Sage's thoughts on Disney

Princess Underwear:
When we were potty training Sage, I bought a nice, inspiring pack of Disney princess underwear. One day I asked Sage if she wanted to wear the “Belle undies” (from Beauty and the Beast), and she shook her head and said, “I want Beast undies.” Can you imagine if Disney marketed a package of “Disney Villains” underwear? “Which undies would you like today, Sage? The ones with Ursula, Hades, Maleficent, Stromboli, or Jafar?”

Sequels:
Anyone that’s been disappointed by the pathetic sequel to The Land Before Time (and The Land Before Time 3, 4, 5,...,13), or the second and third Aladdin and Cinderella movies learns quickly that movies that are released directly to DVD/VHS are bound to be a cheap thrill--minus the thrill. Mark and I loved The Emperor’s New Groove, and were very pleasantly surprised with Kronk's New Groove when Becca bought it for us. (When I was up late nursing newborn Eliza, Becca and Mark would entertain me by performing the “Earth, Wind & Fire” dance from the movie.) One day when we were low on children’s movies (probably at the point in time when we had so many fines from turning in Dora movies late to the library that Mark forbade me from checking out any more), Mark let Sage watch Kronk’s New Groove. She liked it as much as her parents, because for about the next three weeks, Sage repeatedly requested a showing of Cramp’s New Groove.

Lost in Translation:
I have wasted a lot of money on toys that seem like sure successes, but fail to entertain. Most notably, the activity cube that collects dust in our living room. On the other hand, you never know when the eighty-eight cent purchase from musicdownloads.walmart.com will entertain for hours. Example: “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.” I am pretty sure Sage listened to that one song for two entire hours a day during the first month after I bought it. She sang with it, she danced to it, she talked about it. She’s dressing up like a fairy godmother for Halloween this year. It was a good eighty-eight cents. One time we were singing a capella and I drifted off before the whole song was sung (apparently a cardinal sin). Sage quickly rebuked me, saying, “You forgot ‘does the job’ mommy” [“the thingamabob that does the job is…”]. Later I overheard Sage singing “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” to herself in the bedroom. When she got to the line “Leave the sewing to the women” she sang, “Leave the sewing to the ribbit, You go get some trimming!” And then she paused to make an aside, no doubt with actions. “They will trim, trim, trim their nails.”

Grammar lesson:
Sage always wants me to watch movies with her. I have watched way too much Dora to be able to sit still for more than a minute or two during la exploradora’s hunt for the missing Easter Egg. But thankfully, Walt Disney must have had children of his own, and took pity on parents, setting a precedent in requiring that all his movies be geared for adults and children in their storyline, humor, and general appeal. Translation: parents won’t want to poke out their eyes after hearing a Disney movie again and again. Earlier this week, Sage wanted to watch Sleeping Beauty, who she used to call "Sleeping Goodee." I watched with her for a while, and then left the room for something. Apparently, while I was gone, critically important things happened [all of which I could quote verbatim, unbeknownst to Sage], and Sage was anxious to inform me about the new twist in the plot. “Maleficent put Sleeping Beauty in bed with a blankie, and she dead her… no, she got dead.”
Good thing she had her blankie.

Quotable Quotes:
After watching Monster’s Inc. two times, Sage told me that her favorite line was “This office is closed.” I wasn’t sure it was a true quote, but she insisted. Sage repeated the line in a scratchy-sounding voice, which led me to guess the source of the quote was Roz (think, “heh, heh, heh”). The quote surfaces when Roz refuses to listen to Mike’s excuses about not having turned in his paperwork, and she brings the window shut on his fingers with that timeless phrase, "This office is closed." Who would have guessed? Maybe only other girls that want to wear Beast undies.