A 10-year-old girl’s wish before dying
We mourned the passing of 5-year-old Hannah Garman two days ago.
Here is yet another reminder to slow down and appreciate all that life has blessed you with:
Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie.
From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.
After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.
The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.
The animated movie begins with scenes showing the evolution of a relationship between a husband and wife. After losing his wife in old age, the now grumpy man deals with his loss by attaching thousands of balloons to his house, flying into the sky, and going on an adventure with a little boy.
Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.
Get a tissue:
At about 12:30 p.m. the Pixar employee came to the Curtins’ home with the DVD.
He had a bag of stuffed animals of characters in the movie and a movie poster. He shared some quirky background details of the movie and the group settled in to watch Up.Colby couldn’t see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.
At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.
Hat tip: Reader Jenny
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Thanks for the uplifting story!
Hooray for Pixar, and Jenny, thanks for sharing.
If ever I needed another reason to love Pixar, this is it.
Good for Pixar, Let them know they are appreciated.
“Reiminder” link above not working for me.
Thank you Pixar!
This story has a goosebump rating of 10+ [Bear will know what I mean]. Kudos to Pixar, they did a beautiful thing. ‘Up’ is a wonderful story, I left the theatre very up-lifted [and clutching a lot of damp kleenex].
At least poor Colby got what she wanted. I hope that “Up” did not sadden her before her final hours. It was a movie mis-advertised to be a fun romp for kids, but was anything but fun. The ten minute “short” at the very beginning of the movie that Michelle mentions, shows the couple growing up from kids to old age; the woman dies in that 10 minute “short” before she is able to visit a place on a different continent that she had dreamed of visiting her entire life, and the old man is deeply saddened by that fact. It is not a movie that I would think was good for viewing by a dying child, but if it what that little angel wanted, then that’s what mattered.
I’ve always liked Pixars movies, especially Cars. I like them more, now. Thanks Pixar.
Rest in Peace, Colby Curtin. You’ve gone “Up” to Heaven now.
Link isn’t working for me either, but thanks Michelle for the story. It certainly provides some much needed perspective. God bless that little girl and her family, and kudos to Pixar for granting her wish.
My 16-year-old son and his girlfriend loved the movie. Cudos to Pixar for granting a little girl’s wish.
And my condolences to her family.
You’re right about the first 10 minutes but as the movie evolves it becomes a very up-lifting story that I’m sure Colby appreciated. My favorite quote in the movie, and the lesson for the crotchety old man: ‘Sometimes it’s the boring moments that mean the most’, I paraphrased as I can’t find the actual quote.
Damn.
LINK FIXED!
Wow! Just WOW!
The movie was great..
Good for Pixar too with the last wish.
Gulp. Somedays I’m ashamed of myself for being so self-centered. Today is one of those days.
This is one of the nicest things I’ve heard of a company and one of their representatives doing for somebody. God bless them and God bless Colby’s family.
Though, with how viciously critical of corporations the Dems are, I shudder to think of some well-placed leftist decrying the negative effect on the environment and the waste of valuable corporate assets caused by this “unnecessary jet-setting.” Pixar instead should have flown Obama to Hollywood so he could lead a fundraiser for socialized healthcare – which would have miraculously saved this little girl for sure – while Al Gore and Madonna flew around the globe on a 15-city Go Green evangelism tour.
Whew, I apologize for getting all political about such a tender and moving story. I guess my anticipation of the Party of Love’s spin on this got the better of me.
I am not a big fan of animated movies, but this one I plan to see, only because Pixar deserves it for being so kind to a little girl who’s only wish was to see UP. God Bless her and her family. Thanks MM for reminding this old marine what really counts in life.
no doubt…
In this age where I find little to commend film production companies,PIXAR came through here. And they didn’t send a press corps with the DVD.
But they don’t make it easy to commend them. I tried.
My heartfelt thanks go out to Pixar for granting this wish.
Prayers up for Colby and kind thoughts of those who granted her last wish.
I would like to gently disagree. Yes, the woman passes away before she can go pursue her dream…but it’s her memory that sends the man to go on his adventure, and eventually makes him move forward with his life rather than spend it clinging to the past. I think the idea that someone can inspire the people they love, even after they pass away, is not a bad thing for a dying child to see.
God bless Colby, her family, and the good-hearted folks at Pixar.
God bless that little girl.
And, thank you, Pixar.
Touching story, and good of Pixar to do this.
However . . .
(wet blanket warning)
Don’t forget that this is DISNEY/Pixar. The same DISNEY that owns ABC. The same DISNEY that a lot of commenters on here are having issues with because of the upcoming ABC/National Healthcare lovefest.
Just thought it was worth mentioning . . .
(end wet blanket alert)
My prayers are with the Curtin family during this troubling time. May God comfort them.
Bravo Zulu to Disney-Pixar on this occasion.
It is rare of me to praise anything that Disney does nowadays. It’s so different without Uncle Walt and Roy Disney at the helm.
Two thumbs “UP” !
Same thing crossed my mind.
good post.
This might simply be another example of how even a broken watch tells the correct time twice a day.
*wipes the tears from his eyes*
Bloody allergies…
Prayers for this family. Many thanks to Pixar. And, thanks to Michelle,for posting and for the reminder to cherish each day we have.
There are still good people in the world, and many are regular commenters on this blog.
Choked up and a tear in my eyes…
God bless the family and Pixar for their warm and wonderful deed.
I live in Manhattan. I once received a call from a social worker friend from out of town asking if I could get a copy of Shrek for a child who was going to die soon. It had just been released.
I called the studio and they referred me to the foundation Steven Spielberg had created. I called the foundation and was told I should consider looking on Canal Street. I indicated I was concerned about the quality of a bootleg. The fellow reassured me by saying he had bought a bootleg copy of the movie and it was fine.
I bought the movie and sent it to the social worker with the suggestion she view it first, before giving it to the child, to insure it was the correct movie and that there wasn’t anything on it besides the movie.
It is wonderful that Pixar took a different attitude.
Granite:
I like that one, but I’m just country enough that another saying crosses my mind:
Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile.
Or not. Pixar did a great thing, why can’t it just be left at that? Yes, I know they’re owned by Disney which owns ABC which is whoring itself out for the One, but this story just doesn’t need that stuff interjected into it. There will be plenty of other occasions for it.
(And I apologize in advance if you’re referring to something other than the Disney/ABC connection…I just appreciated this story for what it is and just don’t think other things are relevant.)
So great someone at Pixar made her wish happen. RIP.
I guess a little girl who knows she is dying can probably handle the death of a cartoon character in a movie.
Pixar stepped up and did a wonderful thing in this case.
I am so sorry for the family of this little child.
Going home to hug my kids now.
A wonderful “other way” of looking at it. Amen.
The mind is a powerful thing. Thank you Lord for arming us in this life.
Tears.
I thought it was a beautiful and touching story. Life is so short, and some of the simple things in life are what gives us the most pleasure. We must thank God everyday for blessing us with family, friends, life, and living in the USA.
Let’s pray for her family to have strength and all those who have children or family members with sicknesses.
I’m going to simply stay optimistic that Pixar chose to do the right thing without any consideration for the publicity. And it’s a good story.
THUMBS UP PIXAR!!
I must wonder? Would Obamacare have even considered such a thing?
Sometimes a story like this comes along to remind even the cynical that there is some measure of good in the world. And the child is now in a place where nothing can disappoint her.
Pixar is staffed with a diverse blend of incredibly talented individuals who take more pride in their work than just about any American corporation.
I’m hoping that Pixar can continue to be an oasis of quality family-friendly and family-centered entertainment in a society that now tolerates bestiality jokes told by animated toddlers. What the Walt Disney Company once was, Pixar is.
John424 wrote:
They are owned by the same parent company, but not only has Pixar always enjoyed a level autonomy within the Disney Co., the balance of power swung to Pixar when the two cemented their working relationship.
It used to be that Pixar (built from the ashes of Steve Jobs’ failed NeXT Computer company) rode on Disney’s reputation, creating the product that would be distributed by Walt Disney Studios. But Pixar’s computer-animated features were so successful and revolutionary, they overshadowed Disney’s once-dominant traditional cel animation features. Disney gave up on old-school animated features (using cel animation to produce lame straight-to-video sequels like Cinderella II) and appropriated the Pixar characters as well. It all came to a head when Disney set out to create Toy Story 3 — whose characters were, under contract, owned by Disney — in Southern California, rather than in the sprawling state-of-the-art Pixar facility in Emeryville, CA (NE of Oakland).
Pixar and Disney nearly broke off relations (which would have been worse for Disney than Pixar), but cooler heads prevailed. Pixar was given the rights to the characters it created, and as legend has it, when the deal was finalized, Pixar’s John Lasseter (who had been named Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation in the deal) personally went to where Disney was preparing Toy Story 3 and ordered everything destroyed.
True at the time but in the end the Mouse and/or the market won. See here.
In any event, while I sympathize with some of the negative comments above, the essence of the story is what counts. To be a child in such pain that one cannot open one’s eyes is just overwhelming. By the standards of human decency, this act of Pixar is one of the better stories we have had in a while, and I think we should just respect that and let everything else go.
I heard a heart-wrenching story the other day. Sorry, it’s a little bit off the topic but still, in the same spirit.
A sergeant nurse at a hospital near Andrews A.F.B. had in his charge a children’s ward. Every day, or night before he left, he would check on the ward.
There were two children who had advanced cancer who had become sort of mascots to everyone in the hospital.
He came up on their room and the mother of one of them was weeping outside the room.
He went in and the two of them were romping on the bed together, giggling and having fun.
He said “What’s wrong with your Mom?”
The kid said “She wants me to be home for Christmas. But I told her that Jesus said he wants us to be with him!”
They died within 2 hours of each other the next day.
Very touching and sad story, Michelle.
sillygatboy, did you hear that story on Coast to Coast? I heard a very similar story there.
Yes, I did. I hope I got it right.
beenthere wrote:
You don’t have to tell me Toy Story 3 is coming — a trailer in 3-D preceded the beginning of Up, which I saw opening night. It’s not a problem.
Neither Lasseter nor I trusted Disney Animation with Pixar’s characters, but now, they’re all back where they should be: Hundreds of miles from Hollywood, thousands of miles from Florida, painstakingly crafted in Emeryville by people who love them like children, not milk them like cash cows.
No doubt about that, which is why we are all eagerly looking forward to Cars 2.
Kudos to Pixar for doing this.
I mostly prefer animated movies and am looking foward to seeing UP.