On a lark, I started watching bits of Labyrinth today. That is a hot, glittery pot of crazy.
My generation of girls got to jumpstart puberty with David Bowie and his err package. What do kids today get? The Jonas Brothers?
And Labyrinth wasn't the only ode to the crazy and dark. We had: The Last Unicorn, Beetlejuice, Gremlins, The Secret of Nimh, The Black Cauldron, Ferngully, Rock-A-Doodle, Power rangers, He-man and She-ra, Smurfs, The Brave Little Toaster, Thumbelina, Pee-Wees Playhouse and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Anastasia didn't have to many dark moments, but the very idea of a kids movies based on the Russian revolution is a bit sketchy. Those are just off the top of my head, I'm sure there is plenty more. Supposedly sweet things like Care Bears and My Little Pony were clearly the result of a bad acid trip. Even PBS's Sesame Street had its moments (trashland, anyone?) Nothing was safe.
The world has become so drab, safe and Disneyfied. Even with pop starlets. We grew up with the hot imploding mess of Brittney. Miley's trying, bless her heart, but the girl just doesn't have the crazy in her.
Looking back, its hard to believe the dark and terrifying things my parents let or even encouraged me to watch. And my parents were the type who forbid Clarissa Explains it All and other Nickelodeon fare for fear of it giving me an attitude problem. Who cares if I can't sleep at night, so long as I don't talk back?
Really, I'm glad that I got to delve into some of the freaky things in life. We like to think of childhood as sweetness and light, but we forget that kids are naturally a little dark and gruesome. Sure, sometimes I played nice sweet games of house with my barbies, but just as often I came up with crazy stories of despots beheading other dolls, magical monsters alternating between viciously attacking the barbie dream boat and feeling sad because being called monsters hurt their feelings, or my little ponies caught up in loveless marriages. I don't think I'm alone in that. The world is terrifying and big and unknown for us as kids. It can be a little hard to deal with. I'm glad I had entertainment that let me explore the darkness with the hero/heroine and then guided me back to the light. It's good for kids to engage and learn how to deal with the crazy. At the very least, a little imagination never hurt anyone.
I suppose childhood today isn't all bland. They do get the genuine sweetness and imagination of Pixar, but we had the golden age of Disney Musicals, so that's a wash. I take that back. Start singing "Lets get down to business' or any other catchy Disney song in a room of 20 somethings, and half the room will start belting it out with you. We win. I don't know how they're going to grow up into decent people without that early dose of crazy nonsensical terror, but I wish them luck. Or they can just get Labyrinth on DVD. Either way.
