26.Sep.2009 Disney Literature Challenge
Sarah Miller started Disney Literature Challenge last year and I’d been waiting for a chance to jump in! This time it will be official, for I just finished A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. (Surely you knew it was made into a Disney movie?!)
I love love love Disney cartoons, though mostly the old ones than the new ones. My favorite is probably still Cinderella, because it’s just so happy, with the singing mice, funny fat cat, and pumpkin carriage (What’s not to love?). I still watch it once in a while as an adult. It’s my happy movie. It’s where I go when I want to be in the happy state. That’s the good thing about Disney movies. You know they’re gonna be safe. You know everyone is gonna be happy at the end.
Not to say that my relationship with Disney has been all flowery.
The first time I felt betrayed, was when I watched The Little Mermaid. I read the original story by Christian Hans Andersen as a kid and watched another cartoon based on the story that stayed true to the original, and remember forever that it is one of the saddest story in fairy tale history. Disney ripped it and reconstructed it to become this cheap happy meaningless cartoony flick. I couldn’t believe my eyes! What a sin! That’s the bad thing about Disney movies. You know they’re gonna be safe. You know everyone is gonna be happy at the end.
We have our highs and lows, but it’s hard to argue that I grew up with Disney and it has enormous effect on me. I fell in love with a lot of its movies and shorts before I could even talk. Mom said I’d often walk, all chubby and wobbly, to turn on Disney cartoon videos, sit tight and laugh all the way through, ignoring everybody who visited our house. I was about 2.
I grew up reading Donald Duck comic who came into our house every week. Tuesday was my favorite day because that was its delivery day. My parents subscribed to the weekly comic after they saw me reading it intensely at some relatives’ house like my life depended on it. I believe we have at least 10 years worth of Donald Duck weekly comics collection so far (my parents finally stopped it after my brothers and I left the country for about a year or two).
The challenge is perpetual and laid back, so I’m not rushing to get to the “finish line” (if there’s any) nor do I have specific goals. I’d just love to keep track of any Disneyfied books that I read here. Sarah has a great list on her site, some of which I’ve never heard of, surprisingly (and I thought I was Disney’s biggest fan). She has read 8 books so far (check out her DLC series) and keeps track of the scores of Disney vs the authors.
Are you a fan of Disney? Which one is your favorite movie?
mee 
