5 movies that inspired my writing career

Today is the first of two theme days that occur during the month-long Blogathon challenge.  Our topic: 5 movies that have inspired you, or inspired your writing.  As a writer for kid's, I am pretty inspired by animated films, more than dramas.  Therefore, most of my choices are kid's flicks.

1. "Shrek"

As a creative writer with a child-like perspective, I remember vividly when the Shrek movies came out.  Their humor and grown-up references hidden in the fairy tale theme opened my eyes to a new kind of creative writing. I was in college at the time and the Shrek series inspired me to write this play.

2. "Up"

Not only did "Up" have an incredible story line, but it has gifted me with phrases like "Collar of shame" which I used in this post where I actually have a picture of my dog, Lucy, wearing the dreaded E-collar.

Being the happy owner of two canines, I also loved the fact that the dogs in the movie wear electronic translator collars that allow the viewer to hear their "doggy" thoughts.  My hands down favorite example of this was the simple word, "Squirrel!" Anytime someone said the word "Squirrel" all of the dogs would go running to find one. I still laugh about that and even use it on my dogs! It never fails!

3. Finding Nemo.  

Similarly, I love the voices of the seagulls in "Finding Nemo." The way the writers had them say, "Mine?" "Mine?" "Mine?" all the time, is so relevant to how one-track-minded they are.  Eating = survival.  It also illustrates the ego and how we are always fighting for what we think is ours.  It was a pretty small part of the movie, but very moving to me and something I've been inspired by in many ways.

4. "Kung Fu Panda" 

In both Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2, the writers leave the viewer with powerful thoughts. From the first movie, my favorite line was from Master Oogway under the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.  "There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift.  That is why they call it the present."

In the second movie, Po is challenged to find "Inner Peace" - a concept that many might expect to blow over a child's head.  He meets the Soothsayer, who tells him, "Your story may not have such a happy beginning, but that does not make you who you are, it's the rest of the story, who you choose to be...  So, who are you Panda?"  The most important time is NOW.  Kung Fu Panda is my "Zen" movie.  It not only inspires me in my writing, but also in my daily living.  As Master Shifu explains, "Anything is possible when you have inner peace."

5. "The Goonies"

"The Goonies" is my favorite movie of all time.  To me, it is movie perfection.  It has an awesome story about finding the treasure of the lost pirate One-eyed Willie, excellent bad guys, funny moments (the Truffle Shuffle) and a happy ending (finding the treasure!).  I think "The Goonies" represents storytelling at its finest.  

I love movies and good storytelling.  Last year, during this theme day, I wrote about my 5 Favorite Children's Picture Books.