to have kids or be a kid to see Up. it is really a great film to EXPERIENCE - not just watch but experience. You really get

caught up in the adventure and grow to love the characters. I'm a sucker for any movie with dogs - and if they talk, all the better.

Just bring a lot of kleenix!