Happily Ever After

Up. When I first saw a preview to this movie I didn't think much of it. I anticipated it to be yet another animated children's movie, no different than Cars or The Incredibles. Don't get me wrong, I live for Disney and all its relatives, but I had no plans to plant myself dead center in the movie theater for the first showing available. In fact, my mom and sister both saw it months before I did. Upon their return from the movie theater, I was informed that my mom had cried a grand total of three times. I was at a loss, to say the least. How a 96 minute long children's movie had brought tears to my mother's eyes that many times was beyond me.

November rolled around, bringing with it Thanksgiving and a trip to the family cabin. Our newly purchased copy of Up came with us, and my mom insisted that I sit down and watch it. She was convinced that I would love it. Well, guess what? She was right. A movie that was, seemingly, "just another kid movie" turned out to be my absolute favorite. But why? With its 2 Oscars, 40 other wins and 29 nominations, something obviously set it apart from Cars.

I've reached a conclusion that the reason that Up was, and continues to be, so celebrated is the message that it so beautifully conveys. Within the first 10 minutes, it draws a story of fulfilling dreams, overcoming hardship, and approaching each new day with an enthusiastic, "Adventure is out there!" It shows two people starting a new story together and, hand in hand, embarking on a journey towards their own "happily ever after."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "Isn't that what we all desire: to be the heroes and heroines of our own stories; to triumph over adversity; to experience life in all its beauty; and, in the end, to live happily ever after?" That is what is so beautiful about Up - it shows us that we can live our own fairy tales, we can triumph over adversity, we can live happily ever after.

Our stories do not need to involve a ferocious beast to battle or a castle to win; sometimes the most endearing characteristic of a story is its simplicity. The everyday struggles, the everyday bliss, the everyday life lived to its fullest - this is what my fairy tale is made up of. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

So go out there, boldly charge into each new day with an, "Adventure is out there!" Make the most of your own fairy tale and, in the end, turn the page to read your own, "And they lived happily ever after."