Stranger Danger, Disney-style

I finally pieced two vital elements of Disney's Beauty and the Beast together. 

I used to think it was a story of a young man who was turned into a beast because he was rude and inconsiderate. He had to be saved by learning to love and earn someone's love in return. The end.

While listening to the song Be Our Guest, I realized I had missed an important part of the story. 

"Ten years we've been rusting/ Needing so much more than dusting."

So they had been enchanted objects for 10 years. Ok. That's fine. The Beast should be mid-twenties to about 30. 

But no! The Beast had to learn to love and earn someone's love before the last rose petal fell in his 21st year. 

The Beast was only 21! If they had been enchanted for 10 years, he was 11 when the enchantress came and tricked him.

How unfair! What 11-year-old would know love and let some strange woman into his home!

STRANGER DANGER!! I wouldn't want Aubrey opening the door to some strange old person wanting to come inside and giving her a flower as payment! Even if the person was a beautiful enchantress, I wouldn't want Aubrey letting her inside!

The motives of the enchantress are questionable, at best. She went to the castle, knowing full well it was inhabited by a spoiled prince without supervision from his parents. Her scheme to deceive him was premeditated.

Now I see the story as a boy who was punished for doing the right thing. Sure, he could have gone about rejecting the enchantress a better way, but what boy do you know is polite and professional in the art of rejection?

And furthermore, the poor kid had to go through puberty as a beast! No wonder his room was such a mess!

My rant against Prince Charming

    I recently did a post about Gaston and how he's really not such a terrible guy. 

    Now, I would like to share my thoughts on Cinderella's Prince Charming. 

    In most Disney movies, there are great heroic acts of love. Prince Philip goes up against Maleficent to save Aurora. Prince Eric has to fight Ursula to save Ariel. Flynn Rider escapes from jail (with help) and cuts Rapunzel's hair to save her. Aladdin tricks Jafar into defeating himself to save Jasmine. 

    These are just a few examples of the heroic acts guys went though to get to the women they love.

    Sure, Cinderella wasn't about to die like the other Princesses were, but she needed to be saved from her step-mother and step-sisters. 

    What is Prince Charming's big heroic act? Nothing! 

    The King wants his son to find someone to marry. So HE throws a ball where all the girls are required to come. Prince Charming was even being a jerk and YAWNED during the ball! But then he sees Cinderella, falls in love with her beauty (because he really knows nothing else about her. Not even her name!) and they have a nice dance. They spend maybe a few hours together. Cinderella takes off because of curfew and he chases after her for a little bit. 

    But it's the Duke who tries to close the gates. The Duke sends the guys on horses to get the carriage. 

    Prince Charming said he would marry the girl who fits the glass slipper Cinderella left behind. The Duke was right; that shoe could fit any number of girls!

    And it was THE DUKE who went out to find Cinderella! He had to go to EVERY house to try the slipper on EVERY girl. The poor Duke had to stay up all night and deal with girls who would do anything to fit in the shoe. Luckily Cinderella gets out of her locked room and the movie ends happy. The Duke takes her to the palace and Cinderella marries her prince.

    The Prince should have gone after Cinderella himself!!!!

    He should have gotten on his horse and chased the carriage. He should have searched through the night for Cinderella! He knew what Cinderella looked like! Prince Charming would have arrived at the door of each house. If the girl was blonde, he could try the shoe on. But if he showed up and the girl had brown, red or black hair, that girl was CLEARLY not Cinderella and there would be no point in trying the shoe on. 

    Prince Philip fought a dragon to get to his Princess. Prince Eric fought a giant octopus lady. Flynn Rider had to escape an execution to rescue his princess. Aladdin went up against a powerful sorcerer who turned himself into a giant snake. 

    They proved their love by showing it. What does Prince Charming do? He sends the Duke out to find the girl he didn't even know. 

I'd pick Gaston

    Aubrey is all about Disney movies. We watch the same ones over and over. 

    Which is fine! But I get annoyed with some of them after a while. I've done a previous post about how I've found valid reasons to dislike the other movies. 

    But today, while watching Beauty and the Beast (for probably the hundredth time), I had a new thought. 

    Belle can have the beast and get more than the provincial life. That's fine. It's great she had her standards so high and wouldn't even consider settling. And it's awesome she learned to love the beast and change him for the better as well. 

    The new thought I had was that Gaston really isn't TOO terrible of a person. Sure, he's conceited  and can be mean and has no tolerance for what he doesn't understand. But he has some great qualities too! He'd be a great catch for other girls who are happy with their lives in that town! They don't think they are settling and they could have a happy life with Gaston, and vice versa. 

    I have several points that fit my thought. 

   1. Gaston is handsome. He's got the dark hair, blue eyes and rippling muscles. I'm not a fan of hair all over, but some girls are cool with that. He takes care of his body and eats a decent diet to keep him fit (4 dozen eggs or something as a kid and 5,000 eggs as an adult. Pretty impressive).

    2. Gaston had self-confidence. He knew he was a catch! He thought for sure that Belle would be interested in him. He was confident he could win her over. Never had a second thought (up until she  thoroughly embarrassed him by making him fall in mud). 

    3. Gaston is a family man. He wants kids! He said he wanted 6 or 7 boys. That's awesome! He would play with them and teach them what they need to be a man. Not everyone is lucky and can plan what kids they have, but I'm sure if he has 4 sons, he'll be OK with a daughter too. Girls can shoot and hunt too!

    4. Gaston is a good provider. Did you see all those antlers on the wall of the tavern? He didn't miss a shot in the beginning of the movie. He's the best hunter around! He can easily provide for his wife and future family! Plus, they would have plenty of decorations around the house.

    5. Gaston is hard-working and clever. Once he set his mind to trying to get Belle, he went all out! Tried to impress her with his hunting skills. He put thought into their future. Even had the wedding arranged as a surprise! And when those attempts didn't work, he thought of another way. Sure, it wasn't the best idea to blackmail her, but he knew what he wanted! And I don't really care about Maurice anyhow, so he can go to the loony bin. 

     6. Gaston is a leader. Everyone in the tavern loves him. Even when he beats them up! They follow with the plan that Maurice is crazy. And when Gaston finds out about the beast, he riles up the community to take action. Again, it's not the best plan, but he's a hunter! He sees an animal he doesn't understand and his instincts kick in.

     All I'm saying, is Gaston can be a lot more than just the villain! Almost every girls dream is a confident, handsome man who is a good provider and wants a family. Gaston fits that! He had some flaws, but with love, he could learn to change (like the beast did)!

Movies aren't the same

Ever since becoming a Mom and adjusting to the role, I have a completely different experience watching movies than I did before. 

I'm not saying things are better or worse now, just different. 

For example, Aubrey wants to watch movies all the time. Especially if they have animals and lots of songs. So pretty much, we watch Disney all day, every day. 

Which is fine! I enjoy most of the movies, even though I can complain about pretty much every one :) Jared gets annoyed (I think) when I always trash talk movies. But that's for another post when I want to play devil's advocate. 

We are watching Tarzan right now while waiting for Jared to come home. This movie never really got any sort of emotion from me before. 

But when the baby ape gets eaten by the leopard (or whatever that large cat it) I feel so sad for the Mom and Dad! And then hearing baby Tarzan crying makes my heart break!

Now I care SO MUCH when a baby is involved in a movie! People say you develop a stronger sense of empathy when you read a lot. But my empathy-side has grown so much having Aubrey!

Hearing her cry makes me want to do everything I can to help (unless it's been happening all day and she's just in a cranky mood). So when I hear anything like that in a movie, I feel so sad!

And I greatly dislike parts in movies where parents lose their child. How awful! I can't imagine how that is, and I'd rather not try.

I need to start watching movies that have nothing to do with children. Maybe I'll watch Gladiator when Aubrey is asleep and just skip the part about Maximus's family. Or I'll watch something a little more family friendly like Charade or To Catch A Thief. 

Now, my rant is over.