what I want from you is....your voice

Girls always want hair they can't have right?
I've tried a variety.  But if I could choose, mine would either be dark-brown thick curls, or....an orangey-golden Autumn-leaf red.  Mmm. 

Because then I could have lived with Daddy Warbucks and had a special locket.  Or maybe I could have an amazing Scottish accent and ride horseback like Merida.  Or...I could live my 8th-grade dream life and be Ariel!---with the most impossible-possible shade of red hair ever.

I'm going somewhere with this.

Basically, when I was 13, I lived and breathed The Little Mermaid.  It had just come out in theaters. I saw it multiple times, I owned the soundtrack, I loved the music.  And when it came out on DVD my cousin Rachael and I memorized it.  We spent two weeks at her grandparent's lake house that summer watching the movie every single day---quoting and singing along.
I can still quote it today.
Maybe you can too?!
Eek.

So.
When Disney emailed asking if I'd like to review their latest DVD release of The Little Mermaid, it was an easy yes! (the re-release comes out October 1st and is the first time on Blu-ray with HD)

The criteria for my review were to watch the movie with my daughter Lucy and then ask what messages she took from the film. 

So I decided to do the same for myself, from an adult perspective.  Because compared to my 13-year-old self, I definitely have new vision on how to follow your dreams.  And I was curious to see what would jump out at me this time around and what would jump out at Lucy....other than amazing flowing hair.

Sorry. I keep talking about that hair.  But in the water, it never stops moving!  It's just beautiful!  Amazing animation.
And that first time you see Ariel swim into screen, you just have to smile.
I felt like a kid again.

So for our special screening we invited over our good friends Savannah and Virginia.

And they invited over stuffed Ursula and Ariel.  Dude, is that the best stuffed villian or what?  The lips, the mole, the hair!  We're back to the hair again.

They'd all seen the movie before but it had been a while so they soaked it in, feeling tense at the tense parts,

and laughing at the silly ones.

And after a couple hours of lively music and colorful story-telling, we had a funny conversation.

I asked the kids, "so....what is something we can learn from The Little Mermaid....like a lesson?"

[Blank stares]

[Take it down a notch]

"Savannah? (6) What was your favorite part?"
"Oh, I loved her pink dress.  It's just so pretty."
[Totally agree. Love the puffy sleeves]

"I love the pink dress too!" chimed in Virginia (3), "and that silly seagull"
[Yep.  Scuttle is the best.  Thank you Buddy Hacket for giving us a lifetime of "that" voice]

"Owen? (5) what was your favorite part?"
"When they killed Ursula! They stabbed her with the ship!  Can you believe it??"
[boy, boy, boy]
"And Mom? You know? I bet Mace Windu could probably just swipe her with a light saber."
[had to pull Star Wars into it] 
"Yep. I bet he could.  I bet any Jedi could beat Ursula."

And then came Lucy (7) with her golden-child moment.
I promise, I can't make this stuff up.  Her innocent demeanor is something I love best about her.

After thinking for a while she looked at me with those little girl eyes, "Well.  I think that what we can learn is that we should probably obey our parents because they know about dangers that kids don't know about.  If Ariel listened to her dad she probably wouldn't have gotten in so much trouble."
[my heart is melting.  Please remember this moment when you're a teenager]

"You're right. That's a great point Lucy.  And you know what else I was thinking?  Maybe Ariel's dad could have listened to her a little more too.  Maybe if he understood that she wanted to do something different they could have figured out a better way to make it work."
"Yea.  That's true.  I think it's important for parents to understand how their kids feel." 
"Yep.  That's right.  So you can always talk to me about anything, okay?"
"Okay."

And I suddenly realized that in the middle of a simple kids' movie there really is a good parenting message.  It's not about who lays down the rules or about getting your way....it's about understanding each other.  And if Ariel and Triton could have come to an agreement and compromised a bit, Ariel could have spent a year swimming by Eric's castle each week, casually dating, dinner dates on the sand, traveling abroad to the check out the Pacific ocean, gaining her own life experience, and then her father wouldn't have been reduced to a wimpy Ursula weed. 

We have to give our kids an inch and help them explore paths that are likely different that what we love.  I love to sew.  She might love math and science.  Or she might take up fencing.  Who knows?  And in return, our kids should respect our life experience, take our advice, and then learn to find their own voice.

Whoa. Who knew The Little Mermaid could get so deep?
I told you I loved that movie.

And, I'm done.
Now it's your turn.
If it's been a while since you've seen it, I highly recommend picking it up! (details HERE)
Christmas gift for the kids' stockings?? 

And if you're up for a little giveaway, how about:
• $50 Visa Gift Card,
• Little Mermaid Diamond Edition DVD

Just leave a comment below and share how you help your children to follow their dreams. 

Ah, ah, aah.
Ah, ah, aaaaaaah.