Which brings us to the actual story: I went with a friend to Disneyland yesterday. We were just walking around that building with the star wars props in it and she went: "Oooh, Do you want to meet chewie?" I laughed, "Sure, why not?" and we went in.
-
Show this thread
-
I've done these sorts of things as Disneyland before. It's a lark. Something cute and fun and always feels like fun dress-up where an actor hams it up for this working gig. And I love kids who freak out, thinking it's real. So it's not "for" me, but I get a kick out of it.
1 reply 2 retweets 59 likesShow this thread -
Or thought it was. Because as we go through the line, we end up coming to the corner of this hall that turns into a surprisingly small and intimate room, and suddenly there's this weird moment of drama and I can't see the actor around the bend, but I know he's there...
2 replies 4 retweets 62 likesShow this thread -
Then he came around the corner right near us. I didn't think about the quality of the illusion, or go "oh that's a really good costume." It was just like, "oh, I'm in this room with Chewbacca."
2 replies 6 retweets 102 likesShow this thread -
Chewie immediately smiled put his hand on my shoulder with such outrageous kindness and suddenly I felt this intense wave of relief. My eyes started watering... I looked down at my friend and saw her on edge of tears and, well, there I went also crying.
3 replies 6 retweets 156 likesShow this thread -
And so we hugged and hugged and Chewie and I found myself having this intensely emotional moment. I have no idea how long it lasted. Probably a few seconds. But it was intense,my body went flush, I was sweating, and it was surreal.
1 reply 3 retweets 142 likesShow this thread -
But please understand. This is not about me rekindling my connection to Star Wars. Nor is this about how The Last Jedi also recaptured some of these same feelings (note: if you try to turn this into an argument of that movie i will block you) It's not even really about Star Wars.
1 reply 3 retweets 147 likesShow this thread -
It was the realization that I had been walking around wearing 100 pounds of emotional armor and suddenly they just slinked off for a second. It was the realization that in that moment, in this place in my life, I really, really needed a hug and somehow Chewbacca "knew" that.
3 replies 13 retweets 227 likesShow this thread -
Which means this is really about the push-pull of our emotional selves. For there are many who would take this story and make an argument of how it's proof that we need to hold onto our sense of childlike glee and seek out the experiences that make us feel that way.
2 replies 5 retweets 107 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @FilmCritHULK
Yeah, I'm not sure anyone does this better than Disney. For all the legitimate criticisms people can levy against them over the years they still have that magic and wonder in the parks that nobody else can replicate.
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
To wit, that didn't end up being the last time I teared up that day.
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.