In the mad dash of December to find the latest and greatest gifts for your kids for the holidays, you may be overlooking a great source of inspiration for gift giving for all ages: the past. And specifically, classic movie musicals that the whole family can enjoy together.
My daughter came home from a friend’s house one rainy day having seen “Mary Poppins” and trying to sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” but as she has only seen part of the number and only
once, she was having a hard time remembering all the pieces of the very silly word. When I piped in with the “correction” (though very off tune and the sound of it was quite atrocious for multiple
reasons!), she was stunned that I knew it, and I stunned myself with how many words from the song I still knew! I realized I’d really missed out on some fun family viewing with the kids by not
having some of these classic movies around!
Singing, dancing and having fun
While the phrase, “They just don’t make them like they used to,” is rather cliche, there’s an element of truth. Family movie musicals are not seen as money making ventures by film studios anymore.
Oh, there are movies with music, but they aren’t quite the same. I’m talking about musicals like “The Sound of Music” and “The Music Man” – movies with music and lyrics that are so familiar it’s
like you were born knowing them.
I remember watching some of these movies on television (before VCRs or DVDs!) with my friends. Afterward, we would sing the songs and dance for days afterward. I’m sure some of us tried theater
because of the early inspiration of these musicals. Okay, some of the emotion feels a little forced and cheesy for modern sensibilities, but that’s okay. That sweetness and innocence and optimism
are why I want both my sons and daughter to be exposed to these wonderful old movie musicals.
Transcending generations
Just like you when you were young, your kids would love these movies. And since they truly are movies multiple generations can sit down and watch together without risking embarrassment over
inappropriate scenes or languages, they are great for family movie night. All you need is some popcorn. I bet you’ll be humming the tunes for days to come.
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