The Wonderful World Of Disney

Therapy. I literally think that is what viewing Disney movies leads to. Or at least should. Remember how freaked out you got at Malificent as a giant fire-breathing dragon? Or Jafar becoming a massive killer snake? Remember how upset you felt when Pinocchio and Mufasa and the fifteenth Dalmatian puppy (for a moment) died? Think of Jessie’s “When She Loved Me” montage. And John Smith leaving. And the cut-her-heart-out-and-put-it-in-this-box Snow White queen. Those step-sisters ripping up Cinderella’s first dress--lovingly created by all her little friends--made my younger brother cry. No one will love Mulan for who she is, Aladdin can’t marry the princess because he’s poor, Lady gets muzzled, Mowgli gets sent back to the man village, Belle can never see her father again, Bernard feels inadequate next to Jake, and Ariel’s dad tears the dickens out of her favorite stuff. Big drama for little minds to try and wrap around. Even big minds, sometimes. But, undoubtedly, the single most tragic moment in the Disney pantheon has got to be…Bambi’s mom. You know you were thinking it. That scene is synonymous with trauma in the common vernacular. For good reason--it’s one of the saddest things ever. Now, I understand that loss is universal and we must all face it some time in our lives, but Walt Disney accelerated the process for three generations of kids so far. When reading Disney’s Magical World of Reading Bambi, I noticed that part is still in there. I was kinda hoping for a re-write.

http://www.amazon.com/Bambi-Dumbo-Disneys-Magical-Reading/dp/1403720452

http://tv.disney.go.com/playhouse/

Who Is That Girl I See?

I experience cognitive dissonance over the fact that Disney movies have some of the most traumatic moments on film. When Bambi’s mother dies? When Mufasa is betrayed and murdered by his own brother? When Cinderella’s ball gown is torn to shreds by the horrible stepsisters? These are moments that stay with you forever. Not that things-Disney are not magical, they are and my husband says I have an unnatural attachment to them, just that there is bitter thrown in with the sweet. We like to think that Disney movies have always cradled us in a warm blanket of fairy tales and happy endings, but we tend to overlook the other lessons we take away from the house the mouse built. I had a lot of time to contemplate those messages when watching Disney movies frame-by-frame for my Master’s thesis. That was back in the pre-Pocahontas days, so Disney gals were still pretty much just marriage-fodder, and I worried about what ideas my daughters would carry away from their repeat viewings. They both turned out pretty self-assured, so I guess it went fine. Now, my Scarlett has taken a shine to Mulan, and we read the storybook adaptation by Lisa Ann Marsoli. I like what the girl from Chinese folklore has to offer--brains, creativity, courage--and I like that she got to choose something in the end besides riding off to some castle, but there is a lot of stuff to overcome before she gets there. Isn’t that the way it goes?

http://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Classic-Storybook-Classics-Collection/dp/1570828644

http://www.jacketflap.com/persondetail.asp?person=95666