Learning from the Movies, 101

The other day Jackson said to me (out of the blue, or so I thought) "Mom, I know how to make a bomb out of a coconut." Immediately I think - Oh, great. Now I'm raising the unabomber or something. There are always signs, you know! He keeps going - "First, you take a coconut. Then you make a hole in it, fill that with this powder, put a string in it, and light it! It's a bomb!"

Hmmm. Casually, I say to him "So, where did you learn that?" "Oh, from Swiss Family Robinson. Also, I learned that if you're being attacked by pirates, you can pile up a bunch of logs on a hill, and tie a string to them, and when the pirates are under it you pull the string and all the logs fall on them!"

Wow. The art of war, courtesy of Disney. The funny thing is, after giving it some thought I decided that this is pretty great. First of all, Swiss Family Robinson was one of my top 5 movies as a kid. Come to think of it, I'd say it still rates in the top 10. And quite frankly, I've heard some of the things my kids have picked up from the latest and greatest animated films - and it's NOT pretty. (Don't even get me started on Shrek III.)

So, yes, occasionally my kids have learned some un-PC things from the older Disney movies. Yes, Aidan runs around in public singing "Who made the red man red," accompanied by a very convincing war whoop (Peter Pan, thank you) and Jackson is practicing his pirate warfare and bomb making. But you know what? At the beginning of Swiss Family Robinson, when the whole family (and the dogs) make it to the beach safely they all kneel in the sand while mom leads them in a family prayer of thanks for still being alive. I like that. Can anyone remind me where that happens in Shrek or Ratatouille?

So for now, I think we'll be going back to the oldies but goodies for a while. Bring on Herbie the Lovebug, Mary Poppins, and the Parent Trap (the one with Hayley Mills, NOT the one with Lindsay Lohan!). Let the imaginations run, let the creativity (and coconut bombs) flow, and hopefully if you see us in public, you won't mind the singing and the swordfighting!

The only downside - Shawn's got a LOT of work to do on their new treehouse!