Dancing Queen
So, if I haven’t mentioned this before, the Munchkin loves Lilo & Stitch.
I happen to love it, too, so it makes it easy for me to indulge her in her passion.
The original movie came out in 2002, and the Webmaster and I saw it in the theater with Auntie, and I spent at least half of the movie sobbing. Then we went and saw it again with Friend and Doc and the newborn Brain at the Crest (the local second-run theater), and I made sure that I had plenty of tissues on me. A direct-to-video sequel came out in 2003, which launched the half-hour Disney TV series. Then, last year, another sequel came out, but this one wasn’t a cheap animated trick to make a quick buck on the movie’s popularity. It actually had a plot and good animation, and good music. I adore it, and the Munchkin loves it even more.
I recently bought her the soundtrack to Lilo & Stitch 2 (the more recent sequel) and we already have the movie soundtrack. She is hooked on them, especially number 2. She comes to me with the sweetest, most appealing expression on her face and says, “Mommy, I want dance. I dance Lilo-Titch.”
Now, if you’ve ever seen any of these movies or shows, you know that Lilo is a devout Elvis Presley fan. Hence, the Munchkin is becoming very well acquainted with the King’s work. We can’t get her to say “Elvis” properly, though – she calls him “Evan”, which happens to be her uncle’s name. We’re still trying, but so far, no luck.
But she knows the difference between any other song on the CD (and there are some songs written especially for the movie, utilizing the Kamehameha School choir and Hawaiian hula rhythms) and an Elvis song. She loves to sing along with them, and as I’ve mentioned before, I have to get her Highness’s permission to sing. She can’t stand it if I’m singing along with her without her okay.
But the big thing right now is dancing. She wants to dance whenever she hears music, and she wants to dance with me. Or her brother. Or any variety of stuffed animals. She will run up to me and say, “Mommy, I dance with ted-bear?” Or bunny, or lion, or even the baby’s burp cloth – you get the idea. Once I tell her that it’s fine, she promptly holds the item out (if it’s a stuffed animal, she holds it’s hands or arms or paws) and begins to bounce around the room with it. And, of course, Mommy has to be watching.
She has become very music-dependent recently, which is kind of a relief to me. The less we need the TV, the better. We’ve got all these Veggie Tales sing-a-longs which she also loves, but doesn’t dance to, and Sesame Street CDs (some of which are old ones that were recorded in the 70’s and ones that I used to have in vinyl LP records as a child). She loves them all. But her dancing is reserved for Lilo & Stitch, and Elvis.
And you haven’t lived until you’ve seen her dance to and sing with “A Little Less Conversation.”
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