When I was little I loved the cartoon Disney movies, just like most kid I suppose. At least I thought I loved them. Recently I purchased Robin Hood on DVD and when I watched it I remembered a lot of it, but there were parts that I would swear I was seeing for the first time. I've had the same experience with several other classics like Pinocchio and Snow White. There is a possibility that I never actually saw these films before I learned them.
You see, when I was a little boy my mother bought a set of children's books that were published by Disney. They each had illustrated scenes from the movies and had a cassette tape that accompanied them. The tape read the words on the pages and then gave a nice little chime to let you know when to turn the page. I thought I was reading these books with the tape, but I don't think I could actually read.
One day my mother noticed that I could read the books. Actually I had memorized all of the words, with voice inflections, and the proper moment to turn the page. I only fooled her until she caught me "reading" without the book. It must have still impressed my parents though because they have me on home video reciting the stories.
My very favorite was Pinnochio! You could do all the voices just like the tape. Monstro was especially well done. SO cute! Those books were your car entertainment and you liked to listen to them in bed at night. That home video is actually hilarious! You would not sit still and you are all over in the rocking chair - every which way but up reciting that book!
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