Disney is known for a lot of things. It can be blamed for a lot as well. Who else would twist a fairy tale story where the main female commits suicide into a happily ever after with her prince charming. I’m sure Hans Christen Anderson must have choked watching that, if he can watch in heaven or hell or…purgatory…his new life…wherever he is. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. I loved “The Little Mermaid” but it’s also very idealistic. Aside from the whole concept of prince charming, maids being rescued, finding your one true love at first glance, Disney movies have that “je ne sais quoi” that appeals to each and every individual. It some how isn’t just a movie. It becomes a life that extends beyond the screen. It came to me one day talking to this man about Disney movies that the movie we absolutely love seems to reflect who we are.
“Beauty and the Beast” was my first movie ever in theater. It was at Flick, and during the matinee weekday, it was only $1 back in those old days. From the first song, “More than this Provincial Town,” I knew that was me. I knew from the start, the little town I grew up in wasn’t the town I wanted to be in. There was so much in the world, I’ve read so much, I’m such a nerd who was so unaware of anyone but my goal to find someone who’d take me away. I ended up taking myself away from going off to college to that big bad world. And then I met men of all sorts. But it was the dark, scary, angry, brooding ones that I found myself attracted to. I’ve dated the nice ones, the sweet ones, the boyish ones, but they didn’t offer that sense of excitement that the dark side had. Maybe it’s my need to mold things that I am drawn to the brooding men so I can bring them out into the light with me.
With him, he loved “Aladdin.” From the first moment he said that, I knew right away why he would. The street rat. The princess. The orphan boy running into trouble but always gazing at the palace. When she came into his world, he wanted her. He wanted to take her beyond the walls of the palace to see the world. And with him, the world was not the same again. And he knows that about us because we are drawn to each other, even though our worlds, our ideas, and how we grew up can never allow us to bend to each other’s needs and wants.
Other examples are my girls. Each and everyone of them seems to match the Disney of their fave. I won’t exploit them. ^_^