Young at Heart

My oh my is it blustery outside! It's a perfect day for some childhood classics that never get old.

When I first saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I went around singing the song nonstop for a month. I'm sure that my mother enjoyed her 5 year old daughter screaming at the top of her lungs the wrong words and occasionally slipping up and throwing a cuss word or two in there. What mother wouldn't adore that? Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tells the story of a slightly eccentric professor, his extraordinary car and the adventures they get into. The book was written by James Bond's own Ian Fleming-which is very obvious given the name of the lead female character: Truly Scrumptious. This movie stars Dick Van Dike as the inventor and for an added touch, Britain's beloved Benny Hill as the toy maker.

Moving on to another childhood favorite, The Wizard of Oz. I believe that I could possibly recite every line in the movie and sing every song. This movie always reminds me of winter because when I was growing up, it was the a standard during the holiday season. This movie has inspired spin off books, which have inspired Broadway hit plays. It is a timeless treasure that will either make you smile or run for cover from those scary flying monkeys. Dorothy and her dog are "swept" away to a magical land where she meets friends and enemies on a quest to get back home. Again, when I was younger, I ran around the house singing "IF I WERE KING OF THE FOREST!" and my mother not once got tired of it. She may have been a saint.

Another movie that I absolutely adore and has now become a cult classic is The Princess Bride. There are so many little relationship stories in this movie that make me smile and warm my heart. The relationship between the grandfather and grandson, between Princess Buttercup and Wesley and my favorite, Inigo and Fezzik. This is a wonderful movie for all ages and has something for every time of person. To this day, I will recite the wedding scene just out of the blue and most people will respond back to me. It is a modern day classic. The story is within a story told by the grandfather about a princess and her true love. There are wrongs that are righted, love lost that is found and happy endings for all.

Last on my list is The Goonies. This is movie is so awesome and I'm not saying that cause it was filmed on the coastline of Oregon in one of my favorite towns, or because it has a young Josh Brolin in it. It's a great movie because once again, there are happy endings, cute blossoming romance and all of your favorite childhood actors when they were still cute and innocent and not plastered all over the tabloids for the behavior. The story tells of a group of friends and the adventures they have while trying to save their homes from being demolished.  The wonderful message of friendship and being who you are is one that is driven home several times throughout the movie. The one thing I am surprised about is how they got so many sunny days on the coast line?

Well, there ya have it- 4 childhood classics that will warm your heart while you warm your tootsies. Now go make that popcorn, find those footie pj's and park your "adultness" at the door. I expect all of you to giggle like a school girl (or boy!) and enjoy yourself.