Disney Remakes

This week I noticed a flurry of posts on Facebook about the new Mary Poppins movie being filmed and set to come out on Christmas Day in 2018.  I clicked on the link because initially, I was intrigued to see what the 'first look' picture was.  Anticlimactically, it was just a shot of Emily Blunt (who is playing the practically perfect nanny in the new film) with a sapphire blue coat and mauve hat standing outside of a London-esque house.

After reading a few of the thousands of comments, I noticed that most people were mad that Disney was remaking the classic.  Some of them were really over-the-top with their angst, too.  I say this mainly because the new movie is not a remake but a sequel to the original.  Most of the discussion did not reflect this fact because with the current style of reactive commentary to the news, most people tried to be the first, most witty, to make their remark on the headline.  With Twitter, Facebook, and even blogs, everyone can have a voice and some of us who post on-line can often make a mountain out of a molehill.

I remember when Disney remade The Parent Trap (starring Lindsay Lohan) when I was a pre-teen.  And since I didn't have much to worry about then, I was one of those people who was annoyed at the fact that Disney thought they needed to re-vamp the classic starring the angelic Hayley Mills.  I was also much more judgmental then so I put any of my friends who didn't know or appreciate the original as much as I did in another sub-level of film literacy.  I didn't realise then that I could actually like both and that would be all right.

Looking at all of these comments about whether or not a movie should be remade--most recently Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, and Cinderella--it seems like such a waste of time.  I think this especially since I was trying to find a family-friendly movie for Jackson on Netflix today and here are two of the movie synopses I read:

• "Assistant DA and single mom Jackie's plans to wrap up a big case and enjoy Christmas with her daughter are disrupted when her estranged dad visits."

• "Young siblings learn about country life and surviving Nazi occupation when World War II breaks out while they're visiting grandparents in Normandy."

With plots like these, a Disney classic or even a remake would have been a welcome sight today.

The fact of the matter is, these movies are going to get made no matter how many more thousands of comments are written about whether or not they should be.  The Mary Poppins sequel still has another 21 months until its release and it is already a "trending topic" on Facebook.  Are people going to continue to complain about it for another two years?  I hope that something more important comes along to discuss.

And when was the last time Disney made anything that wasn't perfectly magical?  Never.  

Lastly, I would just like to say 'thank you' to all of my friends this week at work.  After last week's post, which surprisingly has over 200 views (thank you to everyone who read about our adventures), a few of my close friends at school have been really supportive and caring by checking up on me.  The song Lean on Me comes to mind.  I think we all need true friends to be there with us through the good and the bad, and I just wanted to note how thankful I am to have you all.

Playing outside in the wonderfully sunny and mild weather--no hat needed today!

Hiding and running around his climbing frame

Exploring and touching different leaves around the yard

Enjoying a night out at the new Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Southport

 

We chanced it and made it through most of the meal without a meltdown.  Jackson polished off a banana, a package of raspberries, a quarter of a cucumber, three slices of ham, and some milk before we reached the inevitable.

Taxi, please!

Developmental updates:  Jackson turned 17-months-old today!  Lee had to leave for a couple of hours today to go back to his hometown and Jackson got upset before he went out the door and said, "Daddy," twice for the first time ever.  Usually, we get a Da or Dada, but it was very pronounced today.  He knows what sound a sheep makes by heart now without any reminding and he also can point to his nose when asked to do so.  Jackson has memorised where the bananas, jelly (Jell-O), chocolate chip brioche rolls, and yogurt are stored and will stand near them, point, and make a noise to get our attention to tell us if that's what he wants for a snack.  At nursery this week, his teachers said that he was pushing a pram (stroller) with a dinosaur in it, stopped to do a dance, and then carried on pushing.  I do dance a lot at home with him and I wish I could have seen the dance moves he made-up at nursery.  At home this week during one of our dance sessions, his new move was balancing on his right leg while his left leg stuck out at a 90 degree angle to the side.  He's such a cool baby!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.