Commentary: Magic of Disney makes the hurt feel better

By LISA CAPOBIANCO STAFF WRITER I’ll never forget that day in September 1996 when I was playing in my backyard and suddenly my parents called me inside to break the news: my great uncle (on my dad’s side of the family) just died of a heart attack. As a 5-year-old dealing with the topic of death for the first time, I did not know how to react. “Is there anything we can do,” I asked my parents in the kitchen. “No, sweetie, there’s nothing you can do—he’s gone,” my parents said in a solemn voice. I cannot recall crying, getting mad, or frustrated, but I was definitely sad, and my parents knew it. At that moment my parents escorted me to the TV room where they popped in one of my favorite videos (of many): Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh Boo to You.” Welcome to the world of Disney where children like myself can escape life’s troubles, heartache, or setbacks by living vicariously through animated characters that can sing and dance, even while putting up a fight. As I sat on the couch watching the Halloween special of Winnie, I poured all of my emotions into Piglet, who wanted to prove […]