Bring Back the '70's!

I'm feeling wistful and nostalgic these days. I long for the days of yore, or at least the movie days of yore. Any by "yore," I just want to turn the clock back a few decades.

Last week Peter and I took Lily to see the Disney flick "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." It wasn't insufferable (at least not completely), and it was heads and shoulders above Dreamworks' entry "Kung Fu Panda," perhaps one of the worst movies ever made and a strikingly bad choice for Dustin Hoffman.

But clearly Disney has past its prime.

I think it's saying something when my favorite scene in BH Chi goes something like this:

Chloe (title character voiced over by Drew Barrymore.) - "I am a Chihuahua. Chihuahuas are mighty!"

Delgado (a German shepherd voiced over by Andy Garcia.) - "Yeah...mighty annoying."

Pixar, Disney's animation studios, has clearly eclipsed its parent company in recent years, putting out some fairly decent flicks like Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and the recent Wall-E.

But it's increasingly rare to find children's films these days that match the zany, madcap comedy of "The Apple Dumpling Gang," or "The Love Bug," or "The Shaggy DA." Give me a sweet romance like "The Little Mermaid" or "Lady and the Tramp." And there's few films that match the classic feel good style and musical panache of "Mary Poppins."

Now THOSE were the days.

And speaking of music, "BH Chi" has much to be said for it in the music department as well. They have one original song that I sort of recall, "Chew-wa-wa, Chew-wa-wa" but it's largely forgettable. The rest of the soundtrack relies on covers like George Thoroughgood's "Bad to the Bone" (pun intended), Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy," (remember that one?) and the token song by a Latino group, Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven."

Token to Carrie Bradshaw coming...

I can't help but wonder, "What would Walt think?"

So I'll wait, with baited breath and enduring hope, that Disney's upcoming "Bolt" will represent a return to the days of yore.

But I'm not placing any bets on it.

And now that I've waxed nostalgic, I think I'll go soak my dentures and sit in my rocking chair for a while.