This story made me cry and gave me a new respect for Pixar

Daddy · 06-19-2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Colby Curtin got her final wish.

The 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, "Up." But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater.

Thanks to a family friend who got in touch with the movie studio Pixar, an employee of the Emeryville-based company arrived at Colby's home with a DVD copy of the movie, The Orange County Register reported Friday. The girl died later that night.

Colby's mother, Lisa, said she had asked her daughter if she could hang on until the movie arrived.

"I'm ready (to die), but I'm going to wait for the movie," she said her daughter replied.

"Up" is the animated tale of a grumpy old man who, after his wife's death, tries to fulfill their joint dream of visiting South America by tying thousands of balloons to his house and floating away.

"When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie," Colby's mother told the Register. "I just know that word 'Up' and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven."

Colby, who was diagnosed with vascular cancer in 2005, saw previews for the film in April.

"It was from then on, she said, 'I have to see that movie. It is so cool,'" family friend Carole Lynch said.

But the girl's health began to deteriorate. On June 4, Curtin asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair so that her daughter could go to a movie theater but the chair was not delivered over the weekend, Curtin said.

By June 9, Colby was too sick to go anywhere.

Another family friend, Terrell Orum, called both Pixar and Disney, which owns the animation studio. The message was received by Pixar officials, who agreed to send someone to Colby's house the next day with a copy of "Up" for a private screening, Orum said.

The employee arrived with the DVD, stuffed animals of characters and other movie memorabilia.

Colby was unable to open her eyes to see the movie so her mother described the scenes. When her mother asked if she enjoyed it, the girl nodded, Curtin said.

The Pixar employee left after the movie, taking the DVD, which has not been released. Lynch, who was with the family during the screening, said the employee's "eyes were just welled up."

A call to Pixar seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday.

Colby, with her parents nearby, died later that night.

Her mother said one of the memorabilia left by the Pixar employee was an "adventure book" based on a scrapbook that, in the movie, is kept by the wife of the main character.

"I'll have to fill those adventures in for her," Lisa Curtin said of her daughter.

This is just a happy/sad story,and it gave me a new found respect for the people at Pixar that helped the little girl out. She got her final wish.

Smarketh. · 06-19-2009, 06:56 PM

Yeah, there's a few similar stories like this. I remember a few years back, a wee boy also terminal died while watching Finding Nemo, surrounded by his family. Sad, but very nice way for a child to go.

Daddy · 06-19-2009, 07:04 PM

The part that got me was she said she was ready to die. That would be hard if you were a parent to hear your 10 year old saying. They haven't experienced enough in their life yet to be ready to die.

Timmy Tebow · 06-19-2009, 07:08 PM

Wow that is truly a sd story. Good on pixar for doing that though.

Beaker · 06-20-2009, 05:53 PM

The sheer speed in which it took to contact and have someone arrive is amazing, and the fact that they actually responded and did that is also amazing. Too many people just dont care about anyone anymore. It's truly sad, but this shows there's still kind people out there

Jackie Pies · 06-25-2009, 05:42 PM

Up was one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. I can't imagine how hard it was for the mom to watch that movie with her dying daughter.

Sir Satan · 06-25-2009, 06:33 PM

Yeah that story is very heart-warming and I have to give Pixar grats for that.

Roxy · 06-25-2009, 09:14 PM

That really is amazing of them. I'm kind of lost for words, seeing as most companies can be ignorant, but this pretty much proves that Pixar is an awesome company. Seriously, that was extremely nice of them to do that. RIP for the little girl, she died, but she got her final wish.