The Parent Trap
The Parent Trap is
Disney’s remake of the 1961 classic.
This 1998 adaptation has the same story line. These identical twins, Hallie and Annie, were
separated at birth each raised by one of their biological parent. Their mom a very successful wedding dress
designer live in London with her Annie, her father, and their butler, Martin. While their father Nick Parker, a wealthy
owner of his owner winery, lives in Napa Valley, California with Hallie and
their maid Jessie. They discover each
other at a summer camp, and decide they will switch places to meet the other
parent. When Annie arrives in
California, much to her dismay, she is greeted at home by her father's new
girlfriend, Meredith. Ultimately this
story is a romantic drama/comedy about true love and the strong need for
children to be with their parents. It is
rated PG, but has been a classic that has entertained families for many
generations.
There are some scenes that should be
watched by children with an adult close by to explain what is happen to their
children. Young children have difficulty
processing the differences between fantasy and reality, especially when it come
to the notion of divorce. Unfortunately,
divorce is a very realistic part of many families today, and this movie
displays a very unlikely and fanciful story about divorce. Deceit is a big theme throughout the film,
from their parents lying for the first eleven years of their lives about their
biological sister to the false hope that if children try hard enough you can
bring your parents back together and live happily ever after. Even Meredith being portrayed as the evil,
gold-digging step mother can scare young children, when in actuality the parent
may be happier with a new spouse. Considering the prevalence of divorce, a
child understanding the normalities of divorce vs the mythical aspects of
divorce portrayed in The Parent Trap is essential to assure that the
child does not have any false expectations, negative stigmas, or unrealistic
hopes when coping with their own parent’s divorce or about the divorce between
people that they know.
The
references and uses of alcohol throughout the movie is very prevalent. Parents will definitely want to be present
and discuss this with their young children.
Children are constantly being exposed to alcohol in all different types
of media. The Parent Trap shows Hallie at eleven and half years old being
allowed to try wine at the dinner table.
This action has the ability to reinforce in a child’s mind that alcohol
is ok, when in actuality it can have very deterimaental effects on kid’s minds
and behavior. Alcohol consumption in a later scene is presented
in a harmless, silly light and again shows no consequence for consuming it.
Elizabeth believes she is not mature enough to see her ex-husband for the
first time in almost eleven years, and is more than tipsy when she arrives to
the hotel where her ex husband is. For
many adolescents talking to a crush may be difficult, this scene shows that
alcohol can help to soften the awkwardness of situations of that nature.
Alcohol suppresses your nervous system and makes you have less fear and
anxiety. These behaviors engaging in alcohol are extremely risky. Young children definitely look up to the
characters in the film as role models, but this is not a good model for a child
to try to emulate. By altering an adolescent’s environmental characteristics
via coviewing with family members, the movie or at least these particular
scenes involving alcohol/underage drinking could be explained and/or guided
through by an adult.
Bullying
was also a common theme shown throughouot the movie. Whether it was the twins bullying and
pranking each other at camp before they knew about their common identity, or it
was the twins bullying Meredith on their annual summer camping trip. Their pranks while ultimately harmless,
demonstrated how girl cliques can bully to show who is more dominant, popular,
and better than the next. The bullying
Hallie and Annie put Meredith through was wrong and disrespectful, pulling her
mattress into the lake while she is fast asleep on it, and can give children a
false sense of hope that they can act the same way towards their mother or
father’s significant other and get the same result of splitting them up.
Television and movies have the ability to cultivate one’s perceptions of social
reality. Through this cultivation, young
children can and do try to alter their view of reality to match what they see
on the screen.
Ultimately it is a movie that
familys of all different backgrounds and ages can enjoy. Love, family, friendship are all very
prominent themes throughout the movie.
The positive themes most definitely outweigh and outshine the negative
themes. Compared to other Disney films,
there is not much violence or visually disruptive characters. The characters visually looking inviting and
approachable, which help the audience want to see the family come back
together. If parents or adults are
willing an able to sit with the children and explain certain scenes and
references, it will definitely be a movie the whole family will appreciate and
want to watch again!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32WeiH4TrIY
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