Today at the summer program, we showed Disney's "The Little Mermaid" to a camp full of kids for their after-lunch movie.
I assumed that most of the little kids and girls would enjoy watching it. But I didn't even think that many of them hadn't ever seen the movie.
I told them that I would most likely be reciting lines from the movie, and that I would even do a bit of a song and dance routine.
As "Part of Your World" came on, I ran to the stage, and proceeded to sing and mimic the moves from the movie. Obviously, I was trying to be really corny for the kids, but it was also just plain fun. I got a bit of applause from the kids as I took my bow when the song ended.
Then, when "Under the Sea" started playing, a coworker joined me on stage for a little bit of a dance routine. It was really quite fun and silly. The kids even put on the spotlight for us.
I'm sure the kids assumed that we'd continue to sing songs, but those were really all we had energy for. I actually got a bit of a burn on my knee when I was getting all dramatic during "Part of Your World"!!!
It still stings...but it was so worth it.
At the end of the movie, when the kids were filing out of the auditorium, one of the youngest kids came up to me. She said, "Cecilia, I never saw The Little Mermaid before, but I love it!!!"
It was perhaps the most heartwarming and best thing a little kid has said to me in a while. Some of the kids in my group thoroughly enjoyed the movie, also saying that it was the first time they saw it.
I'm hoping that I hooked some of the kids the way I got hooked when I first saw the movie. I'm hoping that I'm creating a couple of new mermaid fans for the next generation.
Straight up, I'm having some mixed feeling about this. There's a part of me that's extremely extremely excited about having so many mermaid events, movies, and books coming out in the next couple of years. Then, there's the other part that makes me nervous that mermaids won't be portrayed in the way that so many of us love them.
Then there's the issue of the bandwagon jumpers. I know there are so many folks who love mermaids the way I do. But I get nervous that people will be into the trend not because they love mermaids, but because it's the trend.
Does that make sense?
But, let me backtrack. Let me gush about all the exciting things that are happening in the mermaid world. I'm going to do it in order of the things I'm LEAST excited about (so that I can get the snark out of the way) to the things I'm MOST excited about.
Stephanie Meyer, the author of Twilight, takes on mermaids *groan* *eyes roll*
Apparently, she's been interested in writing a new novel about mermaids. But I just can't help but feel she will screw with the mythology and just fuck it all up (pardon my language).
In my opinion, she ruined vampires and werewolves, especially considering that she had not ever read Bram Stoker's Dracula. I'm not really going to be okay with her ruining mermaids. I really am not.
Well, this is actually the only thing I'm not at all looking forward to. So on to the more exciting things!
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides On the whole, I have enjoyed the Pirates movies, even though I think Orlando Bloom is a horrible actor and Keira Knightly is just too damn skinny but feel kind of ambivalent about her. Johnny Depp, though, well...he's hilarious and just seems like a really down to earth person even though he picks the wackiest roles.
But when I saw the first previews for this 4th movie and spotted the mermaids, well, I was excited all over again! Then I saw a preview of it in the theaters, and was honestly shocked to know that mermaids play such an important role in the movie!
Basically, the plot of this Pirates movie is that Jack and his comrades are looking for the Fountain of Youth, which can only be found using the help of, you guest it, mermaids!!
Well, once I realized how important they were to the plot of the movie, my desire to watch this in the theater went from 0 to 10. I might just check it one on a random weekday.
I would love to see a live action movie of Andersen's version of the story! It's obviously the better version, though I also love the Disney movie(s...though the 2nd one entitled "Return to the Sea" kind of pissed me off a bit). But to finally get a well made movie by a pretty decent director would be great!
Of course, it's up to us sirenophiles to be the ultimate judge of that movie. But I do hope it comes through and more information will come out soon!
"Mermaid" by Carolyn Turgeon
If you clicked on the link about about movie, you would have also seen that there's another movie out in the works.
This book has been on the top of my Amazon wish list for a while, and you better believe that when my finances are more in order that I'll be ordering me a bunch of books!
The "twist on the classic tale" is absolutely fascinating! I personally have always sided with the Little Mermaid's point of view. Call me biased, but I just couldn't help but feel more connected to the mermaid. So, I'd love to read another mermaid-lover's take on the other princess' point of view.
Carolyn also has an awesome blog which I've been trying to catch up on where she interviews different folks who are involved directly or indirectly with the mermaid world.
Ariel's Undersea Adventure in California Adventure
I've been looking forward to this for forEVER! I had the pleasure of going to Disneyland and California Adventure twice last year, and I definitely plan on making it there again before the year is over!
On June 3rd, the ride will open to the public. So, the next time I make it to California Adventure, I plan on hitting up Ariel's Grotto (finally...I just have never been able to make it in time), Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and resting up on King Triton's Carousel of the Sea.
Me on the dolphin back in January 2010
But here's a video of the ride from someone who got to ride the preview of it. It's not as exciting as I would have liked necessarily, though I'm not really sure what I would have wanted from it. I do think that there was a lot of potential if this ride was a water ride, though I suppose there are already a couple of water rides in California Adventure. The animation of the characters is pretty amazing, actually! I think that's the most amazing part of it.
The First Annual MerCon & World Mermaid Awards
I mean, really, how could I not be the MOST excited about this??? Even though there's no way in hell I'll be able to afford to go this year (and I need to lose a couple of lbs before I get myself a mermaid tail), it's so exciting to be keeping an eye on how this first event is transpiring.
The World Mermaid Awards and MerCon is meant to celebrate all the sirenophiles out there as well as those who help us all live in the fantasy.
Part of the event will feature a convention full of artists, vendors, mermaid camps, and mermaid tail makers.
Mermaid. Tail. Makers.
Oh, one day...one day, I will have my own tail.
Oh! AND there's a Mermaid Pool Party featuring different professional mermaids! People get to literally sit and swim around in their tails. *gush*
I wish wish wish I could go to this. It's almost as if the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island and the World Mermaid Awards bookend the summer. And it's awesome.
So, like I said in the beginning, I have some mixed feelings about all this.
There's so much potential for all us mermaid lovers to get more from our community. But I want *real* mermaid lovers (and I'm not going to define that...since I believe there are different levels of love), not posers who are getting into it because it's a trend and then move on to the next "It" thing.
But, I think the rest of us mermaids will be able to weed out those who are the real mermaids and those who are humans dressed as mermaids.
Earlier this weekend, "Back to the Future" was on tv. Feeling nostalgic, I decided it was perhaps the best thing on television at that moment. That's when the boyfriend told me that he had never seen the second in the trilogy.
Well, being that I owned the box set, we ended up watching "Back to the Future II" on Sunday night. And this morning, the boyfriend wants to watch "Back to the Future III," "to see how it ends."
But there was a nerd-moment that I hadn't realized I was part of until the boyfriend looked at me with a little shock and puzzlement. That moment was when I proceeded to sing along to the movie theme, phrase by phrase.
I'd like to chalk it up to the fact that John Williams is a brilliant composer. But let's be honest here. I'm a huge nerd...and I'm so okay with that.
