Every other Thursday (more or less) I take the kids up to the City so they can see my parents for an hour or two while I sneak out to Boulangerie Bay Bread and buy Darin some cannelés. It’s an hour up to the City and an hour back. The kids sleep on the way there and usually on the way back too, which means that they’re up and perky by the time we get back home.
I, of course, am wiped.
So right now we are sitting in one corner of the living room couch watching Dumbo. Sophia loves watching this and Pinocchio, and I have to admit that both of them weird me out: Dumbo’s Mama taken away! Pinocchio’s being held in a cage! The pink elephant scene! But Sophia likes them.
Anyhow, the weather has gotten overcast and chilly in our area—it even rained a little today. The kind of day where I want to stay in bed and read Regency romance novels and drink hot cocoa. Of course, this fantasy now includes me attempting to do this while a 3 year old uses my bed as a trampoline and a 1 year old uses my stomach as a nice soft napping bed.
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My general policy has been to let Sophia choose her own clothes in the morning. There are no fights about clothing and half the time she’s dressed before I get down to the kitchen, which is always a plus. Now that the weather has changed, however, this isn’t working out as well: the striped tank top with yellow shorts isn’t so great on a day in the high 50s. So I’ve been trying to explain to her why I think she should wear warmer clothing and offering warmer alternatives to her. Sometimes she goes along with me and sometimes she doesn’t. I’m hoping that after a few experiences of wearing a tank top on a chilly November morning will convince her of the wisdom of Mama’s clothing choices.
I’ll split with you on this one.
– Dumbo: Pink elephant scene. Agreed. What was Disney thinking? That kids needed to watch an acid trip?
– Pinocchio: One of my Favorites. Probably ‘cuz of the subplot: Boy in search of father-I’m always a sucker for that one.
Well, of the two, I’d pick Pinocchio, where at least mommy is a chisel and cannot die.
Of course, Dumbo is the rare mommy’s not dead movie, but they did put her in prison for trying to protect her son from abuse.
Just yuck.
Actually, I like both Dumbo and Pinocchio — certainly much better than I like Sleeping Beauty. But I find them both terrifying and Sophia doesn’t seem to, which I find interesting. Have I just become too accustomed to bland kids’ fare? I doubt either one of these movies would be made in anywhere near the same form today.
For one thing, Dumbo doesn’t fly until the last few minutes of the movie, and I can just hear the Disney executives say, “C’mon, we’ve gotta get the elephant into the air early. End of Act I maybe.”
Take the striped tank top and yellow shorts out of the drawer. Then you don’t have to choose between fighting with her and fighting with Child Protective Services.
The best childrens’ stories have that element of danger or unfairness to them. That’s why they’re special. The happy ending is meaningless without some unhappiness before. No one remembers the bland ones where everything’s safe. Even The Cat in the Hat had the problem of getting everything under control before their parents got home.
I took my little brother to The Wizard of Oz when it was in the theaters a few years back. I was shocked at how much those flying monkeys terrified me, viewing them through his eyes! I had completely forgotten that.
But yeah, the pink elephants scene is odd. But when they did Heffalumps and Woozles in Winnie the Pooh, it worked. Strange.