Anyway, back on topic. Disney Movies. Being female and the oldest of 3 girls growing up, we sure had our share of Disney films. I'm a bit sheltered when it comes to movies in general, and I've barely seen most of the "typical" movies most of the world has seen. I'm not a big movie buff, but BK definitely is.... I find a movie that I like and watch it a million times. I stick to what I like...I guess.
Being a mom is like that.........times infinity. I have seen the Little Mermaid more than I'd ever like to admit. Beauty and the Beast tunes echo in my head deep into the night. The Chipettes and Chipmunks are part of our every day lives. There are some days, despite what the "right" parenting book says, that those movies provide a few moments of sanity for parents. A few moments to clean up the kitchen, feed the baby, fold some laundry or even huddle in the corner to waste a few minutes on the computer.... they're a godsend.
This weekend, I took the movies to a new level. My sister had taken KT to see The Lion King last fall. She was definitely more interested in the popcorn than the movie, but lasted for most of it and she really had a good time. I really wanted to take KT to see that movie, but we were in the midst of newborn/infant colic hell (a blog that I haven't conjured up enough courage to write), so I was very thankful that my sister took her. It was a "big girl" thing to do and it made her feel special at a time where she needed it. The new Disney princess movie just came out on Friday. I figured that I could stomach Brave because it was about a Scottish girl with CRAZY Fiery red curly hair, who was not the typical "princess" like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White (yawn). I was anticipating a Tangled type flick...(Tangled is BY FAR the best princess movie in my opinion. It actually has some really humorous parts).
On the way to the movie theatre, she asked a million questions. I could tell she was excited, which made me happy. We got our tickets and our popcorn (really the main reason she agreed to the movie), and were on our way. We picked 2 seats in the front of the middle section, I figured in the event we needed to bust out of the joint, we had a good escape route. After many commercials, previews and a mini cartoon, the movie started. About 3 minutes into the movie, she had finished her popcorn and was ready to go. It started out pretty slow and had lost her interest right off the bat. She started to have trouble sitting still, so I asked if she wanted to sit on my lap. She did and stayed there for the remainder of the movie.
**Spoiler alert*** (but seriously, if Disney movies hold you at suspense and you're really concerned about spoiling them, you need some other things to worry about in your life).
We're watching the movie and it turns out to be a mother/daughter struggle. Mom wanted Merida to act like a princess/future queen and Merida had no desire to live that life or role. Merida gets a witch to cast a spell on her mom that turns her into a bear. The whole dramatic struggle finds them realizing that Merida was wrong to do that to her mother and her mother was wrong to put these tough expectations in place for her little girl.
Cue the heartstring tug.....
I sit there, holding my baby girl (who was quite scared at certain parts of the movie) and thought that this was the perfect token first mother/daughter movie to watch together. Of course, she doesn't read between the lines. She just saw that Merida's mommy wasn't a "human being" (her words to our next door neighbors) anymore because she had a spell on her. She just wanted the spell to be broken so her mommy could be human again. What was meant to be a fun, mommy/daughter afternoon turned into a mommy lesson.... Mommies have an important job. We take care of the rug rats and we go through a ridiculous amount of demands, requests, temper tantrums, highs and lows. We mold them and do our best to make them the best kid/person/adults they can be. However, no matter what we do and how hard we try, our little girls (and boys) will be who they are and what they want to be. We have to let that happen. We have to let them be their own person. We try to guide them and show them the way, but whether or not they do it is really up to them.
Damn you Disney for making me analyze this movie. I was set to have a fun day, full of entertainment and excitement. Instead, it became a moment that I realized that I can only do so much and from there, it's up to her. It was that moment that I realized that I was grateful that we picked that movie as our first, but more thankful that she's 3 1/2 and we get her to ourselves for awhile yet. Lord help me when that time comes... I hope she doesn't put a spell on me. I'm thinking that I already possess some bear-like tendencies. :-)
That totally melted my bitchy heart.
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