I’d attended a friend’s holiday party about a month ago, and it was truly one of the highlights of my December.

The invitation had come on a sudden whim. My friend, let’s call her Giggles, and I were carpooling together on a Friday night after work. We were babbling in the car about how tired we were. Work just does that to you sometimes. Gotta love adulthood, huh?

“Alright,” she said with a tired sigh as we pulled up to the front of the house. “Let’s put on our socializing hats.”

I laughed along with her, because it was true. My eyes were weary from staring at my screen all day, and the energy I’d once had as a young adult at nighttime was no longer quite as existent. I made a mental note to stock up on Celsius energy drinks when I got the chance.

Little did we know, we would have nothing to worry about.

The house was warm, cozy, and welcoming. My friend, we’ll call him Kit, turned out to also be the avid antique lover, perhaps more so than me. The walls were decorated with rustic paintings and frames he’d found at flea markets. In the corner of the living room was an old record player. His sofas and chairs were all second hand. “I was going for sexy librarian,” he jokingly said as he gave us a tour of the house.

To see him spend so much earnest time and effort on his home warmed my heart. Every piece he had was intentional, with sentimental value and meaning. One too many times I’d seen people furnish a home or renovate just to get it over with. It was a chore to them. This mindset never sat right with me. Why not enjoy the journey towards the fruits of your labor? Moreover, this kind of pet project was personal. Sentimental. It held way more value than say, a corporate project.

Some people just think differently I suppose.

Moreover, I was well fed. I don’t know what social gatherings I’d been to before this, but can you believe some people just don’t think about food? Kit and his partner had whipped up an impressive charcuterie board, a delicious bowl of punch, and a warm pot of simple tomato pasta. Me and my stomach were happy campers that night.

Anyway, I’d struck up a conversation with one of Kit’s friends, who worked in animation. We had a lively, avid chat about how Disney live action movies, well, suck.

It’s not an unpopular opinion. There are loads of videos on the internet dissecting the exact reasons why these live action remakes fall flat to those who actually know good movies. Long story short, they are simply movies without heart and intent. They are capitalistic, gimmicky, cash grabbing, and churned out like fast fashion. It goes against everything Disney had built its values upon, which is the irony of it all.

Maybe someday, they’ll see it.

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One of the motel’s favorite live action movie of a classic fairytale is actually not from Disney at all, and was released nearly twenty years ago. Amazing how time passes by. Peter Pan (2003) craftily depicts the classic story of Peter Pan. The child actors are so fun to watch, and seriously had some damn good chemistry. The movie has a fantastic, iconic score, and some lines that you will find yourself quoting and repeating well after the movie is done. Some of my favorites are:

“Old, alone, done for!”

“I do believe in fairies!”

“I would very much like to give you a…thimble.”

Moreover, not everything is CGI and you can actually see the movie! Ever noticed how some movies are just so…dark? I digress.