HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - Colby Curtin got her final wish.
The 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, “Up.” But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater.
Thanks to a family friend who got in touch with the movie studio Pixar, an employee of the Emeryville-based company arrived at Colby’s home with a DVD copy of the movie, The Orange County Register reported Friday. The girl died later that night.
Colby’s mother, Lisa, said she had asked her daughter if she could hang on until the movie arrived.
“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” she said her daughter replied.
“Up” is the animated tale of a grumpy old man who, after his wife’s death, tries to fulfill their joint dream of visiting South America by tying thousands of balloons to his house and floating away.
“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” Colby’s mother told the Register. “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.”
Colby, who was diagnosed with vascular cancer in 2005, saw previews for the film in April.
“It was from then on, she said, ’I have to see that movie. It is so cool,”’ family friend Carole Lynch said.
But the girl’s health began to deteriorate. On June 4, Curtin asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair so that her daughter could go to a movie theater but the chair was not delivered over the weekend, Curtin said.
By June 9, Colby was too sick to go anywhere.
Another family friend, Terrell Orum, called both Pixar and Disney, which owns the animation studio. The message was received by Pixar officials, who agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a copy of “Up” for a private screening, Orum said.
The employee arrived with the DVD, stuffed animals of characters and other movie memorabilia.
Colby was unable to open her eyes to see the movie so her mother described the scenes. When her mother asked if she enjoyed it, the girl nodded, Curtin said.
The Pixar employee left after the movie, taking the DVD, which has not been released. Lynch, who was with the family during the screening, said the employee’s “eyes were just welled up.”
A call to Pixar seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday.
Colby, with her parents nearby, died later that night.
Her mother said one of the memorabilia left by the Pixar employee was an “adventure book” based on a scrapbook that, in the movie, is kept by the wife of the main character.
“I’ll have to fill those adventures in for her,” Lisa Curtin said of her daughter.
This is just a sad situation but I'm glad Pixar did what they could to ease the pain.
I just can't imagine being the parent and having the last memories with my daughter be us not being able to fullfill such a small wish. Having let her down (at least that's how a parent might feel).
Incredibily sad, but at least the parents were able to provide this small thing for their daughter at the end.
Thanks, I'm glad you guys appreciate it the way I do.
Man! If any of you have kids - the mother having to describe to her child what was going on in the movie because she couldn't open her eyes - I don't think I would have been able to keep it together enough to do that.
man that's sad/awesome. good to see there are still some studios in hollywood that care about people
I agree. It is good to hear of stories about people in Hollywood caring and going above and beyond the call of duty to do something for someone else. All too often it is scandal this or scandal that. This is a good breath of fresh air!
A very great and very sad story at the same time. I don't mean to trivialize the situation with what I'm about to say, but that's what good customer service is all about: going the extra mile to help someone out. Far too many companies/businesses have forgotten what taking care of the customer is all about. Way to go Pixar. I'm glad there's still someone out there who will step up to the plate and do the right thing, even when it's of no (financial) profit to you. Good job.
Wow, this proves how much heart they have in that studio. No hesitation at all to do the right thing. It's sad that she passed away that same night though.
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Pixar fullfills dying girl's wish to see Up
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