Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

Today as I was quickly changing the station away from a Lone Ranger commercial it dawned on me that my husband and I may have dug ourselves into some holes we can’t get out of. My kids believe in Disney…as in the fact that all of it is real. I’m not quite sure how it all started but once it did, we played along and fed into it. Our kids believe that every Disney movie (and Disneyland) is real and that Walt Disney is the man who had the power to bring it all to life. 

And of course, this belief doesn’t just lend itself to the classics; they believe the new stuff is real too. And Star Wars. And super heroes. We are in deep! I suppose one of the reasons we haven’t given any indications that these things aren’t “real” is because we have three kids–the oldest being 8 and the youngest age 3, and we don’t want the oldest spoiling anything for the little guys.

It’s funny because this isn’t how Walt Disney intended for families to enjoy all of his work. He was always very forthcoming with behind-the-scenes footage of how his films were made and the construction of Disneyland and the rides over the years. He allowed television viewers to view audioanamatronics before they were dressed to go on stage in Disneyland and see animators in action making movies. Somewhere along the way, however, parents like me got so caught up it all that we elevated all of Disney’s works (and other works of fantasy) to that of pure magic of mythical proportion–no different than jolly St. Nick.

There have been times when I thought the kids were on to us. Like the time when my middle son remarked at how similar Han Solo and Indiana Jones look or when my oldest caught an interview with Tom Hanks on television and told us how he sounded like Woody. There have been other instances, especially as Disney has used more and more celebrity voices in its features. Each time, we have simply shrugged them off and told the boys it must just be a coincidence. Sure, we could have come clean any of those times. Instead, each time, we’ve froze and got nervous thinking that if we spilled the beans on these, other questions would follow. Perhaps even questions related to certain holidays. I know the boys aren’t going to buy it forever and since they are all pretty smart kiddos, it’s only a matter of time until they find out we are big, fat liars.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

So this brings me back to the Lone Ranger commercials that come on television during what seems like every commercial break. The boys are totally intrigued by the Lone Ranger and have been asking repeatedly about it. But more than they want to see the Lone Ranger they love Jack Sparrow, especially my pirate-loving middle son. Scratch that–they idolize him. My son Brandon thinks Jack Sparrow is pretty much the greatest person on the planet and since he recognized the similarities between Indiana Jones and Han Solo, we aren’t taking our chances. Brandon would be heart broken to realize Johnny Depp is an actor. Simply crushed. In fact, I’m not even sure he would be able to process it. So, in our home, we are a “Lone Ranger-free,” or shall I say “Tonto-free” zone, because I would like to make it through the summer (at least) with my boys’ flights’ of fantasy still in tact. 

Do not fret, we will, however have a Lone Ranger review up this week, so stay tuned!