I think that the Disney creators and animators have a gift plain and simple. They have the ability to blend so many characteristics and qualities into such diverse characters that it is amazing. It doesn't matter whether they are using boys, girls, old people, inanimate objects like cars, trucks, boats, or heroes or villains. And their use of animals is beyond my imagination of giving each critter such an individual and specific personality. It's no wonder that we all related to one or another of these characters.
We may have learned a huge set of our life morals from these movies. It does seem that there is always a villain, always a victim and always a set of characters in between that help to bridge the gap between the two ends of the spectrum. We laugh with them, our heart breaks for them, we cheer when the unjust get their punishment and lose and we say 'aaawww' when the perfect ending happens. We often tell our kids that there are no story tale endings in life but I certainly think that there are plenty of 'story tale' morals in life.
Disney stories do a good job of having the characters go through many trials and disappointments throughout the movie. They show longings and desires that must be worked for and that it takes persistence to achieve what we want.
Disney stories show multiple mood changes and behaviors throughout their movies also. We are taken through sadness, tears, spontaniety, anger, joy and of course, the ultimate 'story book' ending that just soothes our soul. They do also represent growing pains and changes that are a natural part of growing up in real life, even to the point of bringing death into the pictures. While there are sad parts to these movies it really does teach us about life in a truer form. The door of opportunity to share concepts and realities with our children is wide open after viewing some of these movies. Issues of sharing, patience, how to deal with anger and the trouble they can get into are often themes. These types of lessons would have to be judged by age appropriateness.
Well lets lighten up some! Who can not love the light-hearted bounciness of Tigger and round bellied Winnie the Pooh. Mickey Mouse and Pluto are the ultimate in man's best friend being a dog! The happy- go- lucky Disney characters just seem to stay in our hearts from the time we are toddlers and not even aware of the influence. Oh, wait! Influence? From who - us, the parents - oh yeah! Who are you passing on to your little ones? Do you find yourself intentionally trying to instill the Disney simplicity in your kids to mellow them out from this crazy paced, technology world we live in. We don't want to be archaic but animated simplicity can keep us grounded. And actually, the applications we can apply with technology definitely enhance the Disney experience and learning for these kids. Disney is definitely keeping up with the times and I love that fact!
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