Bizarre Clue From Animated Movie Leaves Fans Bewildered

Back in the day, the scene from a movie that Ryan Reynolds blamed for “lifelong trauma” was probably the most famously-upsetting scene from an animated Disney movie — but these days, there is a more modern (and arguably just as upsetting) scene that gets more recognition.

The animated Disney and Pixar movie Up, from 2009, has one of the most recognizably-sad scenes in a modern-day animated Disney film.

In the movie, viewers see Carl (who is played by Ed Asner) falling in love with his true love Ellie from a young age. The boy and girl become best friends during their childhood, with Ellie’s spunk and optimism leaving Carl in awe of her, and their adorable relationship progresses into marriage.

Issues with fertility cause strife for the couple in the film, however, which already leaves audiences feeling upset — and then Ellie passes away before Carl, making the scene even sadder.

Most people might choose to watch this scene quickly (or skip it entirely) in order to progress to the sweet, funny, more uplifting portions of the tale that culminates in Carl’s trip to South America alongside a Cub Scout named Russell and an enthusiastic dog named Dug.

However, at least one Disney fan has watched the film’s sad scene closely enough to notice something surprising!

Apparently, the priest who officiates Ellie and Carl’s wedding ceremony is the same character — or seems to be — as the doctor who gives the couple some upsetting news about Ellie’s fertility!

Just rewatched Up. Is the priest that marries Ellie and Carl also the doctor that brings them the news Ellie can’t have kids? from disney

While some eagle-eyed fans found this character’s dual appearance to be off-putting, others defended the animated movie due to rotoscoping. If you’re unfamiliar with rotoscoping, this is reportedly a “technique” in filmmaking that “industry insiders say…is a legitimate method of cutting costs in movie-making”.

Apparently, “the process was invented in 1915 and involved humans acting out scenes for animators to trace in order to make the cartoons more realistic”.

Furthermore, “researchers previously revealed that scenes from much-loved cartoons such as Robin Hood and Winnie The Pooh were copied from the studio’s earlier hits” — and if you look, you can certainly notice some strangely-familiar scenes in plenty of animated Disney movies — so reusing a character for a short scene (especially a character who will go unnoticed due to the more prominent focus on Ellie and Carl) certainly may seem reasonable.

The other option, of course, is that this priest and doctor happens to be one very well-qualified and multi-layered individual!