Sleeping Beauty: Giving Kids Weird Ideas about Death Since 1959

The recently released "Sleeping Beauty" DVD has been in heavy rotation at our house since Christmas. The movie was made in 1959, and Disney recently released it from "The Vault." Santa brought the animated flick to our home last month. I, I mean Santa, didn't want to lose his chance to purchase this movie like he did with "Beauty and the Beast." Stupid Santa.

My daughter tells the story like this: "The witch died Sleeping Beauty. Don't touch the spindle! The fairies helped Sleeping Beauty and changed her dress. After she got dead, the prince killed the dragon and kissed Sleeping Beauty and then she wasn't dead anymore."

Now, I have always pretty open with the kid when it comes to death. Two of our dogs have died in the past two years. I explained to her that Lucy and Karl were old and that their bodies didn't work right anymore. "They died," I've told her in the most straightforward way I know how. I am careful not to say things like, "We put them to sleep."

"Sleeping Beauty" seems to have knocked us into a whole other ballpark, however. The other day at dinner, my sweet little girl looked at me and said, "Mama, you didn't got dead?"

Me: "No, I didn't . . . get dead."

Her: "You're going to live forever?"

Me: "Eat your beans."

Seeing as how the movie is now 50 years old, I figure there must be at least two generations of people wandering around out there who grew up thinking that a kiss could wake someone from the eternal slumber of death. It wouldn't be the first time a Disney movie freaked someone out. To this day I cannot watch "Dumbo." It seems all at once to tap into my deep hatred for the circus, my love for my mama, and my fierce drive to protect animals. I cannot handle the scene where Dumbo is separated from his mommy and she is shackled. Shit, I'm tearing up just thinking about it! I was also a bit traumatized by the stampede scene where Mufasa is killed in "The Lion King" - and I was well into my 20's when that flick came out.

With a little luck, "Snow White" will be re-released soon, and then I get to explain why you can also die from eating fruit.

Comments

Sam said…
I hear ya.

Don't even get me started on Bambi!
January 22, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Samantha said…
I totally hear you on Dumbo. I hear "Baby Mine" and I start bawling!
January 22, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Jen said…
Also there's that whole "you have to change yourself to be with the one you love" issue. Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast...because we aren't good enough as we are, right? ha ha ha
January 24, 2009 at 7:32 AM
Poosha Kasha said…
What about my Frankadoo? Meemaw misses him, too.
January 27, 2009 at 2:10 AM
KarenE said…
Disney really freaks me out ... though I'm glad for Pocahontas and the environmental theme, Belle and her love of reading (says the librarian), and even Giselle (Enchanted) and her ability to be ANGRY. :)
January 28, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

14 Weeks

Image
My baby is leaving me in 14 weeks.  She and I started touring colleges in May of 2022. When I applied to colleges back in 1988, I was an English major so there were no auditions. Colleges basically just said, "Sounds good. Come on in." I was the first person in my immediate family to go to college and as a whole, I don't think we understood the importance of campus visits and such. I ended up being fairly miserable that first year until I transferred to a school closer to home. For my daughter, I wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to see lots of college campuses so that she had the best shot at figuring out what she wants out of the college experience. I wanted her to look at elements like campus size and location, diversity, activities, distance from home, and distance from the nearest "big city" (since performers often head to larger cities with active theatre scenes after college).  Last summer, we began the daunting process known as "getting int
Read more

On Being Patriotic

The list of adjectives I assign to myself is pretty long: clumsy, organized, competent, uptight, etc. One that might surprise you: patriotic. I fully understand what it means to be an American and am darned happy about living here. But, I have a beef (that part won't surprise you). I've grown tired of certain segments of the population thinking that they've cornered the market on patriotism or that they can dictate precisely how the rest of us express ourselves when it comes to our shared country and flag. Sometimes it seems like the Toby-Keith-boot-in-yer-ass brand of patriotism drowns out the rest of us. For the record, I don't believe that patriotism requires a love of NASCAR, a disdain for immigrants, a Republican voting record, or a preference for country music. Nor does it require adherence to a specific religion. I've seen Facebook posts from some of my friends and acquaintances that call for all of us to return to the "Christian principles on which
Read more

Three cheers for headgear!

Image
The day has finally arrived. Headgear day! I feel a bit sorry for my daughter's orthodontist. I have a feeling that most kids hate him until they see the end result of all the re-arranging and appliances  - in theory, straight teeth. We pass Dr. M's office building pretty regularly and my daughter shakes her fist at it every time. She was basically a pill during today's visit. He had to make an adjustment to her palate expander and she was not what you'd call a good sport about it. I don't think Dr. M loses a lot of sleep over the fact that my daughter dislikes him, though. Anywho . . . the kid was fitted with her new headgear and we were sent home with instructions and about a hundred million tiny rubber bands. The instructions are that she needs to wear it at least 10 hours a day, if not more like 12. We can't even get Her Highness to flush a toilet - making her wear headgear feels like a Herculean task right out of the gate. But, we shall see. Be glad you
Read more