Davy Crockett

In anticipation of a trip to Disney World later this summer, I pulled out a few Disney classic movies to watch with my kids in hopes they see details recognizable from the movies in the theme parks.   Like the references to the movie throughout the Swiss Family Treehouse, or movie details on Tom Sawyer Island.  The movie we watched most recently was Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, where the kids were introduced to not only Davy Crockett and his trusty sidekick, George Russell, but Mike Fink and the fleet of Keel boats such as the Bertha Mae and Gullywhumper.  Alas, the Keel Boats no longer ply the Rivers of American in Liberty Square or Frontierland, but there is certainly relics of this movie in the Magic Kingdom such as the River Pirate encampment, and the Keel Boat landing.

But while my real purpose of the movie was educational, my kids found it more than enjoyable.  In fact, they've watched the movie several times since.  Which got me to thinking - is Davy Crockett and movies of that genre and period still relevant in 2012?  I believe so.  Even without the special effects and great fight scenes of our modern movies, the Davy Crockett series has a wholesome appeal to all ages.  It's an enjoyable film filled with suspense, interesting characters, humor, drama, and a few classic fight scenes.  At one point near the end of The River Pirates, as Davy and his crew beat the River Pirates (who were not the Indians that they were thought to be), my 9 year old son jumped up, threw his arms in the air and yelled "OWNED!"  I think my husband and I about wet our pants laughing over that.  But it does show me that Davy Crockett "owns" it more than 50 years later, and is still relevant in 2012.  

We were also wondering about the Lyrics, so I've pulled them for you to enjoy.   You can thank me later for having those lyrics in your head all day today.  :)

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, 

Greenest state in the land of the free. 

Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree, 

Killed him a bear when he was only three. 

Davy, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier. 

He fought single handed through the Injun war, 

Till the Creeks was whipped and peace was restored. 

And while he was handling this risky chore, 

Made himself a legend, forevermore. 

Davy, Davy Crockett the man who don't know fear. 

When he lost his love, and his grief was gall, 

In his heart he wanted to leave it all, 

And lose himself in the forest tall, 

But he answered instead, his country's call. 

Davy, Davy Crockett, the choice of the whole frontier 

He went off to Congress and served a spell 

Fixin' up the government and laws as well. 

Took over Washington, so we hear tell, 

And patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell. 

Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear. (Serving his country well) 

When he come home, his politickin' done, 

The western march had just begun. 

So he packed his gear, and his trusty gun 

And lit out a grinnin' to follow the sun. 

Davy, Davy Crockett, Leadin the Pioneers. 

His land is biggest, and his land is best 

From grassy plains to the mountain crest 

He's ahead of us all in meeting the test 

Followin' his legend right into the West 

Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wide Frontier 

King of the Wild Frontier. 

Tron

Welcome to those of you joining me from Mommy Mouseketeer and those of you just hopping aboard.  I am the 2nd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

This month, we ask a question:  If you could jump into any Disney movie (animated or live action) and experience it as if it were “real life”, which movie would you choose and why?

If I could jump in a Disney movie to experience it as “real life”, it would have be TRON.  The original TRON, released in 1982, not TRON Legacy (although, that was pretty cool too).  Why?  Just the concept of what TRON represented in the early 80’s is amazing.  Computers and computer interactions were on the cusp of a grand explosion into our lifes.  The idea that the computers (the Master Control Program or MCP) could have thoughts for themselves that was, sometimes, not in the best interest of the “users” is certainly stuff of pre-teen nightmares.  While the acting was not Academy Award caliber, the scenes, backgrounds, and visual effects in the film were something we hadn’t seen before.  And then there is my favorite character, “Bit”, who only answers in “yes” or “no”...get it?  Bit?  1s and 0s?  Binary?  :)  Yes, that is geek humor.

As a technology girl and a former programmer (back when FORTRAN ruled the world), I think the idea of stepping inside a program of your own creation is way cool.  It’s easy to imagine your program could interact with other programs, just the same way people interact is stuff of science fiction.

And the costuming.  We can’t forget about the costuming with the light effects.  I keep saying one day I’ll create that costume for Halloween.  Although, I don’t think my body is quite like Yori’s.

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is The Disney Point.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make astop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ Mommy Mouseketeer
2nd Stop ~ The Magical Mouse Pad
3rd Stop ~ The Disney Point
4th Stop ~ The Disney Chick
Final Stop ~ Mandas Disney Blog