Blast from the Past
As I was doing some shopping before I went off to see the lastest Harry potter movie, I happened to pop into Jay Jays, where I noticed they were selling a collection of “retro” tees. Although I was disappointed to find that their Nintendo ones were in the men’s style, I literally squeed with delight when I found, hidden at the back, a Cheer Bear tee.
Now, for me, of all the Care Bears, Cheer Bear holds a special place in my heart, as she was the first toy I remember getting. In fact, getting her is my first memory. I was about three at the time, and I have a fuzzy memory of a Farmers that was not in the next town over (because it was up the coast), seeing a bunch of Care Bears on a display, pointing to the pink one and saying something like, “I want.” According to my parents, they were going to buy my sister and me one, and they wanted to know which one I wanted.
For many years Cheer Bear (and my sister’s Bedtime Bear) came with us on holidays, and slept with me. Even now that I am twenty, she still came with me to university (even being mailed down when I texted Mum in a panic from Christchurch Airport telling her that I had left her behind and could she pleeeease send her down to me.
It’s things like this that make me wonder when is it time to put away childish things. Ancient peoples were more definite with this, and had rituals where the adult-to-be gave their childhood possessions to the family altar, signaling their childhood is now.
And yet now? Have things changed? After all, who are the midnight releases of Harry Potter for? Who is it that makes fantastic costumes based on characters from animated television shows? It’s the older ones. In fact, I think I am on the younger end of the scale of those people.
I must admit, though, that even now I still find it odd to think about Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: they were taken off the air and never replayed due to the fact that kids were running around and getting hurt while playing Power Rangers.
The strange thing is that several of the last Power Ranger generations have been filmed right here in NZ.
Edit: OMG SPELLING ERRORS OH NOES