Kate Flynn's "Fat and the Land"

Disney has been known to use stereotypes in their animated films, and it's no secret that people often find these films very troubling. It's okay to analyze the films and the messages they seem to present to their audiences, but because of the volatile nature of the subjects and how problematic they can be, some people may tend to over analyze. One particular problem I took up with Flynn's argument of Pixar's Up was the issue of stereotyping Russell. Russell is portrayed as clumsy, overweight, and non-appreciative of the natural environment, and thus Flynn sees the message from Pixar stating that overweight children all exhibit these characteristics. I think Flynn is over analyzing the character of Russell in this movie. As opposed to Wall-E, where the message is intentionally trying to establish a link between obesity and technological dependency, I think the message in Up is much different and comes from a different origin. I see Russell as a mere child who is eight years old and still has some baby fat. He is clumsy simply because kids his age are actually clumsy, and he is depicted as dependent, and unappreciative of the natural landscapes simply because he is a child! To see Russell as insufficiently masculine is ridiculous. How many children at eight years old actually present a clear indication of any form of adult masculinity? I would say exactly zero. I see Russell as a form of comedic relief for young children and a reminder to the adult audience of childhood adventure, big dreams, and a tad bit of childhood clumsiness. Russell's lack of appreciation for the sublime cannot be linked to his supposedly Asian ethnicity, but instead must be linked to his age. Young children simply do not possess the knowledge or experience in life to be able to fully appreciate the same view of the landscape that Carl possesses.