A Blast from the Past : A Trip Down Memory Lane

In my last post I mentioned re-reading Mary Stewart's The Moonspinners. Of course I had to get the Disney movie of the same name from Netflix. The movie stars Hayley Mills, the Disney darling of the 60's, and Peter McEnery, another Disney regular. The movie shares a few ideas in common with the book: Nicky Ferris is visiting Crete with an older female relative. She meets a young attractive Englishman. She stays at a same inn. A jewelry theft is involved. Most of the character names are the same, but their relationships and the jist of the plots are vastly different. When I first saw the movie, I was 10 or 11. I adored Hayley Mills,(in the same manner as tweens today worship Myley Cyrus) and I had a crush on Peter McEnery. The movie filled all my preadolescent requirements for romance, thrills, suspense, etc. Watching it as an adult, my reactions were of course very different. I am very pleased to say, however, that the movie held up fairly well. As an adult, I noticed how unrealistic some of the situations were, and certainly some of the ways relationships were depicted were dated, but overall, it's still a fun, enjoyable movie. And Disney knew how to make a movie for "tweens" that played into the need for romance and adventure, without sex and overt violence. (Yes, the hero does get shot in the arm by the bad guy, and there are some drops of blood, but nothing gory). There's a clear delineation between the good guys and the bad guys!

In other words, I've thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgia trip of the past few days. Now I have to check and see if Netflix has Disney's "The Fighting Prince of Donegal" or "The Scarecrow" !!