Let’s face it, if any of us had the chance, we would rewind our lives to the simpler years of our childhood. Maybe it’s the fact that when you’re a kid nothing seems impossible. Want to see China? Just dig a hole in your backyard! Ever visited outer space? Climb up that tall tree! Even if your childhood wasn’t like an episode of Seventh Heaven, there is still something inherently comforting about re exploring the delights of youth.
One way this is obvious is through the revival of Eighties and Nineties fashion, who could deny the joy of once again leaving the house in an oversized t shirt, colourful leggings and Blundstones? I have to confess that I myself recently bought floral bike shorts that are basically too indecent to wear outside, for this very reason.
However it has been through the Hollywood output of late 2009 and early this year, that our collective need to be kids again has really been exposed. The recent release of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, the first hand drawn animation by the studio in yonks, is clearly a cinematic spectacle that despite its fairy tale origins, is largely directed at a more adult audience. People who grew up with films like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, films that lack cutting edge special effects, generally find these movies all the more charming for their careful and heartfelt construction, more so than the youngsters themselves.
Likewise, Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox may appear as fodder for young minds due to their status as classic children’s literature, however their tackling of issues such as isolation and environmental destruction (not to mention their lack of animated superheroes) make them better enjoyed by an older demographic, many who enjoyed the books in their own youth. The buzz surrounding the new Toy Story 3, judging by the comments on TheVine, is mostly being generated by fans in their twenties. So why now are we so desperate to just be kids again?
I guess we need to look at when all these movies were being produced and what was going on in the world. The last couple of years have been a fairly tense time for the ol’ global community. First people got all excited about the possibility of new world leaders, such as in the U.S and Britain, which was shortly quelled by the amazing reach of the global financial crisis. Few people understood it, most people were affected by it and it appeared that the greed and prosperity of the 1990s was finally coming to a head. Just when we were getting our heads around this, Al Gore told us hey, who cares if we have no money! WE WILL ALL DIE IN A FIERY INFERO ANYWAY! Climate Change also consumed us all (some more than others....ahem, Copenhagen) and it seemed like not only would we be poor, but very very warm (or cold). It only makes sense that directors like Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson might want to distract us for a while.
But this isn’t the first time that Hollywood has tried to distract us from our problems. Looking at the films that were released in 2002, post 9/11; it is interesting to see that those who fared the best were the most escapist (or ridiculous). Top of the rank was The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Spiderman and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (it was also the year that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was released, but I count that as more traumatising than comforting).
Although I am a firm supporter of Hollywood’s various attempts to examine with current global issues, I think it’s sometimes nice to walk into a film and be certain that you will walk out maybe not any wiser, but feeling positive and comforted. And I am extra thankful that there is no My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.