Today marks something more special than Friday the 13th. More special then the Blake Shelton concert (which might be because I don’t have tickets), and more special than the start of the weekend. Today marks the theater release date for Beauty & The Beast in 3D.
The movie, released in November of 1991, didn’t necessarily change my life, but it did have a HUGE impact. Now, my mother felt that I was a little too young to sit still in a theater (my first big screen adventure was Aladdin. different story for a different day), however, when it came on VHS, I was hooked. I ran around my house holding a basket filled with Little Golden Books singing (or screaming) “here’s where she meets prince charming, but she won’t discover that it’s him til chapter treeeee!” Don’t judge – I didn’t understand the ‘H’ concept in words.
Beauty and the Beast also brought along a very important relationship to me – my grandma. She became just as infatuated with the characters as I did, and with a disposable income that I was missing, started to collect memorabilia. Her favorite, Mrs. Potts, filled her curio cabinet with music boxes, ceramic figures, and even a closet jewelry box with Mrs. Potts jewelry! Going to Grandma’s was the best. We’d watch the movie, then take all of the music boxes out of the cabinet and wind them up. And in that moment, I was the luckiest kid in the world.
After that magical time, my VHS found it’s way to a storage space in the basement. But I never forgot it. And once I got into college, I realized I wasn’t the only one. I can’t explain how many times we sat and watched that (along with other Disney classics) in 311 at Alpha Phi. Beauty & The Beast made every little girl feel like a princess, and taught us that good things happen to those who not only wait, but learn to love the person inside.
Sure, I’m nearly 23. I have no children to pass this movie on to, but you can bet that I will be sitting in a theater reminiscing my childhood this weekend. Because in all honesty “adults are only kids grown up, anyway.”
The Parks Department 