If there’s one thing that amazes me about children, it is how they can watch the same thing over and over and over again; it’s fascinating. Not only do they watch the same show or movie consecutively, but they’re amazed every time the main character is on the screen. During the movie Cars, every other second I hear “Look! It’s Lightning McQueen!” with that childlike sense of wonder. I would guess that ‘Lightning’, who, by the way, is a car, would be heavily featured in a movie called Cars. I doubt our pal Mr. McQueen would have an Alfred Hitchcock-like cameo.
Funny thing about the movie Cars and Finding Nemo is that I have never actually seen them. It’s true. I have never seen those movies, but I’ve heard them; I’ve heard them for years. You see, we have one of those minivans with the TV screen in the back. You know those minivans right? They’re the mode of transportation that all the singles guys are all dying to drive. You know, the minivan that has more Cheerios on the floorboards then General Mills does in their factory. Yeah, that one.
I kid you not, Cars and Finding Nemo are the only movies my kids like to watch while sitting in the back of that Cheerio filled wagon. I’m surprised Matar isn’t burned onto the screen. I can recite Cars like it’s Shakespeare, literally…
“Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. Alack I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Me thinks thy should have had breakfast? Nay, focus. Speed. Faster than fast, quicker than quick. I am Lightning!”
The thing about Cars, generally speaking, is that it’s a feel good movie. I have to be honest, the first time I heard Finding Nemo I almost had to pull over [because of all the tears in my eyes]. From what I can gather, it’s the story of a mum and dad fish who are expecting a child, and as soon as they have their baby fish, something bad happens to the mum. I don’t know what happens to her, but it doesn’t sound good. Nemo’s dad is left to fend for himself and raise his son, and in doing so, is a little over protective.
It’s amazing, as I find myself driving through the streets of Halton listening to this movie, I realize how much I relate to this Pappa fish named Marlin. Can you believe that? I can totally see (scratch that), hear where this proud protective dad is coming from. Things like, “hold my fin”, “don’t talk to strangers”, “nothing is safe”, these are all things that as a dad, you have to pass on to your Nemo, I mean children.
As in most of these movies, they are littered with moral lessons. The one thing I learned from Finding Nemo, the more you try to keep them close, the more you push them away. I’ll be the first to admit, I tend to be a little over-protective. Can you believe this? All these deep thoughts are going through my head as I’m supposed to be enjoying a Sunday morning drive with my family. I better stop now, otherwise, I’ll have to seek the advice of a professional. Can you imagine if I actually saw these movies rather than just’ve heard them.
Maybe on the weekend I’ll have to go back to the way the drives were when we were all kids. Remember those days when all you’d have is an ’83 Woody Station Wagon topped up with leaded fuel and a game of eye-spy going on in the back?
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