Around two years ago, I had to have my 13 year old dog put down. I was heart broken; she was my first dog and I loved her to death. I spent the whole day crying, and when night came, I couldnāt sleep at all. At 2am I dragged myself to the TV and turned on Netflix, but still upset out of my mind, I didnāt know what to watch. Netflix suggested the new Disney movie they had just added: Zootopia. I clicked it because, why not? I needed something fun and light hearted to maybe make me feel a little bit better. I sat there and watched the whole thing. I loved it! But when Zootopia ended, the magic was broken and I didnāt know what to watch.Ā
And when I was feeling down again the next night? I watched Zootopia again. And again. And then a third time.Ā
Things quickly got very, very bad for me. My favorite goat passed away, then my friendās mom, then a professor I was friends with, then my grandfather. All within four months. Throughout this whole, terrible time, I was watching Zootopia almost nonstop. If I was home, Zootopia was on. I wasnāt really even paying attention to it most of the time, it was just kind of there. It was light hearted, funny, comforting, and familiar. When my best friend came over for New Years Eve, we literally watched Zootopia to celebrate.Ā
Right around the time I finally started feeling better, Zootopia was taken off Netflix. I was okay at that point and didnāt really need to have something on constantly any more, but it was still sad to see it go! My best friend gave it to me on DVD as a gift months later, and I still pop it in whenever I feel like watching Zootopia!Ā
Recently, things got bad again. I was feeling drained and horrible and upset all the time. I turned on Netflix and looked for something to watch, but Zootopia wasnāt there. Mulanās on Netflix, and while thatās my second favorite Disney movie, it didnāt have the same vibe as Zootopia. For whatever reason, I went for Shrek. And watched it again and again and again. And again. And then some more. Iām home? Shrek is on. Shrek is literally on right now, as I write this. Why???? Iām not even paying attention to it! Iām not watching Shrek. Itās just there. Usually it plays three or four times a night, and if I wake up and itās ended, I press play again and go back to bed.Ā
I went to a friendās house the other day and laughed when I got there and saw heāa man in his 30sāhadĀ āOpen Seasonā on. He shrugged and told me itās a good movie and I should check it out some time. The next time I was there, he was in a very bad place emotionally (PTSD). I noticed that the credits for Open Season were rolling on the TV when I walked into the living room. When I got him calmed down and made him some food, I asked if heād want to watch a movie, and he said yes. I decided to test my theory.
āWhat do you want to watch?ā I asked.Ā
āDo you want to watch Open Season?āĀ
So I turned on Open Season and we laid on the couch and watched Open Season. By the time the movie was over, he was all better and we were already up and doing other things. When we passed through the living room again, however, he stopped and replayed the movie.Ā āDo you mind?ā he asked,Ā āI like having something on.āĀ
Later that night I made an Open Season joke, and he just randomly confessed that he once watched it during a really rough time, didnāt have the energy to get up and change the movie, and just watched it again. And again! And the next night he watched it some more. soulmates, obviously. So I told him about Shrek and Zootopia. Neither of us could believe that we both had oddly specific CGI childrenās movies that we secretly watched over and over whenever weāre Going Through Things. We dubbed themĀ ādepression moviesā and determined that it is what it is.Ā
Sometimes you just gotta watch Zootopia for six hours. Sometimes you have an emotional breakdown to Open Season and thatās okay. If Shrek gets you through emotional trauma then Shrek gets you through emotional trauma.Ā (of course we could talk about psychology and regression and coping mechanisms, but this post is just a little appreciation for people who are Going Through Some Things and might be in the same boat. )
Does anyone else out there have a Depression Movie? If so, what is it, and why/how did you end up with it? :)Ā