The Sunshine Award

I've been meaning to mention that Andrew D. of "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die" has bestowed upon the Monkey the "Sunshine" Award. An appropriately-themed accolade, don't you think, considering the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder at this time of year.

These are the award's rules:

1. Include the Sunshine Award in a post or on your blog
2. Link to the person who nominated you.
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself (you may use these or come up with your own)
4. Nominate 10 bloggers.
5. Link your nominees on your blog and comment on their blog to let them know they are nominated.

Andrew D. selected the Monkey for this award for the most refreshing reason ever: "I literally don't know ANY other bloggers." If only everyone were as honest.

Okay, so parts one and two, taken care of. But parts three and four—"10 questions ... 10 bloggers." Ten? Jeepers. Screw ten. I'm too old for ten. How about three? And not three questions, but three of my favorite musical moments from the movies. Maybe not the three favorites, but three of them.

(1) "Cheek to Cheek" (Top Hat). I've said it before, but I'll say it again: When I watch Astaire and Rogers dance, I reconsider the possibility that maybe there is a heaven after all.



(2) "I Should Have Known Better" (A Hard Day's Night). The Beatles and Richard Lester invent the music video.



(3) "Kindle My Heart" (A Little Princess). More a reimagining of the Shirley Temple movie than an adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved children's book, A Little Princess is the story of a rich girl suddenly thrown into poverty, but what it's about is the power of storytelling to transmute despair into hope. In this scene, director Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) ups the ante, showing how filmmaking can bypass the frontal lobes and tell stories directly to the heart.



And who gets the Monkey's Sunshine shout-out? Olivia de Havilland, the pig from Babe and Nick Charles's beleaguered liver.

Have at it, boys and girls.