One of my favorite Disney movies has always been The Jungle Book. Maybe that's because it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. Growing up, there was a mall that was pretty much abandoned, with the exception of the rundown movie theater inside. They played old movies for a dollar. My mom would take us to the only gas station in Cottage Hill to pick out the candy of our choosing. I would normally go for the Mars bar, but every once in a while, I'd grab a box of Lemon Heads. My mom would always grab a box of Thin Mints and I can remember thinking, "That poor lady is just saving the good stuff for us. Who would choose Thin Mints out of all this good stuff?!" (Turns out, now that I'm a mom, I like Thin Mints too!) We'd each grab a can of coke (we called all soda "coke"). I'd go back and forth between grape and peach. And off we'd go to Mariner Mall, with Mama's purse filled with our candy and cokes.
The first movie we intended to see in a theater was Disney's Sleeping Beauty. We walked in, found our seats and immediately began unpacking the goodies from within the purse. However, it didn't take long before we were informed that the movie was not working, but we could return another day with our tickets to watch another movie. We did just that. We returned to watch The Jungle Book. I just absolutely loved everything about it. The jazzy songs, the friendships and the carefree love of life was enjoyed by little-girl-me as I swung my legs to the melody of the musical, while sipping on my peach coke and savoring every bite of Mars bar.
In Gulf Breeze, there is a quaint little theater, The Tree House Cinema. They play movies after they've left most big theaters and they also play independent films that don't play in the big theaters in our area. I'm pretty sure they used the theater seats left over from the demolition of old theaters and they are positively perfect for a bit of nostalgia. I saw that the 2016 version of The Jungle Book was playing at the Tree House Theater and knew immediately where we'd be heading. So, we stuffed my purse with Swedish Fish for Jude, Twizzlers for Margo and some Raisinets for me and off we went.
Tickets weren't a dollar, but they were half the price of the big theaters. So at $6.00 a ticket and a couple of bucks for some Coke (the real stuff), we headed into the theater to experience The Jungle Book. I say "experience" rather than "watch" because The Jungle Book is more than a story line, it's a mood with a melody; a movie that you feel just as much as you watch.
With my purse full of goodies and Cokes in hand, we walked in Tree House Cinema with the entire theater to ourselves.
Even before the movie began, the memories of my experience of The Jungle Book floated in the melody of Bare Necessities, which was already playing in my head. I watched my children laugh with each other and swing their feet, while eating up the goodies, and washing all their worries away with obnoxious sips of Coke. Not a care in the world, just the joy of being--that's what they were.
I sat down for the show and looked at Jude's little hand and just felt enormously happy. The simple bare necessities.
The screen lit up with the first trailer and Jude decided to watch the previews on the row in front of us. Ha! I know what his motives were. He wanted to keep the bear paws away from his Swedish Fish.
I sat and watched him, illuminated by the picture, gulp in merriment, with the excess escaping in giggly chirps, as he watched previews in his own world, while nibbling on his sugary treats. Margo and I leaned in towards each other, entertained by the previews, and enjoyed our closeness.
With the opening scene of the feature, Jude slipped back to join us. The Jungle Book was my first theater experience, and this experience was just as brilliant for me, these many years later. This time, it was my children swinging their feet to the jazz, gobbling up their chosen candy, being drawn in by the magical friendships; and I couldn't be fonder of my big home!
We walked out, hand in hand, buzzing like the bees. Our conversations on the ride home were about our bare necessities. They talked about their love for Jesus, and playing with Daddy, and laughing with their cousins. Margo talked about music and learning. Jude talked about sports and living wildly. I felt like Baloo, swimming down the river with my cubs, eating up the honey just for me. We also discussed "man's red flower". Of course, in the movie it's fire; destructive, with a dangerous ability to take over. But we talked about what we felt it represents in our own lives. They both agreed that it's our selfish desire and hate, and well, I couldn't agree more. Jude felt like the moral of the movie was standing up for what is right, even when it's risky. Margo felt like the moral of the movie was finding beauty in our differences and loving others more than ourselves. I think they are both right. Listening to their answers I could hear a mixture of Bagheera and Akela in Margo. Jude is 100% Mowgli.
So where do we go from here? Well, we'll relax, yeah, and fall apart in our big yard.
The Jungle Book is playing for another week at Tree House Cinema. I'd recommend that you go. Forget about your worries and your strife. Stuff a purse with candy. Sip on a Coke. Focus for a bit on the bare necessities of life!
(The sound in the background is Jude doing The Charleston as Margo sings. Feel free to join him right where you are! I know I will!)
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