A Ducky Valentine

This morning, Lisa sent me a link to a Jim Hill Media article about one of our favorite Disney cartoons-the Pomp and Circumstance segment in Fantasia 2000. If you've never seen it, you ought to take a look, because it's really the emotional centerpiece of the film. It places Donald and Daisy Duck in the middle of the story of Noah's Ark. As Donald works to gather all the animals on board on Noah's behalf, he and Daisy keep missing each other by seconds. When the flood hits, each thinks the other is lost, but there's little time to mourn because the storm keeps buffeting the ship. Finally, when they find land and unload the animals, Donald and Daisy find each other and are overjoyed to realize that the other is safe.

The moment when they find each other is quite possibly the most moving few seconds I've ever seen in an animated film, let alone any film. It's amazing that they are able to convey such emotion through art and music. Every time I see it, it always gets to me. Even when I simply think about it, I get all misty. Note to self-no crying at work. It's very bad form.

Lisa and I love it so much that we have a little sculpture based on that segment in our house. In some ways...no, in many ways, we see ourselves in Donald and Daisy. God forbid that we should actually go through something like that, but the pure joy and love that are shown in this movie is something that we see in each other. It's definitely a nice reminder to have on a day like Valentine's Day.

Heh...too bad we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day!