Dam You Disney.
Honestly is there a story-line that won't break my heart?
I was immune to princesses and pink and really all things Disney for a long time. After having 3 girls, my tolerance for sappy romance with all its song and dance is very high. One would think then that there is no problem with the girls' request to turn on a princess movie.
Tangled was the most recent. Seems like a no-brainer: a brief window of opportunity where 3 girls are entranced by Rapunzel while their Dad and I get a few stolen moments together alone. What could possibly go wrong? Somehow, in the commercial breaks that happen on real tv, (whose idea was it again to get cable and move away from Netflix? *Sigh*) Aksel and I find ourselves parked in the middle of our girls, policing a minor dispute that has broken out. When the commercial break has ended, and mutiny truced, we are trapped in a snuggle-fest on our respective couches and chairs, anchored by the weight of small children on laps. Then the song and dance start up again and we are hypnotized by Disney ourselves!
Which isn't a real problem is it? The "I have a dream" ditty is pretty catchy and Mandy Moore as a flighty teenager with crazy hair and a frying pan can be fairly entertaining. So we found ourselves enjoying the company and the show, totally unprepared for what was coming: The sappy ending.
Oh please, you may be thinking, all Disney ends this way. Yes, it does, and having seen this ending more than a handful of times, one would think we could have remembered it, excused ourselves or at least tied on the armor to deal with the emotional battle ahead. Alas, we were stuck and not ready when poor Flynn (Eugene) Rider meets an untimely end in the tower and Rapunzel is left to mourn over his dead body.
Even worse, she starts to sing in her tearful voice,
"Flower gleam and glow,
Let your power shine,
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates design,
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine."
Aksel looks at me then, and I can see he is not even breathing. Dam you Disney, I curse in my mind, those words have cut us to the core. I so long for Rapunzel's healing powers and that song in this life! I smile at Aksel, that forced and tight, "I'm fine." and he breathes again. So does Eugene and they all lived to celebrate. And is that what will happen here, for us? That happily ever after might not play quite the same way in the real world when noone is magically healed and brought back to life.We all might dress up, play our roles, sing along, and put on the facade of a smile tomorrow and wonder when the happy might come. Until then, I'll be more careful about sitting down to watch you, Disney; I'll guard myself better against your love stories and fairy tale endings...I don't know that I'm quite ready to handle someone else's Happily Ever After, even if it is all just make believe.
I was immune to princesses and pink and really all things Disney for a long time. After having 3 girls, my tolerance for sappy romance with all its song and dance is very high. One would think then that there is no problem with the girls' request to turn on a princess movie.
Tangled was the most recent. Seems like a no-brainer: a brief window of opportunity where 3 girls are entranced by Rapunzel while their Dad and I get a few stolen moments together alone. What could possibly go wrong? Somehow, in the commercial breaks that happen on real tv, (whose idea was it again to get cable and move away from Netflix? *Sigh*) Aksel and I find ourselves parked in the middle of our girls, policing a minor dispute that has broken out. When the commercial break has ended, and mutiny truced, we are trapped in a snuggle-fest on our respective couches and chairs, anchored by the weight of small children on laps. Then the song and dance start up again and we are hypnotized by Disney ourselves!
Which isn't a real problem is it? The "I have a dream" ditty is pretty catchy and Mandy Moore as a flighty teenager with crazy hair and a frying pan can be fairly entertaining. So we found ourselves enjoying the company and the show, totally unprepared for what was coming: The sappy ending.
Oh please, you may be thinking, all Disney ends this way. Yes, it does, and having seen this ending more than a handful of times, one would think we could have remembered it, excused ourselves or at least tied on the armor to deal with the emotional battle ahead. Alas, we were stuck and not ready when poor Flynn (Eugene) Rider meets an untimely end in the tower and Rapunzel is left to mourn over his dead body.Even worse, she starts to sing in her tearful voice,
"Flower gleam and glow,
Let your power shine,
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates design,
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine."
Aksel looks at me then, and I can see he is not even breathing. Dam you Disney, I curse in my mind, those words have cut us to the core. I so long for Rapunzel's healing powers and that song in this life! I smile at Aksel, that forced and tight, "I'm fine." and he breathes again. So does Eugene and they all lived to celebrate. And is that what will happen here, for us? That happily ever after might not play quite the same way in the real world when noone is magically healed and brought back to life.We all might dress up, play our roles, sing along, and put on the facade of a smile tomorrow and wonder when the happy might come. Until then, I'll be more careful about sitting down to watch you, Disney; I'll guard myself better against your love stories and fairy tale endings...I don't know that I'm quite ready to handle someone else's Happily Ever After, even if it is all just make believe.
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