It started before he was born.
I picked up a set of baby dungarees with Tigger on them from a charity shop.
Just after he was born, we got some 101 Dalmatians clothes. Some Pooh and Friends decorations too.
I'm not immune from it myself - I got a copy of Fantasia, figuring the Boy could hear the music if nothing else, and an Eeyore rattle. (Actually, Fantasia is a bit dull - I think back when it was made, the audiences were blown away by the animations, and now we expect a bit more from the plot).
And so the influence of Walt Disney on the Boy's life has begun. We had a couple of Disney films before he was born - Pirates and that sort of thing. But since he was born it seems to have opened the floodgates to our house filling up with the Mouse and all his works.
I actually don't mind some Disney stuff - I loved Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, Aladdin, and the Lion King. And Robin Hood, and Sword in the Stone. Actually, I quite like most Disney animations.
I suppose I have three main objections to Disney. The first is that it's everywhere. There is no choice. You must submit to your house being filled up with Disney merchandise. Nowhere on Earth is safe. Mali had a post about the dominance of American culture, and it starts with Disney.
The other is that the Boy will go through a phase of wanting to go to a Disney theme park. I am just not very keen on the idea. We may go to Legoland as a compromise - which is probably no less corporate or crowded or expensive. But Lego is cooler, and my husband wants to go there.
My final objection is that I hate Mickey Mouse. He's a squeaky voiced, wet little shit. He doesn't do anything, for Christ's sake, apart from fucking up with some brooms and getting a row from his boss. How he's ended up being the symbol of a global empire is anyone's guess.
But, as I said, we are stuck with it. I'll enjoy showing him the films. And we'll definitely need to read the originals of Winnie the Pooh, 101 Dalmatians and any other books, so he grows up knowing that Disney did not author every popular children's tale in the last fifty years.
I love that you are going to show him the animated films *and* read him the original books. Especially the original Winnie the Pooh!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite looking forward to it! I may even need to get in some practice!
DeleteI've never been to a Disney theme park. I do love Pooh and have a non-disney theme book before he became part of their world.
ReplyDeleteI've never been either. I love Eeyore and Rabbit!
DeleteAt least the Boy is a boy. I hate the preponderance of pink that seems to go along with everything Disney related to girls at least.
ReplyDeleteAnd I grew up with Disneland on TV on Sunday evenings (yep, in rural South Island NZ). Every week I'd sit with my sister, and we'd watch to see whether this week would be Fantasyland, Tomorrowland or Adventureland. There were probably more, but I can't remember. I would always feel a twinge of disappointment at Adventureland! lol And so I would have loved to go to a Disney theme park (Disneyland in LA). I didn't get to one until I was in my 30s, and I visited wtih a sense of wonder, but also disappointment that I didn't go when I was 10. Of course, it was completely beyond the realms of possibility that we could get there when I was a child, so was just a far distant dream.
I remember seeing the ads that were on Disney videos. I think I wanted to go then, but it was a fairly short-lived phase. Anyway, there was no way we were going to cross oceans to go to a theme park.
DeleteIt is more do-able now, with EuroDisney... I'm definitely going to have to work the Lego thing quite hard to persuade him! Or maybe I need to get over myself and take him.
I think you've got a few years to figure it out! We were in Paris once at the same time as very good friends of ours who we hadn't seen for a year or two because they were living in China. We agreed to meet up - and the guys took the kids to EuroDisney, and my friend and I spent a lovely day exploring Paris together. The perfect solution.
DeleteWe've received a Disney thing or two so far, but not inundated. Here in Finland it is Moomin, which I love, so I don't mind so much. Although, my friends and family know I love frogs and green, so there has been much more of that that anything so far. LOL
ReplyDeleteAs for watching and reading, love it! I can't wait to share my childhood books with my little one.