Romance, Disney Style

**ShrunkenNed** · 02-06-2013 09:46 AM

From Disneyland News: "During True Love Week, a tapestry of romance is woven throughout the resort — from special entertainment and limited-edition Valentine’s merchandise to candlelit dinners for two and new, themed photo locations offering encounters with beloved Disney sweethearts – all for a limited-time only."

Note from me: Although it's not "True Love Week" at Disneyland till next week I'm inspired by this one - so expect a few posts covering this subject. After all, if there's anyone who can cover the subject of romance so wonderfully and beautifully, it's Disney.

I've seen quite a few blogs post a recurring theme on Wednesdays: "Wordless Wednesdays." The entire idea is to post a picture, or few in lieu of words; to let the photo speak for itself. I realized long ago this format would never work for me. Even if I were to post a picture, I'd have something to say about it. I very rarely remain speechless. However, in the world of Disney, storytelling, and romance, there is still a place for being wordless.

I'm often amazed in our society, that, despite the words we use to tell stories - sometimes crude, harsh, overstated and needlessly repetitive - the best love story I've seen in a long time used almost no words at all, and was told in the first ten minutes of Disney/Pixar's "Up."

It's okay if you're getting misty-eyed just thinking about it. Go ahead - reach for the tissue. No one's here to judge you.

A story of true devotion through triumph and heartbreak through a lifetime together was just the setup for an amazingly fun and funny movie, but man, what a setup. It shows planning a life together, the sacrifices one takes to make that life happen, helping each other through the bumps in the road, and, showing strength in our weakest moments. The fact that it is told in such a short span so effortlessly is due in no small part to Michael Giacchino's fabulously scored "Married Life," repeating the same musical theme with variations in tempo and instrumental beauty. If there is a better way to show a lifelong love in such a short period, I'm sure I haven't seen it.

Yes, Disney/Pixar was great at covering a lifetime of love near wordlessly, but what about those shorter romantic moments? Disney has that covered as well in its Oscar nominated short, "Paperman." This one, directed by John Kahrs and scored by Christophe Beck, shows us the possible beginning of a romance and leaves the rest up to us, the viewers. I offer few words on this one; instead, I leave you with the video and one final comment after you've watched:

Upon her second viewing the day the video was released on Youtube, my five year old daughter asked me, ""Daddy, did they get married?" I asked her if she thought they did. "I hope so," she replied, "They just looked so happy together."

How can one argue with that? Perfect words for a wordless story.

Confessions of a DisNerd is re-posted on Visions Fantastic with permission of Craig Barton, author of the Confessions Of A DisNerd blog. The views posted in the article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Visions Fantastic Staff.