Dallas Stars: Finding Inspiration From Pixar During The Season Pause
By Josh Clark
Finding Dory/The Good Dinosaur
Finding Dory and The Good Dinosaur both boast similar messages and lessons, so let’s clump them into one. In the sequel to Finding Nemo (we’ll get to this one in a moment), Dory is on a mission to find her parents. In the first movie, she develops a friendship with a clownfish named Marlin and helps him find his only son, Nemo, after he is taken by deep sea divers and placed in a fish tank in a dentist’s office.
The second movie flips the script and has Dory, a forgetful fish that suffers from short-term remembery loss (I love the language in these movies), searching for her family. The journey takes her through the Marine Life Institute where she meets new friends like Hank and Bailey and reconnects with an old friend name Destiny. Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo go on an adventure of their own trying to find Dory inside the aquarium (don’t get me started on the hilarity that is Becky the loon).
The Good Dinosaur focuses on Arlo, an Apatosaurus that is one of three dinosaurs born to Poppa and Momma. Unlike his siblings, Arlo is smaller and scrawnier, which leads to him having trouble doing his part on the family farm (yes, these dinosaurs are agricultural geniuses). After losing Poppa in a flood and falling into the river chasing a critter (that turns out to be a young child named Spot) that was stealing the farm’s food, he must navigate his way back to the farm with the boy and face a number of different fears and challenges that most undersized dinosaurs probably wouldn’t be able to face.
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That Balls Outta Here
In both movies, there’s an importance of family and standing up to fears that radiates in the plot. Dory takes on her memory problems and doesn’t let the fear of getting lost in the aquarium or in her own mind hold her back from finding her family. Arlo struggles with the loss of his father and his own inadequacies, but uses it as fuel once he realizes that he must find his way back home to help his family survive.
In a difficult time like this for those invested in the sports world, there are opportunities. Many are under voluntary self-quarantine (and to those who aren’t: get to it) or “Shelter-In-Place” protocols, and that leads to more time around family, roommates, or pets.
The fear here is the unknown presented by the novel coronavirus. The virus continues to spread across the world, there’s no known cure, and people are dying. And how do you stand up to a fear like that? Well, by doing your part. Keep your social distance. Wash your hands. Self-quarantine except for essential activities. Follow the CDC guidelines. Do whatever you can to help flatten the curve.
The second element of these movie plots is the importance of family. In the hustle and bustle of the usual world, we get so lost in the shuffle that we never seem to have enough time to spend with those most important to us. If you’re quarantined with family, watch a movie or play a game together each day. Eat meals together and spend time talking with each other. It will only grow you closer to them and help you cope with the loss of sports and your regular lifestyle. And it will be all the more worth it in the end.