My First Movie Blogathon!

So the ladies over at Flick Chicks are hosting another blogathon. This time, it's about your first movie experience. This could be anything from the first VHS you remember watching, your first time to the movie theater, or even the first VHS/DVD you bought for yourself.

So, for me, because I just can't remember the very first movie I ever watched, I am choosing to write about the first time at the movie theater. And honestly, I'm not even 100% sure this is the first film I saw in theaters. However, I spent some time going through the years I would've been old enough to go, and this was the first film that stuck out to me, and I'm pretty sure I saw in theater.

In 1999, I was seven years old. And one of my first trips to the movie theater (if not my first overall) led me to see the Disney movie Tarzan. I wouldn't say I was exactly raised on Disney (there are still a few I only remember vaguely watching and some I haven't seen at all), but, for whatever reason (maybe because I was finally old enough, or had seen the commercials and I was dying to see it), my parents took me to see Tarzan.

Tarzan, if you don't already know or haven't seen it, is about a man who has been raised by apes his whole life, out in the jungle. But when some explorers reach his area to research the apes, Tarzan discovers Jane. Jane and those with her are astonished in their discovery of Tarzan. A man been raised by apes? They teach him to read, speak and write English, to learn English customs and culture. And, of course, Tarzan and Jane fall in love.

Honestly, Tarzan is a movie I have not watched in quite a few years now, but it's one I definitely really loved growing up, after seeing it in theaters. The music is great, the story is great, and I kind of really wanted to be Jane Porter. How awesome was she? The animation was so beautiful, and I'm sure I pretended I was Tarzan or Jane various times after watching this film. And I also remember being slightly disturbed at the ending, with Clayton hanging in the vines. This scene, is the one I remember most from seeing it in theaters. I found it sad and scary and something I had never really seen before.

However, the music in the film was something I loved. All of it was awesome, Phil Collins wrote some amazing stuff. I believe we owned the soundtrack and I remember listening to it at home, thinking "You'll Be In My Heart" was such a sweet and romantic song.

Tarzan is a movie that I do not personally own, but my parents bought and owned on VHS after the movie was released. It was one we watched every so often and that we always enjoyed. It's one my mother probably enjoyed just as much as me and my younger sister. It was somewhat of a classic in our house for a period, but never really reached the level of love we had for Aladdin (which was my family's absolute favourite). We haven't watched this movie in years, and frankly, I can't really remember the last time I watched it. But it's a film that I've always loved and enjoyed, and one I'm actually thinking about watching sometime this week since it's been so long and I'd love to finally revisit it.

As mentioned, I can't be 100% sure that this is the first film I ever saw in theaters. But looking at the wide release movies in the years after I was born, this is the first one that sticks out to me and I'm 95% certain I did see in theaters.

Other movies seen in theaters in 1999: Inspector Gadget, Toy Story 2, Stuart Little