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mother's day

Happy Mother’s Day!

12 May 2013 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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Happy Mother’s Day! I created this little collage of some of my favorite Disney moms. Who are your favorites? Hope all the mothers out there have a wonderful day!

Disney Moms

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Filed Under: Disney Movie News & Reviews Tagged With: disney moms, Disney mothers, Dumbo, Emperor's New Groove, Merida, mother's day, Queen Elinor, Tarzan, Tarzan's mom, Tiana, Tiana's mom

Spoiler-Free REVIEW of Disney-Pixar’s #Brave-A Role Model is Born

15 June 2012 by Suzannah Otis 4 Comments

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Since first hearing about a fiery redheaded girl who could shoot a bow and arrow, I knew I would love this movie – Brave. Last year, we were treated to a preview at the D23 Expo in Anaheim and I’ve been waiting impatiently ever since to see the full film. The anticipation has been being built up through the various trailers, promotions in and out of the parks, merchandise, and of course, the Princess Merida character meet and greets opening on both coasts. With all of this hype, I did worry that perhaps I wouldn’t love it as much as I hoped. Those fears were soon put at ease with just the opening sequence.

The color palette, the sweeping landscapes, and the music all set the stage for an epic tale. From the start, we are shown the importance of family and the strength of Merida’s family bond. That same bond later becomes conflict as Merida’s mother, Queen Elinor grooms her for her role as future queen and choosing a prince to marry. Merida, who grew up idolizing her father’s bravery and strength in battle, has other ideas about her future and her fate. As the previews tell us, Merida seeks to change her fate and be more than just a betrothed princess. The will-o-the-wisps come in to play and lead Merida to the ultimate choice. I won’t give anything away, but the results of her choice take us on an action-packed adventure.

Merida Will-o-the-Wisps
Merida meets a Wisp ©2012 Disney/Pixar

In addition to the breathtaking animation, we are treated to a rarity in a Disney film, a positive, yet still realistic mother-daughter relationship. Merida tries so hard to be her own person, in charge of her own life and make her own choices, but at the end of the day, she is still her mother’s daughter, and needs her. I loved that she still had that vulnerability and as a mother and a daughter myself, it was something I loved seeing on screen. I left the theater truly grateful for this portrayal of motherly love from Disney and Pixar. For so long, we saw evil stepmothers, no mother figure at all, or thin storylines that left us wanting more. We finally got a human, mother-daughter bond with Brave.

I would like to think the storyline, the amount of action, and gorgeous animation allows anyone to relate to Brave and Merida’s story, however my husband was not as big of a fan as I was. He did think it was beautiful, though. He actually didn’t like being emotionally manipulated by the storyline in Toy Story 3 either, so there’s that. Me, I’m a sap, and I fully own that. I cry if a kitten meows too sweetly, so of course I’m going to get emotional with the writing Pixar is famous for. That said, I don’t think Brave was too sappy, I don’t think it was manipulative with its plot, I think it was just perfect (is perfect too strong an accolade?).

Most importantly, as a mother of a tween daughter, Merida represents a strong, positive role model. She is stubborn and wants to get her way, but not in a whiny, annoying fashion, and she learns and grows from the challenges she faces. And perhaps best of all – she doesn’t settle for what’s expected of her lot in life. As parents, isn’t that what we all want for our children? To give them the comforts and tools they need to both be happy and make the best decisions they can? Disney and Pixar nailed that important lesson and I’m thrilled future generations now have Merida as a role model.

Brave bear cubs
These Bear Cubs stole the show for a bit, in a creepy, The Shining kind of way… ©2012 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

 

At the same time, Merida is a nontraditional princess, apart from her sapphire blue eyes. She has wild, unruly red hair, freckles, she hates wearing tight prissy dresses, and worrying about manners. In a time when little girls aspire to dress up in heels with full make-up and attempt perfection, Merida stands proudly for all the little girls that may look or act a little different, but are no less beautiful, inside and out. Again, I am grateful for these choices that Disney supported.

And for those with absolutely no interest in girls or princesses, there is quite a bit of action, dark and scary scenes and even violence. Brave was given a PG rating for a reason, so parents with small children be warned. I was concerned there would be too much emphasis on slap-stick humor with the clans vying for Merida’s hand and the trouble-making little triplet brothers, but it was just the right balance, especially with so many powerful action scenes mixed in.

Another wonderful part of its masterpiece was the lovely score and soundtrack. I will definitely be buying the Brave original soundtrack when it’s released on June 19. So beautiful. I whole-heartedly recommend Brave and think it is a powerful addition to the Disney-Pixar family of films. Brave opens June 22 in theaters everywhere. I cannot wait to see Brave again and know it will be my favorite for quite some time.

Disclaimer: I was provided free passes to see a screening of Brave with my family but as with all reviews, my opinions were my own and not affected.

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Filed Under: Disney Movie News & Reviews, Disney News, Movie Reviews, Movies & Books, Reviews Tagged With: Brave, Disney, disney film, Disney Pixar, Disney Pixar Brave, Disney|Pixar, family bond, fate, Merida, mother daughter relationship, mother figure, mother's day, non-traditional princess, Pixar, Pixar animation, Princess Merida, redheaded girl, will-o-the-wisps

Happy Mother’s Day from ZannaLand!

8 May 2011 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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I’m not sure I can top my post from last Mother’s Day here on ZannaLand, but I wanted to mark the occasion nonetheless, so here’s wishing all the moms reading this the Happiest of Mother’s Days! I hope you are able to spend the day basking in love and appreciation from your little (or big) ones.

I woke up to breakfast in bed and some hand-made cards and gifts from my three little loves, including my 2 year-old who managed to write ALL the letters to “Happy Mom Day” and “love Gio” on his card…they may not all be next to each other in the right order, but they’re on the paper! 😉

Later today we are heading to Epcot for our annual tradition of Mother’s Day lunch in France at Les Chefs de France with my mom – this year joined by some very dear friends who I consider family as well. I couldn’t ask for anything more!

 

Disney Mother Reunion
Here's an image I found of some Disney moms getting together! Who is your favorite Disney mom?

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

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Filed Under: Family Memories, Walt Disney World Tagged With: disney moms, Epcot, mother's day

Happy Mother’s Day from Kanga and Roo! Printable Card

6 May 2011 by Suzannah Otis Leave a Comment

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In honor of WINNIE THE POOH returning to theatres this summer (July 15th), Walt Disney Animation Studios has provided us with this adorable Kanga and Roo Mother’s Day Card Printable to share with you! Feel free to print it out for your little ones to personalize! I’m really excited about this movie because of the super cool soundtrack that will be accompanying the film!

 

Kanga Mother's Day Card
click to download the .pdf file


More about Winnie the Pooh:

Walt Disney Animation Studios returns to the Hundred Acre Wood with “Winnie the Pooh.” Featuring the timeless charm, wit and whimsy of the original featurettes, this all-new movie reunites audiences with the philosophical “bear of very little brain” and friends Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo—and last, but certainly not least, Eeyore, who has lost his tail.  “Ever have one of those days where you just can’t win, Eeyore?” asks Pooh.  Owl sends the whole gang on a wild quest to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary culprit. It turns out to be a very busy day for a bear who simply set out to find some honey. Inspired by three stories from A.A. Milne’s books in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, “Winnie the Pooh” hits theatres on July 15th!

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Filed Under: Movies & Books, Official Disney Tagged With: Disney official, Kanga and Roo, mother's day, Mother's Day card, Mother's Day printable, printable card, Walt Disney Studios, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh movie

Baby Mine…Don’t You Cry – Happy Mother’s Day

7 May 2010 by Suzannah Otis 10 Comments

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Mother and Child by Gustav Klimt

I could probably fill a million blog entries with the memories and emotions I feel about being a mother. It is, quite simply, the one thing I knew I was destined for before I was even married. Believe it or not (ok, so it’s probably pretty easy to believe if you are a frequent reader) a lot of how I knew I wanted to be a mom is tied to Disney. I would cry at Disney movies knowing I wanted to share the love I saw on screen with my own children some day. I’d watch other people’s children dance around at the end of the Festival of the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom and be a crying fool thinking of how sweet they were…hoping to someday share memories like that.

I never babysat as a child, in fact, I never even changed a diaper until my first son’s 11 years ago. It wasn’t that I had this need to ‘mother’ or that I felt I would somehow be great at it, it was more about the memories I knew would be there. I had such a wonderful childhood and I wanted to be able to give that experience to my own children. I wanted to treasure my children as much as my mom treasured me. I don’t think I’ve measured up to the bar she set, but I keep trying.

[Read more…] about Baby Mine…Don’t You Cry – Happy Mother’s Day

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Filed Under: All blogs, Commentary Land, Family Memories Tagged With: babies, babies movie, baby mine, being a mom, Dumbo, memories, mother's day, movie trailers, Tarzan, videos, you'll be in my heart

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