Kites and Commandments

(Guest post by Russell)

Mary Poppins is a beloved story of a British nanny with special powers coming to help the Banks children. The movie was enjoyable for me as I was growing up. I loved the combination of live action and cartoon animation. Dick Van Dyke was great alongside Julie Andrews in the cast, and the music was wonderful. From “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (I had to look it up to get it spelled right) to “Step in Time,” there are a number of musical numbers that bring back a host of childhood memories. There are simple things throughout the movie that bring joy to children, such as feeding the birds, looking up chimneys, and dancing with penguins. At the end of the movie, Mr. Banks, the changed banker, takes his children, Jane and Michael, out to fly a kite. I love seeing all the kites flying around in the final scenes of the movie, and they set a beautiful backdrop against which Mary Poppins flies off into the distance.

A kite is able to fly because of the air differential between the bottom and top of the kite, allowing lift to be created. The string that attaches the kite to the person on the ground provides stability that allows the kite to fly. That string may seem restrictive and to be holding the kite back from going even higher; however, if that string were cut, the kite might fly on its own for a short time, but eventually it will fall. With the string and proper weather conditions, the kite can continue flying for long periods of time.

Likewise, the Lord gives us commandments, which allow us to figuratively fly. They might seem restrictive and like they are holding us back, but in reality, they give us the framework that allows us to remain aloft. It’s been said that God binds us to set us free while Satan sets us free to bind us. This is very apparent in the interactions that Alma has with Korihor. In Alma 30:13, Korihor asks, “O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.” In keeping with our kite analogy, Korihor is asking, “Why are you letting yourself be tied by that silly string?” Alma bears powerful testimony in the ensuing verses, but the most telling verses are Alma 30:59-60:

“And it came to pass that as he went forth among the people, yea, among a people who had separated themselves from the Nephites and called themselves Zoramites, being led by a man whose name was Zoram—and as he went forth amongst them, behold, he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.

"And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.”

In essence, Korihor cut his strings and learned from his own experience this truth: Satan would have us cut ourselves off from the source that gives us the power to keep flying. Following such a course leaves us adrift and perhaps even feeling free for a moment, but eventually–like a kite who’s string has been cut–we fall back down. The truth is we are all going to have days when we “cut” our proverbial kite strings. Fortunately, repentance is one of the greatest gifts we have been given and as many times as we need to, we can start “flying” again. And unlike a kite flown by a mortal person, the one who is holding our figurative strings has a much greater interest in seeing how high we can soar. So, “Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height, Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring!”

Disney Dads

As Father’s Day approaches, I have noticed that there has been a lot of Father’s Day memes involving Darth Vader. I will admit some of them are funny but do you have to cut off your child arm to become father of the year? If anything, it says a lot about Luke forgiving him and helping him to become a Jedi again. In this post we will look at different Disney fathers that should be recognized more than Darth Vader as this holiday approaches.

Pacha: Emperor’s New Groove

When I think of excellent fatherly characters Pacha comes to mind. He goes out to meet the emperor, Kuzco, to change his mind to keep his family home as well as his villager’s home from being destroyed. Pacha is a hard worker with his duties of being a father, a llama herder, and the leader of his village. Pacha is best described as a family man, his wife and kids love him and his isn’t a dumb dad like most dads portrayed in media in the 2000's. When Pacha met Kuzco he felt that he was a spoiled brat. But when Kuzco became a llama, instead of taking the easy way out and abandoning Kuzco and having Yzma rule, he helped him--- hoping that the emperor’s attitude would change like a father would with a wayward son.

George Banks: Mary Poppins

George Banks loves his kids throughout the movie, but it never registered to his children because of how he showed his love. He wanted his children to become successful so they wouldn’t have financial problems when they become adults, which is what all parents want but his approach was not the best. He wanted them to become so successful that they could not enjoy being children. However, as George's professional life turns upside-down, he realizes the ultimate value of his family and makes real changes in his life. As he walks to his job, in one of the most beautiful scenes in cinema, you see the fear he has about the future but, as his ties to his job are finally cut, we also see the resolve develop within him to make some real changes in his life.

Mufasa: Lion King

Instead of celebrating Darth Vader on Father’s Day how about focusing on another role that James Earl Jones had where he was a sacrificing father, like Mufasa. Mufasa was king of Pride Rock. He had a good work and home life balance teaching his son and being king. He taught Simba to respect all creatures, but also having fun playing games on Zazu. He sets boundaries to protect his son, but also encourages him to explore. When his son disobeyed he reprehends him, but also forgives him. The most notable quality Mufasa has is he sacrificed himself so his son could live.

Mando: The Mandalorian

I get it--- you're probably a Star Wars fan and love all the memes that have been generated over the years. Father’s Day is another Star Wars day for you. Well thankfully Disney has created a new unorthodox father in Star Wars, Mando. After he captures and delivers Grogu to his client he goes against the code for bounty hunters and rescues Grogu and essentially adopts him until he finds a Jedi to teach him. When they finally find Luke, it was a sad departure for them because of their relationship as father and son, but Mando wanted what was best for Grogu and lets him leave. Of course, he wouldn’t stop being a father and tries to visit Grogu bringing gifts.

Goofy: Disney

Speaking of unorthodox parents, we couldn’t ignore Goofy: a single father. Goofy may be silly but he is also a wonderful role model for a father. With a teenager going through angst, he manages to show kindness and compassion making him aspirational for fathers. He works a demanding job, so they are financially stable. When his son, Max, is struggling he plans a father-and-son trip to lift his spirits because he cares about Max’s emotional health. He lets his son be an individual and takes interests in Max’s hobbies. He trusts his son completely, he allows Max to choose stops along their road trip. Even when Goofy suspects that Max is changing their road trip destination, he gives Max the responsibility of being the navigator because of that trust. Finally, he pays attention to his son’s feelings and gives him space. If you don’t believe me watch “A Goofy Movie”.

Scott Lang: Ant-Man

When divorce happens it hard for a father to be fully invested in their children. In Ant-Man we see Scott Lang doing his best to be a father while respecting his former wife's boundaries. After being released from jail he wants to be part of his daughter’s life and tries to be law-abiding by working at Baskin Robbins even though he has an engineering degree. He wants to make his daughter proud and be a good example for her. He becomes Ant-Man at first because of his thieving skills, but transitions to being selfless. He helps Captain America and saves Janet Van Dyne from the quantum realm. In Avenger’s Endgame we see Scott come out of the quantum realm to find his daughter aged by five years. We see the depression on his face when he realized how much of his daughter’s life he has missed.

Agustín and Félix: Encanto

This one is cheating a bit because I couldn’t choose which of these fathers to talk about. They are both good examples of being part of their children’s life. Agustín is sympathetic and understands how it feels not belong in the family and tries to comfort his daughter Mirabel when she obtains no magical gift. We see in the movie that he pays attention to all his daughters’ feelings. For example, when Luisa loses her strength and runs away saddened, he chases after her. We don’t know much about Félix, but he is also present with his children and supportive to his wife, presenting a positive attitude even when it rains.

Mr. Incredible: Incredibles

We couldn’t end the list without the most recognized superhero father, Mr. Incredible. After the first movie Mr. Incredible, Bob Parr, learned to keep his selfish interests in check and become involved with his children more. Instead of giving up on helping his son, Dash, on his homework, he learns how the new approach and helps Dash. He also cares about his children’s feeling by helping his daughter, Violet, talk to her crush by taking the family to the diner where he works. It turned out horribly, but he does the most honorable thing a father can do, apologize to his daughter for making things worse.

These are just eight honorable Dads we decided to mentioned in this post, but Disney has produced more decent fathers. Here is a list of honorable mentions.

• Marlin: Finding Nemo
• Pongo: 101 Dalmatians
• James: The Princess and the Frog
• Carl: Up
• Geppetto: Pinocchio
• Héctor: Coco
• Mr. Potatohead: Toy Story
• Vision: Avengers
• T’Chaka: Black Panther

5 People that are Probably Time Lords

Even though the Time Lords have been destroyed (twice now), there’s always a chance more Time Lords exist elsewhere in the universe still. We know about the Doctor and the Master, it’s also possible the Hermit, the Curator, the Monk, and Jenny are still about, as they’ve been known to be off-world. But even though the population of a whole species is likely down to single digits, that won’t stop fans from creating head-canons about other potential Time Lords.

Mary Poppins

I’ve written about this before, but Disney’s beloved Mary Poppins is remarkably similar to the Eleventh Doctor in many ways. Her demeanor for one thing, whimsical at times but also serious. But also she lived on a cloud. Again, let’s bring in her bigger-on-the-inside bag, which is obviously Time Lord technology.

Santa Claus

This one was hinted at by the Doctor himself. Actually, the Ninth Doctor hinted at being Santa. In “The Doctor Dances”, in his joyous musings, he told Rose that he might be, off-handedly referencing her 12-year-old Rose’s Christmas present. Also, a prayer to Santa Claus brought the Eleventh Doctor to young Amelia Pond–though he later said he knew Santa as “Jeff”. But in contradiction to all of that, the Twelfth Doctor also claimed Santa Claus appearing was ridiculous in “Last Christmas”. So who knows? But it would explain why the story of Santa Claus has persisted long since Saint Nicholas; he keeps regenerating.

Willy Wonka

Starting with the fact that his Glass Elevator could be a TARDIS, let’s also look at how Willy Wonka’s eccentric fashion wouldn’t look out of place on the Doctor. In addition to his style and his elevator, let’s also look at the Oompa Loompas. These humanoid creatures came from the mysterious Loompaland. Silly as the name sounds, it could be an alien world whose population Wonka saved. 

Miss Frizzle

I miss the Magic School Bus. It’s how I remember anything about the human immune system and photosynthesis. Miss Frizzle is another with whacky fashion choices. And her school bus, with how it changes shape and travels so quickly through space, might as well be a TARDIS. And with how Time Lords aren’t supposed to interfere, she merely teaches children about their own world. Or maybe she's just River Song?

James Bond

Finally we’ve got the man with a license to kill. While that might be the Doctor’s style, that’s obviously not the case with all Time Lords. I mean, just look at Rassilon. He was willing to kill the Doctor multiple times (and all of Earth). And speaking of Rassilon, don’t forget who he was played by in “The End of Time”, a previous incarnation of James Bond. Coincidence? Probably, but it’s good fodder for a head-canon.

10 Best Disney Songs On Broadway (but not in the movies!)

A lot of questions pop up whenever Disney remakes a film. Questions like "Why did we need this? How are they going to portray the non-human characters? Hay is that Hermione?" but the question I keep having is "Why don't they use any of the music from the Broadway shows?!" An entire untapped world of Disney music is sitting around, needing to be heard by general audiences, and here are some of my favorites.

10: Watch What Happens (Newsies)

This is a perfect summary of women trying to break into the workplace at the turn of the century, as well as gives character to the female lead Katherine as she tries to tackle the big story of the Newsies protest. It's everything we think of when we think old time female reporter minus having to be saved by Superman.


9: Shadowlands (The Lion King)
Nala does not get her just due in The Lion King. She's an amazing lioness who left her family to find help, and while the Broadway show has many songs that were criminally left out, I think this one of Nala being blessed by the other lionesses is the best.



8: I Want the Good Times Back (The Little Mermaid)
Arguably one of the best villain songs of all time is Poor Unfortunate Souls by the iconic Ursula, but ever wonder where under the sea Ursula came from? Her entire backstory and relationship to Triton is explained in this jazzy song by the sea witch.



7: If I Can't Love Her (Beauty and the Beast)
Okay so Evermore wasn't bad from the live action film, but Beast gets an even more soulful song with this one on Broadway. With a reprisal later, this haunting melody makes us all remember why we loved the Beast.



6: Rhythm of the Tambourine (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
I will argue to the ends of the earth on behalf of Hunchback. I think it's the most underrated Disney film of all time and this soundtrack only takes it to the next level. Here is the quintessential moment where Frollo, Quasimodo and Phoebis all first see the mesmerizing Esmeralda. It's a fun song that you can't help but to shake your hips to.



5: Proud of Your Boy (Aladdin)
One of the best part of the Broadway musicals are the fleshing out of characters, even ones we didn't know we needed more of. Here we get an insight into Aladdin's heart, that not only is he a good person but he's just trying to do what's best despite his situation.



4: Practically Perfect (Mary Poppins)
This song doesn't add much to the story, but it does add a fantastic new song to the Mary Poppins universe by expounding on one of our favorite Mary Poppins phrases.



3: Home (Beauty and the Beast)
Belle gets to star here as she expresses her feelings about being trapped in Beast's castle and making the best out of her situation. Her reprise to this song comes when the Beast is dying and strengthens one of Disney's most beautiful moments.



2: Made of Stone (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
One of the major changes from the cartoon to the stage was that they dropped the irritating gargoyles and replaced them with statues of the Saints. Here the statues are trying to convince Quasimodo to not give up despite everything seeming hopeless.



1: He Lives In You (Lion King)
Lion King is at its heart the story of a child learning to cope with the loss of his father. He Lives In You and its reprise are Simba connecting to his father, no matter where he is, and never fails to bring a tear to the eye.