Hakuna Matata

Feeling inexplicably happy and being reminded of the child I used to be (and still am inside), I searched up some favorite Disney movies and hummed along with the soundtracks. Yes, it was childish. So what? It's good to stop and smell the cotton candy once in a while. Especially that now, we can really grasp the messages that were aimed at us as children. The movies were made for kids, but written and produced by adults, who think along the same basic lines as we do now and have had the same milestones as us. The belief that magic exists has faded now that we are older, but the lessons of the stories remain the same: follow your heart, keep things in perspective, build your trust, accept yourself, action always trumps inaction, and sacrifice for love. Disney has instilled valuable lessons in each of us, with the hope that they will come in useful daily.

I didn't grow up living and breathing Disney. I never liked the Princesses, which were the main characters of many Disney movies at the time. I would take animals over humans any day, so I refused to watch any lovey-dovey romance stories. From age 4, I was completely absorbed with the funny, violent cartoon Tom & Jerry, so I didn't pay as much attention to Disney as other kids. However, I loved The Lion King, and later, Ariel became the only Princess I could stand. Now that I think about it, if I had given the other Princesses a chance, I might have turned out quite differently - girlish instead of sprinkled with tomboyishness. I'm glad I didn't follow the well-beaten path many girls took.

Boy, oh boy. Wouldn't I love to have one of these. Did you read this in his voice?  ^_^

My relationship with Disney is rather complicated - I know the stories although I have never watched the movies; I remember the lyrics and the melody even if I have only heard the song twice; I didn't love the characters as a child but I feel some sort of longing heartache when I see them.
Although I never had an intimate connection with Disney, I still feel like it was a big part of my childhood. However, the children who are growing up now will never have the opportunity to develop such a connection. Walking into a family home now, you will find movies like Dora, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Barbie, Chicken Run, and Shrek. What does Dora teach kids? How to say "backpack" in Spanish?  What about Barbie? That pretty girls are blonde, with a tiny waist and freakishly thin legs? Welcome to a world where the beauty of women is defined by how many ribs you can count.
Even the new Disney movies aren't the same. They still carry some decent messages, but it doesn't compare to the magic of those before 2000. I'm truly glad my generation is growing up in this exact time frame, with good old Disney behind us and exciting new Apple in front. This is a great time.