All things Disney: words from a lifelong Disney fan!

It happened when I was four. And it was love at first sight.
No, it wasn’t with another cute 4 year old toddler (though it would have been the cutest love story). It was with a sixty-odd year old,million dollar industry which goes by the humble yet magnificent name of Disney.
From Snow white, to Mary Poppins, to The Little Mermaid, to Ratatouille and now, Frozen, I have seen it all. Each movie fascinates me just like it did when I was 5.They went from hand-drawn to CGI, from traditional orthodox classical fairy tales to trendy adventures rooted in classicism, and yet, managed to not only retain,but also increase their fan base with each generation.
One feature  of Disney that has always remained the same despite the passing years and the various modifications is  the music. Every Disney musical has this amazing, almost homelike music that warms up your heart. Very rarely will you use the word “elegant” to describe a piece of music; Disney is one of the few who deserve it. I remember teasing my friends with “Supercalifraglisticexpialidocius”, getting goose bumps while listening to “Tale as old as time (Beauty and the Beast)”, writing “You’ve got a friend in me” in friendship day cards, and trying to imagine what love must be like while listening to “A whole new world”, wondering if it would ever happen to me.
There’s probably a board somewhere that says “You can take the man out of Disney, but not the Disney out of the man”. Despite the advent of pop music and jeers from my peers, I stuck stubbornly to Disney movies. Though Disney still produced animated features, it had changed with the times. Disney seemed to have its own version of “Sister Suffragate” ,for a brigade of modern age princesses- independent, courageous, adorably adamant, messy and as loving as humanly possible- were created. The animation was better than ever,and so was the music. It included features from renowned Broadway and pop artists, and appealed to both adults and children alike.
Yet there are people who stereotype Disney’s movies into children’s movies. A solid example was when Frozen was released.  I had seen its reviews and was eager to watch it. To my surprise I found no takers. Everyone chided the movie, calling it “girly” and dismissing it as a “children’s movie with nursery rhymes”. When I finally got to watch it, the movie was anything but that. True, the protagonists were women, but that didn’t stop people from watching regular fare like No one Killed Jessica. And  the soundtrack? Well,all I can say is the soundtrack of Frozen is a part of the Academy Awards function. And yes, the adults there relate to it. So go fish.
Disney is not childish, or girly. It never has been. It is just a reality check of one’s perception. You can either be cynical ,pessimistic and practical and term it as foolish, or just embrace the inner child in you . Disney movies teach you life’s most important lessons- that it is always possible to find happiness in the smallest of things and kindest of gestures ,love in times of turmoil and a ray of light in the darkest of times. So the next time somebody rebukes you for watching Disney, confidently say “Let It Go”!!

Comments

  1. Awesomely written! kudos mrinalini..:)

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  2. Well...I remember the Duck tales and chip & dale...etc...etc...nostalgic...haha...you have just arisen the Disney out of me...haha...itz awesome writing...keep going...

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