Skip to main content

A touch of Minx

A few months ago, I, along with everyone else, fell in love with the movie Inside Out.  I also appreciated that one of the main story points was it is  okay to feel sad, sometimes it’s an emotion that cannot be avoided. It was nice to see a movie not sugar-coat tough emotions and show that memories can be shaded with a blend of feelings. I thought the writers were so clever to materialize emotions into characters that kids could understand. Again, I was overwhelmed by their inventiveness that there are little beings living in the main character’s brain.
As I watched these colorful characters on the screen, I had a nagging reminder of a comic strip I had read growing up. It was in the British  comic book called The Beano.  Not to be confused with the natural remedy.  The Beano comic book has been going strong for over 60 years in Great Britain.
When I arrived home, I looked up these characters. The cast that started me doing comparisons was The Numskulls.    Come to find out, I was in good company on this very thought process. There was an article in The Hollywood Reporter that focused on this same observation. 
 I revisited this comic strip of bean-shaped (there’s a theme here, I know it!) tiny people that were in charge of the human’s functions, such as the Eye and Nose Department, rather than his emotions.
Looking through The Beano’s website, I saw the other players was entertained by: Lord Snooty: the equivalent to Richie Rich,  but he dressed in a top coat and tails; Roger the Dodger: a crafty boy always thinking of schemes to get out of his chores; Dennis the Menace: he looked nothing like the American counterpart. This comic had him with spiky black hair and a doppelganger dog by the name of Gnarly; and my favorite Minnie the Minx.
She looked just the way I remembered—the girl with the mischievous smile, wearing a vibrant red and black striped sweater and coal black Tam O'Shanter  hat covering her shocking red hair ponytails. Why was she my favorite character? Was it because she was one of the few girls in the comic strip?  Was it because her side kick was a cat? Why did I find her impish antics so amusing? Was it because she was the exact opposite of me?

It was nice to visit the past of my childhood and in the spirit of the movie, this memory ball of my favorite comic book character will be tinged with richer emotions.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What’s your top ten?

Lately, I have been watching many top ten lists on You Tube.  It started with viewing watchmojo.com  with my teenage son.  We shout out what we think should be number one best video game or worst villain. He has been inspired since then to create his own countdowns. I have also stumbled across Matthew Santoro’s channel  and his show has also been added as a favorite.   Back in my day, top 10 lists were relegated to the David Letterman Show .  Now, I can watch as many top 10 lists as I please.  Yea, technology!! Taking a queue from my son, below is my countdown to my top 10 reasons why I watch Top 10 Lists: 10. The facts are listed in short tidbits that you don’t feel overwhelmed and able to retain the information.   For instance, I learned that we share a considerable amount of our DNA with bananas. Therefore, I have concluded it’s not a big insult to call someone a “banana”.  9. Goodness knows I have turned on YouTube during ...
Post a Comment
Read more

All that camouflage!

One of my guilty pleasures is watching Project Runway . I find it fascinating that the designers can look at a piece of fabric and envision a sassy or an innovative dress. I get a real kick out of Tim Gunn and his signature catch phrase, “Make it work!” as he critiques the competing designers. I have often used this phrase in some of my parenting skills. A few years ago, my husband mentioned he wanted to try his hand at fly fishing, but didn't have waders. It was a few days before his birthday, so I figured Perfect! That’s what I would get him! At the time, he worked weekends; on the Saturday before his birthday, I took our son, who was seven at the time, to Sportsman’s Warehouse . This store is huge, packed tightly full of every sort of camping, hunting and fishing gear imaginable.  What I didn't know, but became painfully aware as soon as we entered, was in the middle of the store, they have on display a life-like wilderness scene. To complete this display was many taxi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Found: a change of perspective

There have been times I've been searching for a lost item—be it my car keys or my shoes—I can’t find it for the life of me. I tear the house apart, and doggedly quiz my family (Are you sure you didn't see them? Really, really?) After a fruitless search, I feel very frustrated, throw my hands up and quit looking. After a while, I retrace my steps--I do need to find these items, especially if I’m heading out the door! Inevitably, I find the item only when I search differently. For instance, when looking for my car keys, if I dug my hand through my purse, I now need to dump all of the contents out.  If I've been looking underneath the bed for my shoes from the left hand side, I switch to the right. It got me thinking how this new approach is relative to life experiences. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in looking at a problem one way that with a fresh pair of eyes, it can be view as an opportunity. For example, a fender bender is a tragedy when it occurs. The look of the ...
Post a Comment
Read more