Disney’s Float: Why Can’t You Be Normal?

Joeseph Velasquez in Ang Pinoy Stories

Oct 13, 2020 • 2 min Read

Disney’s film Float teaches us to accept people with special qualities and unique conditions. It also reflects a beautiful aspect of the Filipino family: love without condition.

SparkShort, a short film production, has released a Disney+ exclusive movie titled Float. The short film features a father and his son, Alex, who has the ability to float on air, hence, the title. Directed by Bobby Rubio, a Filipino director, this short film reflects the difficult experiences of a parent when dealing with people who do not understand and accept the special needs of their children. Float, well-received by audiences and critics, is actually the story of Bobby Rubio’s son. Thus, this film is also personal to the director.

Float narrates how society’s perception puts weight on how we look at everyone, even our loved one. The father puts Alex on a leash, even putting rocks in his backpack, to prevent Alex from floating and to allow his son to experience a normal life. A visit to the park ends in exasperation as Alex keeps floating even with his heavy backpack and the other parents in the park glare at the two of them. The father decides to leave but Alex struggles to stay. The father finally snaps and shouts: “WHY CAN’T YOU BE NORMAL?!”

Alex is heartbroken, stops floating, and silently cries. The father realizes what he has done and takes Alex back to the park where they play everywhere. He lets Alex float, the other kids avoid his son but Alex does not mind because he has his dad with him. The father finally accepts his son’s uniqueness and ignores what other people say or think. This part resonates with parents the most because even when kids are unique, special, or unusual, they can always rely on their parents to accept and fully understand them.

Float shines the light on both parents’ acceptance and how society perceives children with autism, which was cleverly metaphorized as the child’s ability to float. This film teaches viewers to accept the distinctiveness of everyone and to discourage society from upsetting people with special needs and unique conditions.

Photo Source: IG of Bobby Rubio