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Dear Jack: Your 1st Introduction to a VHS Tape- Disney’s Benji the Hunted (from 1987)

5 years, 5 months.

Dear Jack: Your1st Introduction to a VHS Tape- Disney’s Benji the Hunted (from 1987)

Dear Jack,

This past weekend, I taught you how to use the VHS side of our DVD player. You now understand the concept of watching a movie on a tape; something I’m not sure most of your friends can say they’ve done before. So they might look at you funny if you mention it to them at school.

On Friday, a coworker brought in a huge Rubbermaid tub full of VHS movies to give away. I instantly grabbed Benji the Hunted, which I was very familiar with; as it was part of my school’s library when I was a kid, meaning I saw it many times as a child in the late 1980s and early 1990s- especially when a teacher came in to work sick but wasn’t willing to admit it and therefore lose a sick day or vacation day.

Dear Jack: Your1st Introduction to a VHS Tape- Disney’s Benji the Hunted (from 1987)

I suppose there’s a decent amount of irony involved in the fact that our family has been driving a fancy 2016 Lexus IS 200t this week. I dropped the VHS tape in your baby sister Holly’s car seat and safely delivered the tape home to you for us to enjoy over the weekend.

Dear Jack: Your1st Introduction to a VHS Tape- Disney’s Benji the Hunted (from 1987)

In this 1987 Disney movie, Benji the dog must help save some mountain lion cubs from predatory animals of the Oregon forest and eventually be rescued by his owner who is searching for him in a helicopter. There’s hardly any dialogue in this movie; mainly just animals chasing each other around in the woods.

It was right up your alley. You love animals.

And you were impressed by the fact they were real animals, unlike what you’re used to seeing on all those talking animal movies you see on Netflix.

Once the movie was over, I explained the concept of having to rewind the movie. You were slightly fascinated by the fact that the movie just turned black and stopped once it was over.

You are a cultured boy. In the same weekend you got to see the new Captain America movie in the theater, you also saw a 29 year-old movie on an old VHS tape.

I suppose it’s been a weekend of entertainment… and education.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Your1st Introduction to a VHS Tape- Disney’s Benji the Hunted (from 1987)

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I Cry Every Time I Watch Inside Out (and I am a Man)

I Cry Every Time I Watch Inside Out

It’s true and I am not ashamed. I know that’s technically the least masculine blog title I have ever used, but I am comfortable with it.

I took my son to see Inside Out this past summer when it first came out, then we watched it as a family this weekend now that it’s out at Redbox.

Granted, I’ve only seen it twice so far, but I am confident that I will never be able to keep dry eyes for any future viewings of it. Still, I can legitimately proclaim that I cry every time I watch Inside Out.

Just to be clear, if you were sitting next to me while watching Inside Out, you wouldn’t know I was crying.

You wouldn’t hear anything about of me.

But if you simply turned to me to look me in the eyes, you would see tears running down both sides of my face.

Yes, it’s suppressed crying, but it’s still crying.

Sunday night after the movie ended, my wife, my son, and I all looked at each other’s wet cheeks, then laughed at the fact we all just saw proof of each other crying.

It’s not that Inside Out is a sad movie, because I don’t believe that it is.

Instead, with it being a movie about emotional intelligence, Inside Out undeniably reveals the love that involved parents have for their children.

The movie provides an enlightening experience as it reminds us that the emotion of sadness is necessary and vital; especially as it strengthens family relationships.

I might just have to proclaim that Inside Out is officially my favorite Disney movie, ever. It appears the general public agrees, as the movie has earned an impressive 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

And it has been nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature film.

It’s one of the few Disney movies to not adhere to the stereotype that the protagonist’s parents are dead. Instead, her parents are alive and well, and are actually good people.

Compare them to Elsa and Anna’s parents, in Frozen, who instead of confronting the issue that one of their daughters had a special power that makes her different, they basically locked up both of their daughters and kept them from interacting with each other. And if that psychological drama wasn’t enough, then the parents had to die, like almost every other Disney protagonist’s parents.

Of course, there is a very legitimate theory that Riley, the protagonist of Inside Out, is adopted.

But whether she is or is not adopted, that doesn’t change the fact that the movie does a wonderful job of expressing from the inside out what it’s like to be a parent and a kid who is part of a loving family.

And again, it’s also a fact that I’ll cry every time I watch this movie.

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Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

21 weeks.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

Dear Holly,

By turning one of your recent sonogram profiles sideways, I am able to catch a glimpse of what you might look like once you are born. I had done this with your brother Jack, and he turned out looking like what I would expect, sans the sandy colored hair and blue eyes.

I see how you look like Mommy already. Particularly, I see some French and Croatian in there from her genes.

However, Mommy and I do both believe you will have darker traits, unlike your brother Jack.

The “baby gifts” are starting to come in the mail from family members. So therefore, your bedroom is starting to fill up with clothing that will help compliment your assumed personality.

Jack picked out that doll as his gift from him to you.

Mommy and I predict you will be a feminine girl, not a tomboy. However, we don’t see you as a particularly sensitive or dainty little girl either.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

Speaking of dolls, I saw this bunny doll today at Brilliant Sky and sent the picture to Mommy. We both instantly agreed that this style summarizes our thoughts regarding what you’ll be like:

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

As Mommy worded it yesterday, “Holly won’t be a princess, just like Jack isn’t a prince.”

Not that there’s anything wrong with adopting such romantic and royal concepts, I just suppose it’s not our family’s style or culture.

(It doesn’t help that I loathe the movie Frozen because the whole plot could have been prevented had the parents not been psychos who locked their daughters in their bedrooms. On the other hand, I applaud and celebrate Inside Out for its intelligent plot revolving around a young girl and her developing emotional intelligence.)

We believe that the environment we will raise you in will make you a very independent, yet laid back little girl.

As I imagine Jack bumping into you with his toy cars, I see you laughing about it instead of crying.

Dear Holly: A Glimpse of the Girl I Think You are Going to Be

I picture you naturally wanting to join in whatever weird activity your brother Jack is doing, convincing yourself that soaking Halloween candy in warm saltwater (instead of eating it) is normal.

Sure, you’ll love baby dolls and tutus. But you’ll also have access to Jack’s exhaustive Thomas the Train and Hot Wheels collection.

Plus, I think my personal love for outdoors and adventure will guide you in becoming a fun little girl who is able to keep up with your brother and me.

Granted, you’ll also be exposed to all my quirky musical and video-making antics.

I am so excited to think about the fun little girl you will become.

Love,

Daddy

4 Comments Posted on Jack-Man, Storytelling, Uncategorized, Writing

My Pitch to the Studios, as a Children’s TV Show Host

dichotomy

Editor’s Note:

I will be emailing the following letter to the same casting agency that reached out to me a few months ago to interview and potentially invite my family to participate in the upcoming reality TV show, The Family Project on NBC.

After that, this letter will then be going out to the all the casting agencies and directors for all the major children’s (and family) television networks; including PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, TLC, Animal Planet, and The Discovery Channel.

Dear [casting agencies for television studios of major networks that feature children’s programming],

I believe you may be interested in meeting me. I think I can solve your problem in that I am who you are looking for if you are currently in need of a children’s television host.

However, please do not take my word for it…

Instead, simply watch me at work. My passion is creating original content to entertain children; as I have a 5 year-old son, as well as a daughter due to be born in April.

Just watch this quick webisode of my newest web series, Uncle Nick’s Enchanted Forest. Everything you see here is original content. I write, produce, and direct my shows; as well as serve as the protagonist and voices to the animal characters:

I write and perform my own songs, just like the beloved Mr. Fred Rogers did. I play both guitar and harmonica; and obviously sing.

You will see how I simply engage children in nostalgic ways, similar to that beloved uncle everyone has.

To further showcase my acting and production skills, as well as my musical talent and over all creativity, I also ask you to watch a short webisode of my other original web series, Jack-Man; which is a sci-fi super hero show starring my son and me.

In this series, you will see my acting skills as a villain; not just simply the kind and warm “Uncle Nick” character I play on my other series. Again, I created all of this content from scratch, including the lyrics, music, and performance of the songs.

Also, I already have a following on my website, Family Friendly Daddy Blog; where I maintain a minimum of 15,000 views per month. (For 3 years, I had previously served as the official daddy blogger for Parents.com; the website for the legendary Parents magazine.)

Thank you so much for your time and consideration today. Even if I never hear back from you, please know I will continue creating original content to entertain and engage children in the YouTube world; knowing that one day I will get my big break.

Granted, I hope that “big break” comes from you.

Sincerely,

Nick Shell of Family Friendly Daddy Blog

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Who Is the Real Villain in Disney Pixar’s Inside Out?

Who Is the Real Villain in Disney Pixar's Inside Out?

Last year, I published, The Real Villain In Disney’s Frozen: The Parents Of Elsa & Anna; where I explained that the villain’s role is to introduce and move along the plot. Had Elsa and Anna’s parents not foolishly kept their daughters from socializing after the incident, basically keeping one daughter locked in her bedroom, things wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand.

The whole Frozen movie could have been much shorter. Seriously, what the parents did in that movie was not normal. In real life, if you knew parents who did what their parents did, you wouldn’t simply pass it off as, “Oh well, no parent is perfect.”

I figured it would be interesting to do my same “who is the real villain?” analysis on Disney Pixar’s Inside Out.

The answer: Riley’s brain; which also serves as the hero.

Notice how in this movie, no other human beings seem to really serve as any kind of of antagonist.

Even when that might seem the case, it’s actually just Riley (and her brain) that makes things worse.

The emotion of Sadness serves as a sort of false antagonist, but it becomes clear that even she is truly part of the hero team inside Riley’s head.

Who Is the Real Villain in Disney Pixar's Inside Out?

In fact, the plot line of Inside Out is actually pretty simple: An 11 year-old old encounters minor psychological and emotion challenges as she moves with her family from Minnesota to California. That’s it- that’s all that really happens.

She misses home.

They aren’t any bullies at her new school. Her parents are completely supportive and loving.

In fact, Inside Out is one of the few Disney movies (ever!) in which both parents are alive and well the entire movie!

Inside-Out-Movie-Emotions-Memories

I was completely satisfied with Inside Out. The movie really impressed me. I recommend it to anyone.

Inside Out does a perfect job of bringing an interesting adult concept (psychology) and turning it into a warm, smart family movie.

And when you see it, keep in mind what I said: The only villain in this movie is the hero as well: Riley’s brain.

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