THE PRINCESS BRIDE AND THE NEXT GENERATION

by Geek Girl Sandi

MY NAME IS INIGO MONTOYA...INTRODUCING THE PRINCES BRIDE TO CHILDREN

A couple of weeks ago, as Christmas vacation was winding down, my daughter saw something that I had previously "recorded" on our PVR for my own nostalgic viewing pleasure. At eleven years old, I renamed myself Buttercup and imagined Cary Elwes coming to save me from some Rodents of Unusual Size (or ROUS for short). That movie was, of course, The Princess Bride. 

My daughter is eight years old, and despite all efforts to raise her in a gender-neutral environment, we have raised a real girly-girl, who one day made a little piece of my heart die when she declared that "Star Wars is for boys!" (Inconceivable!) When she expressed an interest in watching The Princess Bride, I was excited to share this piece of my childhood, which I thought would probably be a bit more to her liking. My son, a four year old who is relatively easy to please, shied away at first (like little Fred Savage, he was worried there would be too much kissing), but he was in as soon as he learned there were pirates involved. 

As we sat down to watch the movie, I was a mix of excitement for sharing one of my young loves with my children, and trepidation that they wouldn't appreciate the movie, or even worse, think it "stupid" (being eight, and you can never be sure what's 'not cool' with my daughter any more), and feared I would never have their company while watching it again.

To my great pleasure, The Princess Bride was a hit. As soon as Andre the Giant came on the screen, my son had a new all-time favourite character. He randomly quotes “No more rhymes now, I mean it. Anybody want a peanut?”, then howls with laughter. My daughter was caught up right from the beginning, her eight year old heart as smitten with Westley as my eleven-year-old heart had been. I had forgotten just how well the movie balanced romance, humour and adventure, appealing to both children. There was enough slap-stick comedy for the kids to enjoy, while the quick exchanges between characters provided adult entertainment. And I can't help but laugh just looking at Billy Crystal and Carol Kane, whom I have grown to appreciate more with age. 

I am now a proud mother of two children who know that the appropriate response to “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya…” is “You killed my father. Prepare to die!” in a Spanish accent.

Now, if only I could find a copy of Willow...

Sandi is a 30-something environmental engineer and mother of two from the metropolis of Stittsville, Ontario. Writing for Capital Geek Girls is a new adventure for her, with previous writing experience limited to technical documents, briefing notes and Facebook updates. In her spare time, Sandi enjoys playing board games and video games, reading books, watching movies, and crocheting. She looks forward to sharing her geeky endeavours with you, as well as reporting on the next generation’s response to those endeavours.