Michelle Steimle

Truth be told the movie was visually appealing and the music was beautiful. Some of the transitions and world building needed more polishing but the messaging alone makes this movie worth 5 stars to me. I grew up in the Disney renaissance and the messaging in those days was simply “find your one true love and get married and all your problems will be solved.” That message was not all bad but it wasn’t all good either. Unfortunately, my interpretation of that message led to a lot of heartache for me personally and I know I am not alone. My husband and I have worked very hard in our relationship and we have children and this movie felt more representative of our reality. I appreciate feeling seen. I am sure the biggest criticism of this movie will be the ending because it was ambiguous but I will argue that it was the biggest strength of the movie. The movie set up for us to see how we can let our emotional turmoil turn us into monsters. The movie also advocated for recognizing that we should not define people by their monstrous behavior. When you consider those two main messages then the resolution of the parents to “not go back to the way things were before” makes WAY more sense as a true resolution to the story. I am glad they were ambiguous with the interpretation of the resolution because it gave space for more than one answer to be correct. This is true for my marriage and for many other marriages. Some people decide to divorce, some people separate for a time, some people can still maintain a different relationship with their co-parenting partner. Whatever the case may be, I can watch this movie with my kids and feel good about having a conversation about what they get out of it.