11 Comments
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Christine Heinrichs's avatar

I’ll look for it this weekend! I can rewrite this for Cambria, which built a water recycling - brackish water plant in Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area. The protagonist can be a steelhead, with supporting roles for red-legged frogs, tidewater gobies, and various birds. Mabel can fight operating it, as I and others have for the past 12 years. Actual ponds from SLO County!

Sammy Roth's avatar

Ooh love this! And yes didn't realize until I got on the phone with Emily that there was a SLO connection!

Leslie's avatar

We just finished watching the mini series “ Our Planet” narrated by Morgan Freeman. Excellent and makes the message very clear. Take the time to stream it on Netflix.

Sammy Roth's avatar

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll try to check it out!

Dmitriy Ioselevich's avatar

Makes you wonder what was cut! Agree that the heavy-handed approach isn't always the best, especially when it comes to family-friendly entertainment. That's why we have writers like you to help us connect the dots between complex themes.

Sammy Roth's avatar

Thank you! I also wonder what was cut. Maybe someday we'll find out, would be fascinating to learn. But hard to imagine it being much better...

Doug's avatar

Just want to leave a comment for those still deciding whether to subscibe that the paid content is amazing and imo definitely worth it!

Sammy Roth's avatar

Thank you Doug, I appreciate this immensely!

Christine Heinrichs's avatar

I saw cinematic references to other movies -- and I haven't seen many movies in recent years, so there may well be more. These are from the past, Ghostbusters, Practical Magic, when the hands touch and spark, Groundhog Day when the beaver sits on the steering wheel, Mission Impossible masks, burning the jungle in Medicine Man, Charlotte the spider spinning a message.

I'm going to try to get a local nonprofit to sponsor a local showing and discussion.

Christine Heinrichs's avatar

Also, from the Poultry side, Bird King is a white China goose, a domestic breed, not a wild bird. https://www.metzerfarms.com/white-chinese-geese.html

Chuck Petithomme's avatar

I, too, say “Bravo!” to Pixar for releasing an animated feature with an environmental message. But after seeing it yesterday, I am left wondering who the intended audience is? In my opinion, the story is too complex for second or third graders and lacks the humor that might draw in older children (and me). On the positive side, it does make kids aware of one way in which plant and animal habitat is lost and that the preservation of our open spaces is something worth fighting for.