When I was in high school, I remember going to a youth group that chose to do something different for the summer. For one month everyone watched a Disney movie and then we heard a talk on the hidden theology in that movie. I don't remember all of them, but there were two I don't think I'll ever forget: The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
(You don't necessarily need to fit one theme to one character throughout the whole movie. Themes could change from scene to scene and from character to character. So don't get too caught up on that!)
A Tail of Theology
In the Little Mermaid you can find the easy message about a human body being important. And, whereas Ariel is not the best model of virtue (see the relationship with her father), she does show some real reflections of the human heart.
Ariel spends her days collecting human stuff out of curiosity. But once she gets to the surface she doesn't to continue to collect things. She seeks human interaction and experiences such as dancing. She spends her time trying to foster relationship with those around her. Do you get caught up in the things that are part of your world or do you seek true relationship?
Then you've got her interaction with Ursula the sea witch. In grasping at the idea of a relationship, Ariel disparately trades the gift of her voice. She allows temptation to take a piece of her in exchange for something she could have received as a gift from her father - legs (as we see by the end of the movie). Are there times you grasp out of desperation rather than going to the Father and sharing your heart's desire with him?
The Little Mermaid is also filled with characters I'm sure you can see in your own life. Flotsam and Jetsam, Ursula's minions, who whisper doubt in your ear. Scuttle, the seagull, who is a great hype person in your life although maybe not so theologically educated, which is why it's good to have sound, virtuous, friends in your life like Sebastian and Flounder.
There is a war for your body. Make sure you're going to Your Heavenly Father and not the sea witch.
True Beauty Theology
Pope St. JPll said, "A person's rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use." You'd almost think Belle had read this in one of her books with the way she rejects Gaston. He is out to claim Belle because of her body. He doesn't pursue her to give himself as a gift and to receive her as one, body and soul. Belle knows her worth and would rather be alone than settle for being used for another's gratification. Do you know your worth? Do you recognize when you're being pursued in life by counterfeits?
After turning Gaston's prideful marriage proposal down, she runs off in frustration and sings a reprise which holds the lyrics:
"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere
I want it more than I can tell
And for once it might be grand
To have someone understand
I want so much more than they've got planned"
Wanting more than what her village tells her to settle for...sounds an awful lot like someone here on Earth knowing Heaven awaits! Do you take time t think about Heaven? Do you seek community that helps you strive for eternity in Heaven?
And then we have The Beast. Another character who never gave himself as a gift to others and who never received others as a gift. That is, until Belle shows up. She immediately begins to share her love for her father and you can see Beast's physical reaction of shock. In that moment when she offers her life with the Beast in order for her father to be free, you can tell the Beast has never witnessed such sacrifice before. She continues to pursue getting to know him and finds the rose. She sees his hurt, sees the big, the bad, the ugly, and she stays. Belle treats him with dignity and he not only remembers his humanity, but starts to become the best version of himself. Beast begins to open up and share himself with Belle but also begins to treat all the other staff in the castle with dignity. Do you find you have more authentic relationships when you make a gift of yourself?
Belle holds fast to her beliefs that she's worth being truly seen and received. She knows that she was given gifts and talents, passions and dreams, that point to something greater than herself.
Beast proves that, no matter how far away you may have fallen from who you are, you can always come back. By the end of the film he embodied the JPll quote, "man finds himself through a sincere gift of self."
Whether you identify more with Belle, Beast, or even Gaston, you deserve to be received as the gift you are. But you must also be courageous in the way you give the gift of yourself.
Conclusion
I may not remember the names of those that gave the talks, or which friends I went with, but I don't think I'll ever forget being taught how to see God everywhere. The more I learn about Theology of the Body the more I feel like I've been wearing drunk goggles. When you start looking through the lens of Theology of the Body you start to see how the Lord pursues you. Even in a Disney movie. And with each movie Disney has come out with in the last two decades there's all the more opportunity to meet Him in His pursuit of you. Frozen, Moana, Wreck It Ralph, Enchanted, Coco...challenge yourself to find where God is speaking to you. Now, which Disney movie will you go pray?
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