toledoblade.com --

Welcome to the Blade blog Culture Shock, a three-times-a-week riff by Pop Culture Editor Kirk Baird on pop culture news, events, and trends. The blog will appear Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings here, with the odd night or off-day posting if something is merited.

I hate to get too personal with the blog, but occasionally I make allowances. Please allow me one of those instances.

On Sunday, I spent nearly two hours chasing down a smoking deal on Pixar Blue-rays that, after trips to six stores, yielded Up and Monsters, Inc. for a total of $35 — about the price of one Blu-ray movie at most stores.

We're saving Monsters, Inc. for my daughter as a gift from Santa — please don't ruin the surprise. But Up we opted to watch sometime before the Holidays.

We didn't make it past Monday, after my daughter came across the Up Blue-ray early that morning, and was excitedly telling my wife how badly she wanted to watch it. So, my wife and I decided to make Monday a Movie Night with our daughter, who turned 3 a week ago.

We sat down as a family and watched Up during dinner. (Which was a treat, since we quit watching TV and movies during mealtimes when we bought our house.)

I was a little worried that Up may be too advanced for my daughter. She's bright, but Up operates on so many adult levels I wasn't sure if she would latch onto it the way she does for many of her favorite films, Disney classics like Peter Pan, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid, her favorite.

I certainly didn't expect her to enjoy the first 10 minutes of setup in Up, which proves heartbreaking as it defines and gives purpose to the film's main character, Carl Fredricksen, a grumpy, elderly man voiced by Ed Asner who wishes to visit the wilds of South America before he dies. But she did.

What happened after that, though, I wasn't prepared for. Neither was my wife.

Our daughter was transfixed by the movie. More than that, she was so emotionally invested in what she saw on TV that she lived every frame of gorgeous animation.

She laughed. She cheered. She cried. She shivered. She pointed. She yelled. For more than 90 minutes Up was her world. As much as I love the movie, I was equally drawn to her reaction to it. The film's moments of peril, in particular, got to her, causing her to grow increasingly anxious and then genuinely sad, tears rolling down her cheeks when she thought Carl and his pals — Russell the Wilderness Explorer, Dug the talking dog, and a rare giant bird named Kevin — were doomed.

We actually had to pause the movie on more than one occasion to reassure her that everything was OK. I was moderately worried that I had somehow caused her some emotional trauma that would forever haunt her, and lead her to a life of alcoholic ruin. But considering her jovial nature post-movie, that fear, thankfully, subsided.

For those of you who aren't parents, this blog probably means little. For those of you who have kids, you may already know what I'm writing about — or, perhaps you'll discover it soon enough for yourself.

But I also share this story as a simple reminder of the impact Hollywood can have. Yes, my daughter is 3, but her emotional connection to Up is no less valid because of her age. If anything, it's a reminder to us jaded adults — myself included — of the pure, magical power of good cinema.

Watching her response to the movie reminded me of how I want to feel every time I sit in a theater; to have a raw, visceral connection to everything I see onscreen, though that rarely happens.

Monday night was a magical moment in my life, one that I will always hold onto. So will my daughter. Kinda. Tuesday she repeatedly told my wife
"Up was a great movie!" and she couldn't wait to watch it again.

Just wait till she sees Star Wars.

Phish in Detroit ...

I'll be in Detroit Wednesday night for the Phish concert at Cobo Arena. I'll post my review LATE Wednesday/EARLY Thursday.

For the curious, you can check out a previous blog entry about the band's getting back together after breaking up earlier this decade.

Agree or disagree with a posting? Lemme know. Have a topic or suggestion? Lemme know that, too. Send an e-mail to kbaird@theblade.com or call 419-724-6734.

LINK: For all of Kirk Baird's Culture Shock riffs

Permanent Link