Smiling all the way

The jigsaw I’m doing at the moment is filling me with joy. I keep smiling.

The subject matter of the jigsaw is a party for various Disney characters. As I complete the jigsaw If find myself remembering the films, the characters, & the pleasure I had watching the films.

Inevitably Minnie & Mickey Mouse are there, along with Donald Duck, Goofy & Pluto. But there, too, is Cruella de Ville, along with Perdita & Pongo & some of their rather large brood. In the foreground are the Aristocats. There’s Captain Hook & Tinkerbell, purring over a treasure map. And there’s Belle & her Beast, along with Lumière, Mrs Potts & Chip. And look, there’s Baloo the Bear with young Mowgli & the Indian girl who enticed him away from the jungle. The apes swing from the lights & Kaa, the hypnotic snake, curls around the column. Pinoochio is managing to keep his nose under control. Winnie the Poo is sharing a table with Piglet & the irrepressible Tigger. Alice is having another tea party with the Mad Hatter, March Hare & the Dormouse on the other side of the room from the demonic Queen of Hearts. Snow White pours the tea. Jasmine’s there. One of the monkeys has whipped away the magic lamp. Oh & there in the background are the Lady, looking coyly, & the Tramp.

I supposed I must of watched hours of Disney films over the years. Some I still enjoy. I still feel the urge to rub my back on a comforting rock or tree as Baloo sings “Bare Necessities”. I watch enchanted as Belle feeds the birds & the Beast is transformed as he endeavours to do the same, or the dining table becomes the stage for a Folies Bergere extravaganza to tempt Belle to eat. I still laugh over Cogsworth’s joke about not mending what’s not Ba-roque (broke) or Lumière chases after his French duster maid.

I feel a great debt of thanks to Walt & his successors at the studio for all the laughs, the music, the good clean fun.