Under The Sea

Because I was a young, single mom with some time on my hands and passionate ideals, Keilana had never seen anything on television until she was two years old. Obviously, things have, um, evolved over the years, but I was very committed to the no-boob tube philosophy then and watching Keilana experience a television set for the first time was probably like watching primitive humans discover fire--lots of nervous examination, tentative touching, and guttural noises. She didn’t know what to make of it and couldn’t really get invested in it. Until we got “The Little Mermaid” on VHS. Something about the combination of color, music, and personalities resonated with her. So, we watched “Mernaid,” as only a two year-old can call it, on a pretty constant loop for a long time. We even had to get a new tape when the movie was re-released because our original copy sounded like it was actually underwater. It was easy for grown-ups to get caught up in the adventures of Ariel, too. At least for me. Having loved classic Disney offerings like “Snow White" and “Bambi," and been left disappointed in the recent releases of “Oliver and Company” and “The Black Cauldron,” it was like a breath of fresh animated air to have the mermaid show up. It’s still my favorite and I feel more connected to it than the others. Scarlett is fascinated by “Mervaid” (she’s also two) and we read Disney’s The Little Mermaid storybook with great interest. Gotta love her.

http://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Little-Mermaid-Wonderful-Reading/dp/0717283194

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grolier