Over 4th of July weekend, I introduced my son to the movie An American Tail. He loved it! (even though those wave monsters and that machine mouse are still pretty scary…) Didn’t realize until we watched it again that it was produced by Steven Spielberg and the film score was composed by James Horner! Or that Christopher Plummer (the dad in Sound of Music, and also in Knives Out!) voiced the dopey cat character, Henri. Haha! Fun movie.
Also, when I was a kid, I did not pick up on the fact that this movie was really about what life is like for immigrants coming to America. That part resounded loud and clear and beautifully in this story.
Best part about watching that movie – Aden now wants to talk to and involve the Statue of Liberty (i.e. me doing a Lady Liberty impression) in his fun and playful scenarios. The Statue of Liberty was barely introduced in the movie as a character. It was being built by a French pigeon at the start of the movie, and was completed by the movie’s end. And only at the very end does the Statue actually do anything – it just winks! But that moment Aden noticed. His ability to notice the barely featured characters of a story, and also the range of his imagination to make friends with those characters, makes me hopeful for the way he will both see and interact with those society tends to ignore or bypass. One day, I hope he realizes the deeper symbolism the statue represents – the concept of seeing and welcoming the overlooked and underserved human neighbors, no matter where they come from or how they arrived, even if he already does that in his own childlike way.
I love my son.
We watched a local fireworks show last night, and at some point, Aden started singing one of the songs from the movie – “There are no cats in America!”
Some days I question how well we are doing as parents – but then moments like that happen and I know we’re doing alright.
Last year on the 4th, I released a cover of a song by one of my favorite artists and producers, Ben Shive. It is also aptly called “4th of July”. I still really enjoy this song. Hope you enjoy the cover.
Hope everyone had a happy 4th!