A few nights ago, I discovered that the Rainbow Brite cartoons are available on InstantNetflix. My initial response was that of great excitement. But then I realized that every time I revisit the cartoons and movies I loved so much as a child I am disillusioned. I find them to be annoying and trite, and I always feel compelled to call my mother and apologize for watching them so much.
How is it that we can love something so much as children only to find that, as adults, that object of our affection is in fact loathsome?
It reminds me of reading a Roald Dahl book (or watching one of the movies based on his books). As a child, I loved his writing. I loved the characters, and I loved the stories, although I could never have told you why. As an adult, though, I revisit these stories, and I realize why my mother always thought Willy Wonka was a creepy guy. I find it fascinating that things always look different through the eyes of an adult. I find it even more fascinating that there is no way to return to the vision we had then.
I have been burned too many times before. Pippy Longstocking. Shera Princess of Power. They have all proved to be less than the amazing entertainment I thought they were. So while I am enthusiastic that Rainbow Brite is available to me, I am inclined to do what I haven't done and leave her memory in tact. To destroy one of the last bastions of childhood memory would almost be like emotional masochism. I don't think I'm ready for that.
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We attempted to view it. You'd be surprised how much of Rainbow Brite memories I got confused with The Last Unicorn.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I enjoyed starting at the beginning of your blog and ending up here, at Rainbow-Not-So Bright. It is true that some things we adored as children become less than wonderful as we grow older. This is often a good lesson, but in some cases not a welcomed lesson. I think it is important for some childhood wonders to remain just that. Wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Jonathan and I were watching some old Legend of Zelda cartoons from the early nineties, and I was shocked at how horrendous it really is. So much so, in fact, that he and I are creating our own, much better Zelda cartoon. On the other side, I recently purchased a DVD set of the original TMNT series, and it was just as amazing as I remember.
ReplyDeleteI love the title of this entry, by the way.
ReplyDelete