My Little Princes
Perhaps it's from watching Downton Abbey a few too many times, but when I type as of late, I have a British accent in my head, and tonight, I've even taken to assigning my sons titles.
For Family Friday Movie Night, we watched the first 2 parts of The Petite Prince--the one where he saves the Chlorophyllians from the disappearing stars. What a fun adaptation for the 5-7 age set! There were flying spacecrafts, a sword-wielding prince, a talking fox, a shape-changing snake, and gargantuan plants. What more could a boy want? And I enjoyed the colors, lines and fairytale beauty of the animated landscape as well as the underlying worldview.
This was the first time movie night was paused for more than bathroom or medicine or popcorn breaks. We paused to talk, to discuss, to engage the movie, and it was so much fun. For instance, the green juice that the Chlorophyllians sprayed on their plants that was more efficacious and efficient than any MiracleGro I have seen, lent itself to a discussion of how plants grow (and ruminations about planting our own garden and using a compost pile allowed me to hear Ben's "I have ALWAYS wanted to have a compost pile!" He was most sincere.)
The power of the Prince's sword of light lies in its ability to create; it was not, as we typically view the sword, an instrument designed to destroy. And what is beautiful about this recasting of the light saber is that in celebrating its victory, we rejoice over creativity defeating destruction. Ben and Knox did not just exult in the good guy winning, but witnessed creation as the ultimate power. (D and Stan fell asleep early on. Next time, the movie portion of the evening must start sooner.)
Another aspect of this movie that was wonderful, especially for my youngest who has a tendency to have nightmares, is the impotence of the Great Snake. The snake was beautiful, as far as serpents go, and much like Lucifer, his mighty gift was in his persuasive deception. But, the Prince did not fear the snake, did not run from him, did not attempt to fight him. He listened, but did not fall for (as he did in the book) the snake's tricks. The snake could not "do" anything. He merely planted ideas in the astronomer's head; he took the astronomer's natural longing for space travel and distorted it. He convinced the astronomer that his need could be met with a fake. He replaced his desire for the natural beauty of the stars and universe and twisted that good desire into an obsession for possession, an obsession that destroyed the very thing he loved. The astronomer's yearning for space travel was reduced to a roller coaster ride in a reductive amusement park.
This led to our discussing how we do not have to fear Satan-- he is already defeated. So much in our world says otherwise: evil triumphs in our news, sickness and death in our experiences. But the last word is that, as Christians, we serve the Ultimate Power, The Lord of Lords, the Creator and while the Angel of Light indeed has power in this world, we do not have to fear. This was one out of a handful of nights since our move that Ben did not say he was scared to go to sleep. Knowing that we are safe in the Creator's powerful Hand gives us peace and peaceful sleep.
This leads to the next delectable part of the series. . .the Astronomer was adopted and his desire to travel among the stars pointed to a natural, innate longing. As an infant, unbeknownst to him until the end of the show, the Astronomer landed among the Chlorophyllians in a delightfully-shaped, star-emblazoned spacecraft. His desire for travel was God-given, and not, as he felt, a reason for isolation from his adopted home. Once he realized who he was, he became free to fly.
We dreamed about the things they wanted to do when they grew up (make books, race cars, design factories that make all kinds of things, preach the Gospel)--all of these desires are God-given and if we don't doubt or try to devise shortcuts, then we can find fulfillment in what we are called to be.
So FFMN was certainly entertaining and refreshingly edifying, and I heartily recommend The Petite Prince series on Netflix.
For Family Friday Movie Night, we watched the first 2 parts of The Petite Prince--the one where he saves the Chlorophyllians from the disappearing stars. What a fun adaptation for the 5-7 age set! There were flying spacecrafts, a sword-wielding prince, a talking fox, a shape-changing snake, and gargantuan plants. What more could a boy want? And I enjoyed the colors, lines and fairytale beauty of the animated landscape as well as the underlying worldview.
This was the first time movie night was paused for more than bathroom or medicine or popcorn breaks. We paused to talk, to discuss, to engage the movie, and it was so much fun. For instance, the green juice that the Chlorophyllians sprayed on their plants that was more efficacious and efficient than any MiracleGro I have seen, lent itself to a discussion of how plants grow (and ruminations about planting our own garden and using a compost pile allowed me to hear Ben's "I have ALWAYS wanted to have a compost pile!" He was most sincere.)
The power of the Prince's sword of light lies in its ability to create; it was not, as we typically view the sword, an instrument designed to destroy. And what is beautiful about this recasting of the light saber is that in celebrating its victory, we rejoice over creativity defeating destruction. Ben and Knox did not just exult in the good guy winning, but witnessed creation as the ultimate power. (D and Stan fell asleep early on. Next time, the movie portion of the evening must start sooner.)
Another aspect of this movie that was wonderful, especially for my youngest who has a tendency to have nightmares, is the impotence of the Great Snake. The snake was beautiful, as far as serpents go, and much like Lucifer, his mighty gift was in his persuasive deception. But, the Prince did not fear the snake, did not run from him, did not attempt to fight him. He listened, but did not fall for (as he did in the book) the snake's tricks. The snake could not "do" anything. He merely planted ideas in the astronomer's head; he took the astronomer's natural longing for space travel and distorted it. He convinced the astronomer that his need could be met with a fake. He replaced his desire for the natural beauty of the stars and universe and twisted that good desire into an obsession for possession, an obsession that destroyed the very thing he loved. The astronomer's yearning for space travel was reduced to a roller coaster ride in a reductive amusement park.
This led to our discussing how we do not have to fear Satan-- he is already defeated. So much in our world says otherwise: evil triumphs in our news, sickness and death in our experiences. But the last word is that, as Christians, we serve the Ultimate Power, The Lord of Lords, the Creator and while the Angel of Light indeed has power in this world, we do not have to fear. This was one out of a handful of nights since our move that Ben did not say he was scared to go to sleep. Knowing that we are safe in the Creator's powerful Hand gives us peace and peaceful sleep.
This leads to the next delectable part of the series. . .the Astronomer was adopted and his desire to travel among the stars pointed to a natural, innate longing. As an infant, unbeknownst to him until the end of the show, the Astronomer landed among the Chlorophyllians in a delightfully-shaped, star-emblazoned spacecraft. His desire for travel was God-given, and not, as he felt, a reason for isolation from his adopted home. Once he realized who he was, he became free to fly.
We dreamed about the things they wanted to do when they grew up (make books, race cars, design factories that make all kinds of things, preach the Gospel)--all of these desires are God-given and if we don't doubt or try to devise shortcuts, then we can find fulfillment in what we are called to be.
So FFMN was certainly entertaining and refreshingly edifying, and I heartily recommend The Petite Prince series on Netflix.
Great blog post! How wonderful life is, when small moments with family can make big memories. - Andrea
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