La Pixar esaudisce l'ultimo desiderio di una bambina di 10 anni

[Uwye]

Pixar grants girl's dying wish to see 'Up'

Company sent DVD so Huntington Beach girl, 10, could watch it.

By ANNIE BURRIS

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Comments 46| Recommend 59

 

HUNTINGTON BEACH – 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.

 

With her daughter’s vigil planned for Friday, Lisa Curtin reflected about how grateful she is that Pixar – and "Up" – were a part of her only child’s last day.

 

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” said Curtin, 46. “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.”

 

Pixar officials declined to comment on the story or name the employees involved.

 

THE PREVIEWS

 

Colby was diagnosed with vascular cancer on Dec. 23, 2005 after doctors found a tumor in her liver. At the time of her death, her stomach was about 94 inches around, swollen with fluids the cancer wouldn’t let her body properly digest. The rest of her body probably weighed about 45 pounds, family friend Carole Lynch said.

 

Colby had gone to Newport Elementary School and was known for making others laugh, family friend Terrell Orum said. Colby loved to dance, sing, swim and seemed to have a more mature understanding of the world than other children her age, Orum said.

 

On April 28, Colby went to see the Dream Works 3-D movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens" but was impressed by the previews to "Up."

 

“It was from then on, she said, ‘I have to see that movie. It is so cool,’” Lynch said.

 

Colby was a movie fan, Lisa Curtin said, and she latched onto Pixar’s movies because she loved animals.

 

Two days later Colby’s health began to worsen. On June 4 her mother asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair for Colby so she could visit a theater to see "Up." However, the weekend went by and the wheelchair was not delivered, Lisa Curtin said.

 

By June 9, Colby could no longer be transported to a theater and her family feared she would die without having seen the movie.

 

At that point, Orum, who desperately wanted Colby to get her last wish, began to cold-call Pixar and Disney to see if someone could help.

 

Pixar has an automated telephone answering system, Orum said, and unless she had a name of a specific person she wanted to speak to, she could not get through. Orum guessed a name and the computer system transferred her to someone who could help, she said.

 

Pixar officials listened to Colby’s story and agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a DVD of "Up," Orum recalled.

 

She immediately called Lisa Curtin, who told Colby.

 

“Do you think you can hang on?” Colby’s mother said.

 

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” the girl replied.

 

THE MOVIE

 

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.

 

The employee left after the movie, taking the DVD with him, Lynch said.

 

“He couldn’t have been nicer,” said Lynch who watched the movie with the family. “His eyes were just welled up.”

 

After the movie, Colby’s dad, Michael Curtin, who is divorced from Lisa Curtin, came to visit.

 

Colby died with her mom and dad nearby at 9:20 p.m.

 

Among the Up memorabilia the employee gave Colby was an “adventure book” – a scrap book the main character’s wife used to chronicle her journeys.

 

“I’ll have to fill those adventures in for her,” Lisa Curtin said.

 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pixar-u...9-home-show.htm

 

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/6471/sadsmile.gif http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/6471/sadsmile.gif

Edited June 21, 2009 by Uwye

[Zuppo]

puoi almeno fare un riassuntino italiano grazie °.°?

[yeah]

storia incredibile.

ti consiglio di leggerlo anche in inglese flame...

[Testament]

Sto piangendo. seriamente.

[Mazus]

Colby Curtin era una bambina deliziosa, purtroppo malata da 3 anni di una grave forma di cancro al fegato, lei di che di anni ne aveva solo 10. Appassionatissima di film della Pixar, aveva espresso il desiderio di vedere “Up“, l’ultima uscita (per ora, solo negli USA) della casa di produzione specializzata in computer generated imagery.

 

Purtroppo, per via delle sue delicatissime condizioni di salute, non le era possibile spostarsi, neanche verso il cinema più vicino. Così, i suoi hanno telefonato alla Pixar e, dopo pochi giorni, ecco un dvd in anteprima per la piccola Colby, che ha potuto guardare in versione integrale il film che racconta le avventure di un vecchio signore, di un bambino e della loro casa che vola nel cielo grazie a una moltitudine di palloncini ad essa legati.

 

La corsa contro il tempo - “Non sapevo della trama del film”, ha poi raccontato la madre di Colby, Lisa, “Il protagonista è un vecchietto che perde la moglie e decide di partire per un’avventura volando con tutta la casa mossa da palloncini con un bambino a fargli compagnia”. Il titolo stesso del film ossia Up (Su), ha poeticamente accompagnato gli ultimi istanti della bambina che era rimasta impressionata dal trailer visto un mese e mezzo fa al cinema prima della proiezione di “Mostri contro Alieni” della Dreamworks. Ma quando Up è uscito nei cinema la situazione della bambina è peggiorata improvvisamente, tanto da non poter lasciare casa così è partita la disperata telefonata.

Il film raccontato – In realtà, ha spiegato Lisa, la figlia non è riuscita a vedere il film, ma solo ad ascoltarlo perché la sua situazione clinica era ormai compromessa. Così la madre ha amorevolmente raccontato passo a passo ciò che stava accadendo. Al termine Lisa ha chiesto a Colby se le fosse piaciuto e lei ha fatto cenno di sì col capo. Onore alla Pixar.

 

Dopo solo 7 ore dalla visione di Up, la piccola Colby, confortata anche dal suo desiderio realizzato, ha chiuso gli occhi per sempre.

[Tio]

Veramente dei signori alla Pixar, li stimo sempre di più.

Che riposi in pace la bambina :'(

[Amber Rei]

-_- non so nemmeno io cosa scrivere perchè di fronte a una cosa del genere qualunque cosa è una banalità ma soprattutto è inutile... morire di cancro a 10 anni dovrebbe essere vietato dalle leggi della natura. E' troppo crudele.

 

 

...detto questo, bravi i signori della Pixar...

[kekkorider]

una storia molto triste ma allo stesso tempo bella per il gesto che la Pixar ha fatto,non so che altro dire...

[lucasart]

una piccola perla in tempi alquanto bui...

brava Pixar!