Big Ben and Peter Pan
In a world with so many responsibilities, routine, sad moments and too many cares we forget to think about the beauties of childhood. We speak about work, tasks, wages but we started to ignore the real meaning of life, the pure feeling of joy and happiness. In a world where „stress” is on the daily menu, sometimes, we only find our happiness in our children When we speak about travels some people think about shopping, others about tourist attractions and some about how many lovely pictures they will take there. But there still are a few who also care about their children’s perception about the sights they visit. And the sad truth is that most of the tourists’ spots can be quite boring and annoying for a child, if they are not presented in a special way, in a childish way. Fortunately, Big Ben is one of the tourist attractions in London that appeared in many Disney movies and children started to like it more and more.
The Big Ben is one of the most important touristic points of interest in London and, in time, it became the emblem of the British capital. Big Ben is the nickname of the great bell situated in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster North. The tower was completed in 1858 and had its 150th anniversary on 31st of May 2009. With a power of light, only during the night, it has been featured in various Disney media over the years. In what follows I will talk about a few stories.
In „A Christmas carol” after showing Ebenezer Scrooge the joys of the holiday season and the poor living conditions of his underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit, The Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge inside Big Ben and shows him the evil of Ignorance and Want, specifically in what peril poor people will end up behind bars. Do you remember Peter Pan? Well, there is a scene when Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael Darling are seen stopping on one of the hands of Big Ben to get their bearings in order to find Neverland. A small replica of Big Ben can be seen in the Darling’s household at the end of the film where it rings in a slightly high pitch compared to the real big one with a deeper pitch. This version of Big Ben was also featured in the Kingdom Hearts video games in the Peter Pan based world of Neverland.
There are many other animations that emphasize the greatness, beauty and importance of Big Ben. For an adult, introducing Big Ben in an animation can be a thing without a specific importance, but for a child this can be really amazing. Correlating a physical object, a thing that they can actually touch in real life, with a realm full of magic, wonders and fairies can be an outstanding experience for a child and this thing can also boost his or her imagination. As adults we forget to dream. Maybe it is time to start learning that from our kids.
