The Princess Diaries

Ya know Julie Andrews? Perfect and beautiful, right? Guys, I know. 
I KNOW! 
And when I saw The Princess Diaries I first noticed Anne Hathaway, who's gone on to become a household name. I've seen most of her movies and watched grow up on-screen since then. I think even still, I mostly love her much because of that bushy hair in this movie!  

My own bushy hair

Really, I loved that movie so much that when I heard a sequel was coming I was absolutely delighted! Only, here's the thing: I was deployed to Oahu, Hawaii when it was released, and that happened to be the very week that my mom and her friend (of the moment) came to visit me. Without mentioning the movie, I offered to send them on a nice luau date. Nobody wants their daughter on a Hawaiian date night, so I got to watch The Princess Diaries 2 on opening night! I felt like Heather Matarazzo (who played 'the best friend', Lily, in the first one, and who was really important to the story) kinda deserved more screen time, but it was very responsible of them to make her a good student, so it is what it is. The movie was still amazing and every bit as good as the first one, which is rare for a sequel. The highlight of the whole thing for me was watching Julie Andrews sing. It wasn't a big, juicy song but it just felt like a big, warm, Mary Poppins hug!

Which is what every movie should aspire to. 

Even the scary ones. 

That was a joke. 

Beauty and the Beast

Hey pals, how do you chose your favorite Disney movie? Some people pick a favorite character, a strong storyline or a good moral.  I 100% choose by which songs I like the best.  So, while my favorite Disney movie is obviously Mulan (I mean, you've heard those songs, right?), the next best is Beauty and the Beast.  I guess it's been vaulted for awhile and I've been searching for it everywhere.  I had it on VHS but that doesn't help anyone anymore, so I tried to find it on DVD for less than it cost to make the movie in the first place.  It was slow going and it almost never happened.  My friend Marci has an eBay shop and it requires her to go to yard sales every single weekend.  My other friend Andrea has been (unbeknownst to me) reminding her for at least five years, but maybe closer to ten that I was looking for that movie, and a few weeks ago, she found it!  I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally have that movie and all the bonus features on the second disk!  You may not have known this, but Cogsworth was played by David Ogden Stiers, who was Winchester on M*A*S*H.  Such an adorable little clock he was, too! 

Finally... my precious.

So, hey.  Tell me this.  Does anyone remember in the 90s when McDonalds was selling and giving out those tapes in the Happy Meals?  The one I got was Buddy Songs and it included You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story and Candle on the Water from Pete's Dragon.  Well, it also had The Gaston Song from Beauty and the Beast, and I don't even know how many times I rewound that tape to hear that song!  It's definitely my favorite from that movie and I dissolve into laughter when I hear these lines from after the main song is over:

Lefou, I'm afraid I've been thinking.

A dangerous pastime.

I know.

If that's not comedic genius, what is?