Sunshine in my Pocket

When I saw Justin Timberlake’s rousing opening dance number at the Academy Awards, I have to confess I’d never heard it before. I usually don’t watch the Grammys because, while I recognize some of the artists, I’m embarrassed to say I hardly know any of the songs. Growing up in the sixties, I knew every song because we listened to the radio and bought records. But that was long ago. I thought Timberlake’s nominated song, “Can’t Stop The Feeling”, was a great, feel good song. I then found out it was from the movie “Trolls”, which of course, my wife and I had not seen. We were too busy seeing all the adult nominated films like “Moonlight”, La La Land”, “Lion”, and “Hell or High Water”. I really didn’t know what I was missing until we went to visit our two granddaughters in Texas over this past weekend and entered the world of seven and four year old girls.

“Trolls” is the biggest thing since “Frozen”, and that’s saying something. They know every line of “Frozen”, dialogue and lyrics. They have the characters and the dresses. But the new big thing is “Trolls”. They have the Troll dolls and love the long, colorful hair. They had already seen it a couple of times. We took them shopping, and bought the DVD so they could watch it until the next big thing comes along. So, of course, we had to sit and watch it with them. By the end, I was embarrassing the seven year old by downloading the song on my phone and singing along. “Trolls”, like other animated films we’ve seen with the girls, teaches valuable life lessons for adults. “Trolls” is about those optimistic funny haired creatures who live in a tree. They are threatened by the mean Bergens who gather once a year to celebrate “Trollstice” and eat the Trolls. But, the Trolls, lead by upbeat Poppy and the traumatized Branch, convince the Bregens they can be happy without eating them, and they can all live in harmony. All highlighted by the song, “Can’t Stop The Feeling”. It shows that even the most extreme differences can be worked out. If you can convince your enemy not to eat you, and even co-exist, we should be able to work out a health care plan and solve all the differences that have poisoned us against each other.

I was not completely surprised by what I learned watching “Trolls”. We have taken the girls to see other animated movies. “The Good Dinosaur” imagines the world where dinosaurs were never wiped out by that asteroid, and lived to share the earth with early man. Arlo, the dinosaur who is afraid of everything, teams up with the little cave boy Spot to find his way home and conquer his fear. It shows the value of friendship, and how people, and even dinosaurs, can get through the toughest of circumstances. A similar lesson is found in the movie “Sing”. Theater owner Buster Moon sponsors a singing competition to raise money to save his theater. Things get much worse before they get better, but it shows the value of never giving up a dream. Each of the characters also learns something about themselves. Using your talent and ingenuity can also serve the greater good.

Sometimes escaping into a child’s world allows us to see the world through their eyes where maybe they envision a better place. We’re living at a time of division and despair when we can’t even agree on the truth. When people try to work together and conquer fears and differences, we will feel better about ourselves. As Justin Timberlake says in his song, feeling, “that sunshine in my pocket” can illuminate us all.