Marketplace Scratch Pad

A moving story

Scott Jagow Jun 19, 2009

I just read a beautiful story about a little girl, a movie and a corporation. However, if crying at work might be a problem, you should wait until you get home to read it. Trust me.

Here’s a link to the entire story from the Orange County Register, but I’ll sum it up for you:

10-year-old Colby Curtin of Huntington Beach, Ca, had been living with a rare form of cancer for three years. This month, it became clear that Colby would probably die soon. The one thing she wanted to do before she died was see the movie, “Up.” She’d been mesmerized by the previews.

But her health was so poor, Colby could not be taken to the theater, and “Up” is only playing in theaters. By June 9, it was clear Colby wouldn’t make it much longer. A family friend began desperately random dialing numbers at Pixar. She finally got through to someone and told them Colby’s wish. Pixar agreed to help.

Colby’s mother asked her: “Do you think you can hang on?”

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” the girl replied.

On June 10, Pixar flew an employee to the Curtin home and showed the film on DVD – possibly the only DVD copy of the movie that exists.

Here’s what her mom said:

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” said Curtin, 46. “I just know that word ‘Up’ and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven.”

Colby died seven hours after watching the movie.

There’s a vigil for her tonight in Newport Beach.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.