Sleeping Beauty: The one that started it all.

I remember watching Sleeping Beauty for the first time when I was eight years old. My grandmother surprised me with a VHS Masterpiece edition one day, and I fell in love with it. Since then I've considered it to be one of the greatest Disney films ever made, and Maleficent has become my favorite Disney villain of all time.

In the Fall of 2013 I was under a max amount of stress, to the point where it was too much to handle. I was a full time student, living with my emotionally abusive father, and going through health issues that were making me feel fragile and anxious. No stranger to weed at the time, I turned to it to help calm my nerves and settle my anxiety over my health and studies.

One night I broke out a joint  I had safely tucked safely away and smoked all of in my room while my Dad was at work. The decision to watch Sleeping Beauty afterwards wasn't planned. It came down to there not being anything else to watch that seemed interesting. And so, nice and high, I snuggled into my futon mattress on the floor, and popped in the 1959 Disney classic.

I hadn't thought about how it would feel to watch a movie high, even though I had done it once before for the first time prior to that night. Suddenly I realized that everything that was happening in the movie was heightened through my sense of sight and sound. The classic score and vocal arrangements that take place at the beginning of film were utterly beautiful. And that's when I realized that this was going to be an experience, because up until that point I never even bothered to pay attention to the stuffy old, pomp and circumstance type music the movie was full of. Now suddenly it was invading my ears like a trumpeting army.

The film continues and the three good fairies are bestowing their gifts upon Princess Aurora. Suddenly Maleficent appears, and yay!! My favorite villain of all time has arrived. But hold on, she looks TERRIFYING. Commanding attention with her demonic presence and that haunting familiar voice of Eleanor Audley, Maleficent is stealing the show and searing your ears with power. Suddenly she bangs her staff down upon the castle floor, resulting in a chilling clatter of a sound that strikes you like a whip across the face. It's these little things that you don't take note of when you're watching this classic Disney movie over, and over again. Those little things are heightened and then suddenly it becomes a completely engrossing experience like you're there, inside of the story every step of the way. Watch here:

The rest of the film continues on, and my senses have settled a bit. Next thing I know the fairies have returned Aurora to the castle and Maleficent appears to claim her prophecy. Cue the music once again, and my ears are pinned to that unsettling score of murderous intent. Everything's dark as Aurora slowly walks down that green lit corridor that has appeared out of a wall. The fairies chase after her as the tempo picks up. We know what's coming and yet we don't anymore.

The film continues, the epic climax is over before we can process that it's happening(some things never change even when you're high), and as the movie ends my high has almost all but passed. I didn't think then that this was going to be the start of something special. A goal that was going to lead to an even bigger goal of magic and euphoria. All I thought was wow, that was an unexpectedly interesting experience....

Once Upon a Time....

On February 9th, 1989 a woman gave birth to a little boy in Long Beach, California. He, like millions of other children of his generation, not to mention the generations before and the generations to follow, would be raised on the magic of Disney through theme parks, television, and of course, film.

Fast Forward to 2013; The boy is now twenty four going on twenty five; gay, ambitious but frightened, a full time student, a Donald Duck tattoo on his left arm(one of several tattoos that is), and in such a deep, dark, and serious depression with no Prince Charming to come along and save him. Enter a copy of Sleeping Beauty on DVD, and a rolled up joint of medical marijuana.

Jump back to the years 1989 through 1994; A golden revolution for Disney films that saw the likes of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. One right after another. Producing for the little boy in question, themed Birthday parties, t-shirts, toys, and several trips to Disneyland. This was also the golden age for Disney VHS, a time in which every Disney film was being released under the, "Classic," title. Christmases and Birthdays saw gifts in the form of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, all on grainy VHS film strips tied together within a clunky black rectangle. All generations of Disney were represented in this collection, and from then on the boy's induction into the worldwide community of Mouseketters was forever in place.

Fast Forward again to 2014; Hard times thrived on for the boy who was now a man, as they do for so many Mouseketeer's who have grown up and are fighting for survival in their twenties. Yet he was fortunate enough to have friends, and an escape system built on imagination, inspiration, and, very occasionally mind you, a little help from mother nature's love plant known as, marijuana. These three magical ingredients gave way to a trail of exquisite rediscovery for these beloved Disney films the boy had grown up with, now seen through the eyes of a pot glazed imagination. It was then that he decided to share his experiences with the world. Those who have been fans of Disney their whole lives, but had left Neverland and have long since grown up.

Present Blog Post: This young man, if you haven't guessed by now, is me. I've created this blog to share my stories with other Disney film enthusiasts as well as those who are 420 friendly. This blog brings the two together, and recounts my experiences in watching every feature from the Disney animation canon under the influence of marijuana.

At this point I've only watched about fifteen of the animated classics, which means I still have over thirty more to go. I've collected notes from my experiences thus far, and will be publishing them, along with new experiences for the Disney films I have yet to watch stoned as we go along. Now, we all know that there are some serious clunkers in the Disney canon, that quite frankly some of us, myself included, never want to watch again. However if this blog gains enough followers, I vow to watch every single Disney animated film ever made. The packaged films, the 2000's dark age films, etc.

DISCLAIMER: This blog is 420 friendly. That means as administrator of this blog, I support the responsible use of marijuana as an adult, and for other consenting adults who also smoke responsibly. This blog does NOT support the use of any other drug, legal or ESPECIALLY illegal. This blog will be flagged as an 18+ blog. If you are under the age of eighteen, get out and enjoy your childhood while you've still got it!!!! Stay in school, don't do drugs. This blog is for the adults who are children at heart, and have suffered the great long Disney ride wait line known as life.

In conclusion, this blog is for those of us who no matter how much we've aged, we still carry the love for Disney films within our hearts. This blog will illustrate my experiences of rediscovering these films as an adult, and finding that no matter how many times I've seen them, that through smoking I can look deeper and find that magic in them that makes them so special. And in turn realize how and why we all came to love them in the first place.

And now let us sit back, light up a joint, cue the Cinderella castle Walt Disney whistle opening, and see what happens when you wish upon a bud....