Some movies just hit you in a place that you would totally rather be left un-hit. Personally, as much as Kubo and the Two Strings was an amazing, brilliant, and poignant piece of animation... I'm also pretty sure watching it should only be undertaken by trained professionals who are following established safety protocol and have appropriate equipment on hand.
Watching Kubo requires:
- A beverage to rehydrate while you sob.
- Something cuddly to grip onto while you sob.
- Some moisture wicking device like tissue or a handkerchief to dab away your tears while you sob.
Kubo should avoided by anyone triggered by depictions of memory disorders like dementia or Alzheimer's, anyone who has lost a parent, anyone who has fought to protect a child from toxic family, or anyone who has recently been turned into a magical monkey.
One Reddit user asked:
What animated movie affected you most emotionally and why?
The comments get pretty intimate, obviously, so proceed with caution. There will be talk of loss, death, abuse, etc.
Ellie's Adventures
pixar gif love GIF by Disney Pixar
Giphy
Man, the scene in Up when he gets the house to Paradise Falls and sits down...then he finally reads Ellie's book of adventures, something he hadn't been able to do since he thought she was disappointed that they never got there while she was alive.
Then he realizes she kept filling it out the entire time and was extremely happy with her life with Karl. "I've had my adventure. Now it's time for you to have yours."
The final words he see from her letting him know that she doesn't want him to be a bitter old man, but rather, find a new purpose in life beyond her. Honestly, it's such a fantastic movie about loss, it's hands down my favorite Pixar movie.
UP is emotional terrorism. I cry at multiple points during that movie and it is starting to scare my 3yo.
"Superman"Â
Iron Giant.
"You stay. I go. No following."
When he closes his eyes and says "Superman." -- it's wrecking me right now just thinking about it.
- gcanyon
I'm a 50 year old man, and when he closes his eyes and says, "Superman" as he meets the missile, I completely lose it. Every. Time.
- Zampaneu
A Story To Tell
Brother Bear
I have a story to tell you. It's kind of about a man and kind of about a bear. But mostly, it's about a monster.
Gets me every time.
Hearing Koda say I don't think I like this story always makes me want to cry.
I bawled watching this, the whole story is so heartbreaking, and beautifully done.
Humans Have Surprisingly Little Humanity
Wall E. It just broke my heart how wall E was left alone and what all happened. Wall E knew love more then any of the humans.
- areyyyyy
Wall-E also just rips humanity a new one. It's an amazing takedown of how the rich have abused this planet and mollified everyone else to help them destroy it. I saw it 8 times the first week it came out.
- piedrift
I related because Wall-E was just this lone entity that wasn't know about. Then when he was first discovered was nearly blown to pieces. Even then, he was so desperate for companionship, he took care of Eve.
So much compassion from someone so misunderstood...
An Under-Appreciated Hero
Big hero 6 "I am satisfied with my care"
My friend and I went to watch this movie when we were in high school. We were the only older kids in the theater. Everyone else was a parent to an elementary aged kid. We were crying laughing at some of the jokes and just crying at the end. That movie doesn't get the appreciation it deserves.
- rahws
This movie isn't one moment of crying, I cried most of the movie. Maybe I just need a big squishy hug.
My Grandfather died days before it hit home video release. Despite being in my thirties, he was the first relative who I had lost. I sat down and watched this movie in silence. And again. And again. The ability to watch the characters grieve and not just wrap it up in a tight bow helped me walk away in a more stable place.
I have not seen it again since but it is not because it isn't good, just too much emotional baggage I want to leave behind.
Such A Treasure
you got this kingdom hearts GIF
Giphy
Treasure Planet.
It was my dad's favorite.
I really relate to Jim Hawkins.
"I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme)" by John Rzeznik (lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls) is a banger and really relatable.
It captures the feeling of wonder and adventure that I desperately wish I had in my life but never have and likely never will.
The scene where Jim is freaking out because he feels that he failed and Silver comforts and encourages him still makes me cry. It's just such a lovely movie about growing up and how important the voices of others are in building our images of ourselves, and the way they use music and the body language of the characters to convey emotion is extremely well done.
As a kid I longed for a Silver to come along and believe in me; as an adult, I try my best to be the Silver for the youngsters I know.
That's the exact movie I was thinking of!!! It does such a phenomenal job of showing the inner change from boy to man that happens in life as well as the thoughts and challenges of a growing boy. I could relate deeply with it. Also, it's the only Disney movie I really could relate with at all, me being male.
I love how you can clearly see the emotional damage Jim hides deep inside and the way he shoves down. You can see how he acts out or closes up and acts like nothing can get to him which is something I think us guys can relate to hard core.
The song "I'm Still Here" hits me at a very personal level.
Also, this kid who's got all this emotional crap balled up inside him isn't at all portrayed as weak like I think society sometimes portrays men who show emotion. And it's so uplifting to see how he tries so hard to be strong on his own with no one to teach him how to deal with all he's been through, and then eventually have someone who opens up emotionally as well and helps him.
Anyway, as a guy, it's a beautiful thing to watch and wish that maybe someone will eventually allow you to show your emotional side, value you through it, and help show you to way.
The Best Film I'll Never Watch Again
Grave of the Fireflies. I don't generally tear up, but this one made me sob
It's a brilliant movie, and a terrible trap. Most of Studio Ghibli productions are feelgood stories. Grave of the Fireflies gives you 2 days of depression.
It's the best film I will never watch again.
It's legitimately difficult to watch. And the worst part (something I learned the last time it came up in a thread like this) is that it's based on a short story that's semi-autobiographical. Though even if it wasn't, it's so realistic, a lot of the circumstances undoubtedly happened to a lot of people as part of the war. It's not even a story you can pretend didn't or couldn't happen.
Love It. Can't Watch It.
I love Coco. I can't watch Coco. That movie makes my wife and I ugly cry before we even get to the end, because it emotionally takes us back to the day we lost our first son. And I'm not even entirely sure why - the movie isn't about someone losing a child - but the whole thing is just beautifully put together and I think maybe the struggle to not be forgotten just hits home when we're thinking of an infant nobody but the two of us and a doctor ever even saw alive.
Ugh. I'm tearing up now just thinking of the music from the film.
Doing The Right Thing In A World That's Not Right
Princess Mononoke, because it forces you to stare at humanity's worst and best and accept it.
True nature of the human condition explained by a genius with that script.
A couple of my favorite moments in that movie are really early on when the boar demon is attacking the village. Ashitaka's sister is leading people working the fields back to the village and someone falls down so she turns and pulls her little knife to face down the demon. Ashitaka has been, until this point, asking the demon to turn aside and leave the village alone. Only once he sees a life directly endangered does he start to fight the demon.
Every minute of the movie is about trying to do the right thing in a world that's not right.
Grandma Is Still Here
Moana. The scene where her grandma died and reincarnated into that giant manta ray. And the one where she came to Moana after she failed on the first attempt to restore the heart. Just the line "There is nowhere you could go that I won't be with you."
And when Moana confronted Te Ká and she's barreling down at Moana. The visuals of that scene, the song, the lines "they have stolen your heart from inside you, but this does not define you"
This is my answer too! My grandma died shortly before we saw the movie in theaters. I absolutely sobbed when her spirit came down through the village and out into the water. Actually crying right now thinking of it.
This is mine too. No magic - no Prince Charming to come and take care of everything for her -- just Moana learning from Maui and then doing it on her own. When she says, "let her come to me" I stand up and cheer.
The music is good also. In the song, "I am Moana" I love the lines:
"But scars can heal and reveal just Where you are
The people you love will change you
The things you have learned will guide you
And nothing on earth can silence
The quiet voice still inside you
And when that voice starts to whisper
Moana you've come so far
Moana listen
Do you know who you are?"
For Moana's name, I substitute my own. Shivers up and down my back each time.
- cnacvno
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
It connects people, ideas, senses or humor, creativity! Yes, we've got our fair share of deviants, murderers, and trashbag people, but we've also got decades of wonder to celebrate.
Newbies like to think using the internet for awesomeness is something they came up with, but the old heads are here to tell you the internet has ALWAYS been a complicated crash course in the coolest stuff ever.
So let's hop in the wayback machine and get our nostalgia on.
Reddit user ransom0374 asked:
"What do you miss from early internet times?"
So let's take that walk down memory lane, or if you're new-ish here on planet Earth, this is going to be a fun little "history" lesson.
If you're uncertain where you fall, here's a test:
"Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger..."
If you finished the song, you're probably going to remember quite a few of these...
Away Messages
"AIM away messages saying stupid stuff like 'BRB going to get some bagel bites.' "
"Don't forget to update your personal profile with Blink 182 lyrics and the initials of your school sweetheart and some ASCII. Browse for a new inappropriate buddy icon and strike up a convo with SmarterChild"
GiphyThe Unknown
"I miss the wild unknown frontier that the internet was."
"It seemed there was so much discovery to be had on the internet, and if you were good at the internet everyone thought of you as 'Hackerman' and you were like a God amongst your peers."
"It seems like there isn't anything 'new' on the internet anymore. No discoveries to be made."
GiphyThe Irony Is Not Lost On Us
"Variety. There's a popular tweet that says something like 'the internet has turned into four websites where on each one people share screenshots of the other three.' "
"I miss when you could search a term and there would be dozens of sites dedicated to it or forums especially for it. Now it's just ads, Wikipedia, and Reddit."
"Oh, and not having ads shoved down your throat every time you search a term or navigate to a page!"
"I know there were pop ups and banners, which weren't any better. But there was a sweet spot."
"There was a few years there where you could Google something and half the first page WASN'T sponsored ads that had nothing to do with what you looked up. And you could go to a website and it DIDN'T block the page with a full screen ad asking for your email to join their mailing list or save 10% on their merchandise."
GiphyFiguring It Out
"That all the webpages were just random people trying to figure out HTML."
"There really wasn't a corporate presence at all. It was just a place for people to experiment."
"You could click on a button and make a cardboard hand wave at someone's cats. You could dispense a coke from a machine in some dorm. It was dumb and fun."
GiphyEndless Learning
"The learning was endless."
"There were almost an infinite source of information from all over the world. If you wanted to find something all you had to do was search for it in Ask Jeeves or whatever and you'd find any website that had ever mentioned that thing."
"There were more than 10 different websites. And at least it didn't feel like I was being forced to sign up for a subscription after every click."
"There were so many fun, cute stores to shop. Now it feels like everyone dresses and decorates the same."
"I miss a lot of things about the early internet. I'm probably wrong, but it just felt safer than it does now?"
GiphyMaking Friends
"I was in my late teens when the internet was becoming accessible to everyone. Our one household computer was in the kitchen & facing in a way so anyone coming in could see your screen."
"I remember looking at someone's website and my Dad passing by to get something to eat, asking me if the person on the website was my friend."
"I miss those old days! The internet seemed endless & friendly."
GiphyA Base Level For Participation
"Most people were smart."
"In the early days (by far) most people on the internet were in college, either as a teacher or student. Beyond that, people had to to be in a lab or make their computer talk to a connected computer which was not so easy in the old days."
"It acted as a sort of intelligence barrier one needed clear to participate in internet things."
- tsoldrin
"Higher barrier to entry."
"I remember the fond days of SLIP and Trumpet Winsock when you had to know at least a little about tech to get on and participate."
"There was still stupidity, but it just wasn't as loud as it is now."
- dramboxf
"In the very very early days, pre-AOL, you needed skill and knowledge to get online."
"Then AOL came onto the scene an d anyone could get online at the push of a button."
GiphyGo Away Now
"I miss when what happened on the internet, stayed on the internet."
"You could turn off the beige box and go about the rest of your day without it affecting you."
"The fact that is only existed on a big computer in the house, as long as no-one was on the phone. It wasn't some all-encompassing thing."
- dienices
"The internet not following me around. When you logged off, you effectively put the internet away."
GiphyIt Used To Be...
"How people used to treat it."
"The internet was not just a novelty, but an amazing piece of technology that let anyone share anything. It was so wholesome and loving, with everyone still being amazed at what we could do now."
"Now? There's so many websites that are designed to make you angry and radicalize your beliefs. It's quantity over quality."
"There was a time when nobody on Reddit shared politics, when Facebook was for socializing, when YouTube was where people uploaded stuff they were passionate about."
GiphyWe Used To Love Yahoo
"Yahoo Answers"
"Yahoo Pool"
- inaclick
"I can't remember what it was called, but Yahoo had this great music video program where it showed popular artists, and some very unknown folks."
"I discovered some of my favorite artists having it play in the background all the time."
"Launchcast/Yahoo Radio. It was revolutionary for music streaming and the 1-5 star system worked really well. I preferred it over Pandora's up/down system."
GiphyOn a personal level, I want to go on record and say MusicMatch was the greatest music program in the history of life.
It just was.
I will die on this hill.
It was dopeness in all forms. MusicMatch Jukebox? Dope. Yahoo MusicMatch? Dope.
So what relics from Ye Olde Internet are you passionate about? Sound off in the comments!
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
The dogs owner shared the video along with a post asking professionals to shed some light on why he does what he does.
Owner-obliviousness as they gushed about how adorable it was made the awkward even better.
The owner explained the Frenchie often makes aggressive eye contact and licks his lips while he "plays air guitar"—which is what the family calls it—and how cute & funny they all find the behavior.
GiphyThe video was the dog, casually chilling, using his paw to rub the tip of his penis while staring awkwardly at the camera and licking his lips like a pup possessed.
Three hundred and fifteen laugh-reacts—at the time that I saw it—and only three comments:
1. a vet explaining that the behavior showed in the video was the dog masturbating while making direct eye contact
2. the owner giving a simple "thank you" and
3. the admins of the group closing the comments.
So, why am I sharing this with you?
Because Reddit user Drakmamman asked:
"Dog owners of reddit, what the dog doin?"
... and so now you get this whole article just so I had an excuse to tell y'all about a furiously fapping Frenchie, 'cause somebody else needed to know about him.
I cackled for a good 20 minutes imagining the family getting all giddy about their dog "playing air guitar"—making the little air guitar meedly squeedly noises while he played, maybe even playing along thinking they're enjoying a fun little game—but they're really just been giving a hair metal soundtrack to their dogs stroke sesh.
Something tells me now the owner knows what "air guitar" really is, they're not likely to rush and tell Reddit all about how they've been gathering as a family to watch cause it's just so cute.
That's what I'm here for.
Anyway, here's the stuff other people's dogs are up to. It's not fapping—or if it is, the owners aren't telling Reddit.
Partner Preference
Giphy"Wife just came home with the baby. Dog is acting like she's been abandoned for years running up and down, barking and jumping on everything."
"They'd only been out an hour and I was with her the whole time." - Single_Goose7015
"My dog does this too when my wife comes home. Like what am I, chopped liver?" - jackof47trades
"I feel your pain. My dog started howling mournfully when my partner went back to work last week… I was right there!" - TreatOutside
"Staring at the door waiting for the only human he cares about to come home (obviously not me)" - SnarkyRedhead
Herding Cats
Giphy"Probably trying to herd the cats."
"He's a border collie mix who's afraid of goats and sheep, but even after six years of living with them he still thinks he can control where the cats go."
"He's a good boy, he's very persistent, but not terribly bright sometimes." - TokesNotHigh
"After 8 years our border collie still herds the cats, and the vacuum." - psychologicaluse28
"Big heart, small brain. I have one of those dogs too. They are the sweetest." - Technobucket
Wretched Existence
Giphy"She has flung herself flat across the bed and is playing dead, quiet except for the occasional pitiful whine. Every now and then she lifts her head up and fixes a desperate look upon me, silently begging for release from her wretched existence."
"She's a bit overdramatic about having to wear a cone. The issue is an abrasion on a toe that she won't stop licking, which is making it worse."
"I've been alternating between bandaging it and having her wear a cone. She's been consistently a drama queen." - halfinboxes
One Hour
Giphy"Staring at me because their dinner time is in one hour and they need to start letting me know that, in an hour, they need to eat...in an hour, so I better not forget...cuz they're hungry, which is why they're staring at me...and it's almost dinner time."
"Just one more hour, And they want to make sure I don't forget. Because maybe I will."
"So, they need to remind me. By staring at me. Every day. One hour before dinner." - MotherOfFred
A Little "Light" Exercise
Giphy"Mine loves light reflected off watches or phones. And loves lasers."
"It's sunny and he sees light on the wall so he is bothering me to use my watch or phone so he can chase the light. I've spent the last hour doing it."
"I even got him a cat laser toy that's automatic for him and he runs himself tired as all hell with it. But he is STILL asking for it."
"Used the laser toy also too, so he is panting dripping tongue and still wants to play more..." - boomgoon
Vicious Predators
Giphy"Last night my dogs chased down and killed a rabbit in the backyard. They are usually so gentle; this was weird and unexpected."
"I watched the whole thing helpless because it was so fast. The rabbit screamed, it was insane."
"Now, I'm watching them sleep on my couch and can't help but think they just murdered someone."
"They are just vicious predators, right here, in my house. On my couch."
"But they snuggly as f*ck. This trips me out." - Atheist_Redditor
A Problematic Princess
Giphy"We have two chihuahuas. One is a 15 year old (quite appropriately) named Princess and one is a one year old named Charlie."
"Both have their own dog beds on the couch since they are spoiled."
"When Princess is feeling particularly moody or like asserting her dominance, she will drag Charlie's bed into her bed and lay on top of BOTH of them and snarl at him if he comes close to her personal space bubble/bed mountain."
"And when we tell her she can't have both beds and put his bed back to the side, she just glares at us. Lol." - mslm90
Shoe-nanigans
Giphy"She's currently in her cage resting after her great adventure."
"She managed to get upstairs and grab a hold of one of my shoes. Not just any old shoe, but one of the shoes I am planning to wear this weekend for my wedding."
"After running around, she dropped the shoe to chew on a shirt - at which point she was cornered, and then brought downstairs."
"Pup and shoe are both unharmed and doing well. My nerves, not so much." - still_interesting23
So ... what's YOUR dog been up to lately?
Want to "know" more?
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.