DISNEY DREAMS // why we’re a household of superfans

I’ve never been one for sappy love stories – give me a blood-soaked slasher film over a Rom-Com any day… and, yet, I love Disney films.

I mean, really REALLY love them.

As soon as Big Sis was born I dreamed of the moment I’d be able to sit there with her, watching movies with her. To my great excitement, that day has come. I’m thrilled to report she’s inherited my passion too; we’re now officially a family of Disney superfans.

Toy Story 2 was her first true Disney love. She was so obsessed she’d fall asleep each night with a tiny Woody figurine clutched in her hand.

When she started throwing her hat in the air and yelling ‘Yee ha!’, just like Jessie the Cowgirl, I figured it was time to try something new.

So then the obsession shifted to Finding Nemo, or ‘Fishy Man’, as she renamed it. When I heard her walking around the house saying ‘Maaaaaaate… Maaaaaaate… Maaaaaate….’, once again I realised it was time for some fresh viewing material.

Cue a very timely basket of goodies from the lovely Grace at the Walt Disney Company. They’ve teamed up with the French skincare experts Corine de Farme to create a range of hypoallergenic baby bath-time products.

The range includes baby bath and shampoos, but the girls can’t use sulfates (used in foaming products) so we were sent a lovely body lotion to try out instead. I used it on Lil Sis after her bath, and loved the way it absorbed without leaving a greasy residue. 

We also got some yummy Annabel Karmel blueberry and yoghurt biscotti biscuits (which I may have helped Big Sis eat – in the interests of research, of course!)

But, more excitingly, Grace had slipped in a copy of the original Disney classic, Cinderella, first released way back in 1950. 

Now, I wasn’t sure if Big Sis would be so enthusiastic about this film – after all, it doesn’t have the zingy one-liners, and remarkable CGI graphics of the modern cartoons she’s used to. So I was absolutely thrilled when she loved it just as much as I did.

In fact she insisted on playing ‘Silla-wella’ over and over. At night I’d even hear her lying in bed, singing all the songs.

There was just something sweetly nostalgic about her enjoying a movie that I’d also loved and watched as a kid. In fact MY mother probably watched it as a child too. That’s potentially three generations of Disney superfans!

Knowing how much we’d enjoyed the Cinderella movie, Grace had one more surprise for us – a copy of the latest Disney release, Tangled, which is a clever remake of the kids’ fairy tale, Rapunzel.

I couldn’t wait to sit down and watch it with Big Sis. She was utterly enraptured. 

I loved it too – the graphics on the blu-ray version were just incredible, the songs catchy (warning – they WILL stick in your head for days) and the story so cleverly written that it’s completely entertaining for big kids as well as little.

Halfway through Lil Sis woke up from her nap and joined us and, as you can see, she was totally transfixed too. It was a really lovely afternoon with the girls.

Of course the dvd has been watched so many times since that we all practically know it off by heart. Yet, like true and honorable Disney superfans, we still haven’t gotten sick of it (although ask me again in another month…).

• our Disney goodies were provided for review

READ: Making Dreams Come True – Disney on Ice