Stetson and UP

*SPOILER ALERT*

Yesterday I took the kids to see Disney's new movie, UP. It was a tear-jerker pretty much all the way through, which is a first for a Disney animated movie - certainly not the type we'll be enjoying time and again in our family room. . .

But there were some funny parts. . . The dog everyone has probably seen on all the commercials - a Golden Retriever - wore a talking collar which allowed his thoughts to be translated into English words. . . Anyway they really, really pegged *exactly* what a Golden would say if he could talk. The four of us laughed the loudest and longest of everyone in the theatre at the kind of "thoughts" this dog would have. Stuff like (while casually trotting behind his humans, "smiling" with tongue hanging out): "I am your dog. And you are my master. I am so happy you are my master." Or once several hours after he had been cast out forever: "I hid under the house because I love you."

There was a scene where the old man used one of the tennis balls from the bottom of his walker to distract and "lose" the dog which was really classic. The dog was in the middle of rambling on about something and when he saw the tennis ball he stopped mid-sentence and used every ounce of his concentration to watch the ball.

The big brown, caring eyes. . . swishy, constantly wagging tail. . . the upright, proud sitting position that says, "I have completed my task to the best of my ability." . . .topped off by a slobber-drenched tennis ball.

Whoever wrote this dog character either owns several Golden Retrievers or did a lot of research.

Here's a picture of Ashley and Stetson to show how huge he really is:
(she is wearing her new puppy paw-print leotard)


(I wanted all the kids to pose with him, but it took so long the boys lost interest. . .hopefully I'll get some pictures of them up here soon).

The view from behind:


Here's a "blooper" picture that was almost professional-grade perfection, until:

. . .A a few months ago we had some tennis-ball sized hail - the kind that hits the ground at an angle and bounces a few times before landing. . . When we opened the door to look, Stetson ran out. There was no need for a talking collar to translate what he was thinking: "Tennis balls from Heaven!"