Tangled...

My child is obsessed with the movie Tangled. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but the irony in her favorite movie being about a girl with hair so long that people can climb a tower with it, is not lost on my husband and I. It bothered me at first, but I really believed that it was the singing, the animation, the bright colors that captured her attention. My husband, however, really seems affected by this. 


It's been about two months now since she watched the movie for the first time. It is now to the point where EVERY DAY she insists on watching the movie. Obviously, she doesn't walk up to me and say "put that damn Tangled movie on NOW", but she does break through the gate at the top of the steps, walks downstairs (yes, she is now walking down the steps-- lord help me!!), grabs the portable DVD player that she watches it on and brings it to me while making a whining sound if I do not turn it on immediately. And I'm being serious with the events that I just listed above. She literally will find the DVD player everyday and make me turn it on for her. It is the only movie that she will sit and watch for more than five minutes. She literally will sit and watch 30-45 minutes of this movie, a smile on her face the entire time, never blinking or moving. It's actually a wonderful blessing to have 30-45 minutes of uninterrupted "Mommy" time. So, when my husband tried to break this habit yesterday, I was nothing short of annoyed. 


He came home from work (he had worked a 14 hour day) and so she was laying in bed watching the movie (as she does every night before bed). He got on his kick about hoping that she doesn't like the movie because of the hair and then decided he was going to try and find another movie to replace it. He went into Torie's room and scoured her DVD collection and selected two other Pixar movies that he believed would have similar colors, music, etc. Well, about five minutes into each of them she was over it and began running around the house in her normal fashion. Internally, I was smiling because he did not believe me that Tangled was the ONLY movie she would sit and watch. However, at the same time it really did make me wonder if it is good for her to watch. The premise is solely based on a fairy tale about a girl with long, beautiful hair. What impact is that going to have on her future? Is there really a reason she likes the movie so much? What is she going to think when she is older about the fact that "everyone" (exaggeration, but hey, she is a girl) around her has hair including the cartoon character in her favorite movie? I'm not really sure and I don't know whether or not Tangled is her favorite movie because of the hair. I would lean toward thinking that she has NO CLUE about that facet of the movie, but I also didn't think my kid could understand a lot of things she ends up showing me she understands. So, I guess we will wait and see if this obsession lasts and when she's older we will find out what is so fascinating about TANGLED.