the movies that made me

how Princess Mia, Hermione Granger, and Kathleen Kelly brought me here...

“Woah! I forgot about this one!”

Rummaging around in my parents’ spare closet last weekend (i.e. trying to help organize but becoming increasingly nostalgic) I found a handful of my favorite childhood movies on DVD.

“And another! Oh, I loved this one!”

Was it The Swan Princess?¹ Was it The Prince of Egypt? Was it both?

“Woah, there’s how many??”

Dozens? A hundred?

“AND an unopened VHS copy?”

Definitely over a hundred now. We were big movie people.

I have so many memories of Friday night Blockbuster trips, my sister and I sometimes agreeing on what to rent, “accidentally” losing The Chipmunks Adventure to continue to watch it (I loved those Chippettes), and convincing my dad to let us rent Harry Potter (hoping it meant future permission to read the books²).

I remember the first time we went to the new, fancy movie theatre, emerging at the end of whatever film (probably The Parent Trap) to find a group of square dancers on the front courtyard. We saw a certain movie (definitely The Parent Trap) no less than 8 times in theaters³

My dad and I had a rhythm of going to the National Treasure, Hunger Games, and Harry Potter movies, and my mom and I would see the musicals, romcoms, or latest Disney releases. Then there was nothing like the golden age of midnight movie releases and the dawn of National Theatre Live (at whatever indie theater⁴ I could drive to, often far from home).

My friends and I watched My Best Friend’s Wedding at our all-nighter after-prom⁵ and I became spectacularly upset when it jumped from the wedding ceremony to the reception. (This was not the romcom, happy ending I signed up for!)

So. Movies. Kind of a big deal around here.

In the spirit of following that nostalgic train of thought, I rounded up a few of the movies that I think impacted me the most (most of which remain frequently streamed to this day). I wonder if we might have any in common. 😉