Why Are Great Kids Movies So Sad?兒童佳片為何悲情滿滿？

文森特·科特羅內奧/文　巫屹/譯

Here is why the saddest films made for kids are considered to be some of the classics and most important of all films for young viewers. 為何那些最悲傷的兒童電影被納入經典之列，并且對少兒觀眾來說至關重要？且看下文。

We all remember that first cry at the movies. Whether they are tears of joy or sadness， it is quite astounding that human emotion can be contrived1 by moving images on a screen cut together in a sequence. This emotional manipulation is written， planned out， and purposefully meant to evoke strong feelings out of a targeted audience member， especially one who has been conditioned to2 be drawn to sad movies. Films are as methodical as they are artistic. It all comes from a plan， and that plan is to tell a story. The kind of story is subjective and means something different to each individual. But what about those heart-wrenching stories… for kids？

我們都記得觀看電影時的第一次哭泣。不管是喜極而泣還是悲傷淚流，人類的情感竟可以通過銀幕上剪輯播放的畫面來牽動，這實在令人驚訝。這種對情感的操縱經過精心編寫、策劃，旨在激起目標受眾的強烈情感，尤其是那些易被傷感電影吸引的觀眾。電影追求藝術效果，同樣也需要條理敘述。一切都源自某個構思，其目的是講一個故事。這種故事具有主觀性，對每個個體有不同的意義。但是那些令人心痛的故事……那些專給孩子們看的故事呢？

Kids movies seem to range in a variety of emotional beats. They could be over the top3 with silly slapstick4 humor， while others maintain a certain sophistication to them and dont sugarcoat5 the realities of the world our children will eventually come into as they age. Perhaps this is why these films exist. Since the early days of Aristotle， we have been searching for reasons why we seek out tragedy. A quote by the philosopher from his Poetics6 may answer why： “Tragic plays have the capacity to purify the spirit and aid us in coping with aspects of life that cannot be reconciled by rational thought. ”

兒童電影似乎具有各種各樣的情感基調。其中一些電影可能會包含夸張滑稽的幽默，而另一些則保持一定的世故，不會粉飾孩子們長大后終將進入的現實世界。也許這就是這些電影存在的原因。早在亞里士多德時期，我們就開始探究人們訴諸悲劇的原因。這位哲學家的《詩學》中有一句話，也許可以回答這個問題：“悲劇有凈化心靈的能力，有助于我們應對生活中理性思維無法調和的方方面面。”

Why seek tragedy

為什么訴諸悲劇

Perhaps the main reason we seek tragedy is to cope， to understand and to heal. The hardest lesson to teach a child is how to cope with tragedy and loss， especially if it is sudden. Films made by Disney are loaded with tragedy… and trauma. Especially in animation classics like Bambi and The Lion King.

也許我們訴諸悲劇的主要原因是為了應對、理解和治愈。教育孩子最難的一課是如何應對不幸和損失，尤其是在突發狀況下。迪士尼制作的電影里滿是悲劇，還有創傷，在《小鹿斑比》和《獅子王》等經典動畫中尤甚。

In the 1994 animated film The Lion King， which is based loosely7 on Shakespeares famous tragedy of Hamlet， we get our first account into the tragic loss of Mufasa and how that affects his cub Simba. Kids see themselves in Simbas character. He has dreams， he has a desire to grow and be a part of a bigger world. But it turns much darker， as many of us could remember seeing Mufasas death on screen for the first time. Boy it was traumatizing！

1994年上映的動畫片《獅子王》大體改編自莎士比亞著名悲劇《哈姆雷特》，我們在影片中第一次了解到老獅王木法沙的不幸離世，以及這件事對他的孩子辛巴的影響。孩子們從辛巴這個角色中看到了自己。他有夢想，渴望長大，渴望成為更大世界的一部分。但劇情卻變得晦暗起來，我們許多人都還記得第一次在銀幕上目睹木法沙死去的場景。天哪，太令人心碎了！

So why is a film like this so beloved when it makes kids cry？ The lesson it teaches is to overcome adversity and to move on. Hakuna Matata8！ It truly is a wonderful phrase. Yes， it means ‘no worries for the rest of your days， and it is rather catchy， with some of Disneys best songs. However， the true message9 of a film like this is to teach kids that it is okay to move on from tragic loss and not to let it define you. It is an important lesson that many of us learned at a very young age. Sadness should not be overlooked， fear should not be ignored. Perhaps this is why the animated version of The Lion King is widely regarded as one of Disneys greatest films of all time.

那么，為什么這樣一部讓孩子們悲傷哭泣的電影如此受人追捧呢？它教會我們的是克服逆境，繼續前行。哈庫吶馬塔塔！這實在是句精妙的話。是的，它的意思是“余生無憂”，配上迪士尼優美的音樂之后朗朗上口。然而，這樣的電影真正寓意是要教會孩子們，面對不幸，繼續走下去就好，不要讓它框住你。這是我們許多人在很小的時候就學到的重要一課。悲傷不應被忽視，恐懼不應被忽略。大家普遍認為動畫版《獅子王》是迪士尼有史以來最偉大的電影之一，也許這就是原因所在。

Its okay to cry

哭吧，沒關系

Sadness is an emotion that is almost taboo. It is suppressed from the mainstream and ignored by the public. But films like The Iron Giant and Up dont give the audience an opportunity to shy away from their emotions. In fact， they force us to feel.

悲傷幾乎是一種讓人避諱的情緒，為主流所壓制，被公眾所忽視。然而類似《鋼鐵巨人》和《飛屋環游記》這樣的電影并不會給觀眾逃避自己情緒的機會。實際上，這些電影促使我們去感受自己的情緒。

Perhaps the saddest sequence in film history is the opening montage showcasing Carl and Ellies life in the opening of Disney and Pixars Best Picture Nominated film Up. We see kids growing up together， falling in love， building their book of adventures. Then all of a sudden， it ends with Ellies tragic death， leaving Carl an elderly man alone with nothing but an empty book of never achieved adventures. Yes， this is a kids movie. Why must it be so sad？ Sadness is real， and even celebrated in another Pixar classic， Inside Out， which anthropomorphizes10 sadness as an important character.

也許，電影史上最悲傷的一幕來自迪士尼和皮克斯合作的奧斯卡最佳影片提名之作《飛屋環游記》，其開場用蒙太奇手法展示了卡爾和艾莉的一生。我們看到兩個孩子一起長大，墜入愛河，建構他們的冒險之書。然后，突然之間，故事以艾莉的不幸離世而告終，獨留年邁的卡爾一人，身邊只有一本從未實現的冒險之書，里面空空如也。是的，這是一部兒童電影。為什么這部電影要如此傷感？悲傷是真切的，甚至在皮克斯的另一部經典電影《頭腦特工隊》中被擬人化為一個重要角色加以渲染。

It is important to feel sad， and that is why these films are so great. They embrace sadness and make something new out of it. As the phoenix rises from the ashes， we see that happiness is possible even after the darkest of tragedies. It teaches us to cope with the sadness， and understand how it might take a long time to heal.

感受悲傷很重要，這些電影這么偉大，原因正在于此。他們接納悲傷，并從中創造新的東西。正如鳳凰涅槃，我們看到，即使經歷了最慘痛的悲劇，最后也可能獲得幸福。這教會我們如何應對悲傷，并明白創傷可能需要很長時間才能愈合。

Kids movie character deaths have a message

兒童電影角色的死亡有種寓意

Characters like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial， The Iron Giant， and even Charlotte from Charlottes Web， have all taken up residence inside our hearts. To those who remember seeing these films for the first time， these characters create bonds with the audience. We learn lessons and build imaginary friendships with a fictional character. We see ourselves interacting with a giant robot or an alien… or even a spider. They teach us lessons that apply to our real lives. But why must they be taken away with death or absence？

外星人E. T.、鋼鐵巨人，甚至《夏洛的網》中的夏洛，這些角色都在我們心中占據了一席之地。對于那些還記得第一次觀看這些電影的人來說，這些角色與他們建立了聯系。我們從電影中吸取經驗教訓，與故事中的人物建立虛構的友誼。我們看到自己與一個巨大的機器人或外星人……甚至一只蜘蛛互動。他們教會我們適用于現實生活的東西。但是，為什么他們必須以死亡或消失的方式離開？

Just as Dumbo was taken from his mother in the classic Disney animated film Dumbo， sometimes these beloved characters die and are taken from us. Why must a film made for kids even touch on a subject about death with characters that feel like family？ Well， in Bridge to Terabithia， the Disney adventure film based on the novel of the same name， our young protagonist Jess （played by Josh Hutcherson） loses his best friend Leslie （played by AnnaSophia Robb） in an accident where she brutally dies off-screen， but it is told to us in grim detail. This is quite disturbing to kids hearing this for the first time. But it is meant to show the harsh realities of the world， and how one could prevail. Jess learns to navigate his imagination and gains independence.

就像迪士尼經典動畫電影《小飛象》中，小飛象從母親身邊被帶走，有時這些受人喜愛的角色會死去，被從我們身邊奪走。兒童電影中的角色就像是我們的家人，為什么這種為孩子們制作的電影必須觸及死亡主題呢？好吧，在根據同名小說改編的迪士尼冒險電影《仙境之橋》中，我們年輕的主人公杰斯（喬什·哈切森飾演）在一次意外中失去了他最好的朋友萊斯莉（安娜索菲亞·羅伯飾演），她慘死的畫面沒有在銀幕上呈現，但殘酷的細節描述讓我們了解了這一點。第一次聽到這種講述的孩子會非常不安。但這旨在展示世界的嚴酷現實，以及一個人如何才能戰勝挫折。杰斯最終學會了駕馭自己的想象力，獲得了獨立。

What is the ultimate message behind a sad kids movie？ It is meant to teach the audience， especially children， to gain their independence and how to free themselves from tragedy. It is a coping tool used to be a cushion that separates fiction from reality that is just thin enough to feel almost real. After all， we felt the loss of Mufasa， we felt the loss of The Iron Giant and Bambis mother. These feelings need that cushion when felt for the first time so when they do come for real， maybe the child will know how to deal with it. Or perhaps it might just feel a little less bad if they can stop and just say Hakuna Matata.

一部悲傷的兒童電影的終極意義是什么？它是要教導觀眾（尤其是兒童）學會自立，學會從悲劇中釋懷。它是一個用于將故事與現實分隔開來的緩沖墊，這層緩沖非常薄，足以讓人感覺身臨其境。畢竟，對于失去木法沙、失去鋼鐵巨人和斑比的母親，我們感同身受。第一次體會到這些感覺時，是需要那層緩沖的，這樣當它們真的來臨時，也許孩子們就知道如何應對了。或者，如果他們能停下來，說聲“哈庫吶馬塔塔”，難過的感覺或許就能少一點兒了。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1 contrive巧妙地策劃。? 2 condition to訓練；使習慣于。

3 over the top太過分。? 4 slapstick打鬧劇，粗俗滑稽劇。? 5 sugarcoat美化，粉飾。? 6西方文明第一部系統的美學和藝術理論著作。? 7 loosely大致地，大概。

8《獅子王》中狐獴丁滿和疣豬彭彭的經典臺詞，源于斯瓦西里語，意思是“不用擔心”或“沒有問題”。他們救了辛巴之后，便教他“哈庫吶馬塔塔”的生活哲學來忘卻煩惱。丁滿和彭彭演唱的同名插曲后半段的間奏代表辛巴從小到大的成長過程。? 9 message（書、電影或戲劇的）要旨，寓意，中心思想。

10 anthropomorphize人格化，賦予人性。