Bambi Magical Meal

Bambi-the story of the young prince growing up in the forest. This is probably the sweetest of all the Disney animated films. I dare you not to laugh when the young animals giggle or cry when Bambi's mother gets shot (Was that a spoiler? Sorry!) Although my teenage boys asked if we were going to eat Bambi's mother for our meal, I frowned at them and told them this would be an animal-friendly meal. Here it is:

Bambi Sammies
Thumper's Carrots
Cauliflower Clover
Forest Berry Smoothies
Flower's Dessert

Start with the cauliflower. Wash and separate into small pieces. In a bowl, mix 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup flour and beat together. In another bowl, mix 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. In a stir-fry pan, heat about 1/4 cup oil. Dip cauliflower pieces in the batter and then the dry ingredients mixture. Then stir fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Delicious!

For the Bambi Sammies: Get a loaf of bread and your family's favorite sandwich ingredients. For mine, I got peanut butter and jelly, cheese slices, and egg salad. Make sandwiches using the ingredients. Then use a cookie cutter in the shape of a deer and cut out. Now, don't panic! If you don't have a deer cookie cutter, look at your Christmas cookie cutters and pull out the reindeer. Works just as good!

Thumper's Carrots are a no-brainer. Get a bag of baby carrots and put in a serving bowl. Easy! The kids can munch along with Thumper. For the Forest Berry Smoothie put 1 cup of blueberries, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of orange juice, 1 cup of vanilla yogurt, and 2 teaspoons sugar or other sweetener in a blender and mix. This smoothie is very berry so if your family doesn't like berries that much you might ease back and only put 1/2 cup of the different berries. This makes about 4 servings.

Flower's Dessert is so easy! I bought the "Suzy Q" snack cakes from the store. These are the chocolate cake with the vanilla filling. Looks just like "Flower." You can also make a chocolate cake and instead of icing the whole thing, just put vanilla icing in between the layers. For a nice touch, get a few different colored icings and squeeze out a flower design on each plate. So pretty!

I know you're waiting for it! Here's Thomas's review of the movie "Bambi."
Bambi is a movie like Dumbo but in the forest; it is enjoyable. It tells the story of a deer who goes through life with its challenges that comes with it. The animation was so well done with its water and the animals. The characters are memorable for their type of animal. Bambi is someone we could relate to. Thumper and Flower were good friends with Bambi. His father was very strong and authoritative. Bambi's mom is great and was well caring, although the death of her was memorable, too. This movie is very good to show kids on life.
Story: 10/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
TOTAL: 9/10

Dumbo Magical Meal

Who doesn't love Dumbo? Or a circus? This meal is so easy, you'll want to have it again and again. Here's the menu:
Dumbo Jumbo Hot Dogs
Peanuts
Corn on the Cob for the Crows
Pink Elephants on Parade Lemonade
Clown Pie in the Face

First cook the corn. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Clean the ears of corn and wrap them in foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Heat a pot of water with your large hot dogs in it. Get the largest hot dogs you can find, bun length or foot long. Let the hot dogs boil for a good five minutes. Then put in hot dog buns. Using ketchup and then mustard make lines back and forth (just like Dumbo's collar in the movie).

For Pink Elephants on Parade Lemonade, you can get a two-liter of pink lemonade or get the mix. Pour into clear plastic cups. Add a fruit garnish by cutting small pieces of your favorite fruit and spear with a toothpick. I like to let the top piece of fruit hang over the top of the cup so the fruit doesn't completely sink.

The main object of the Clown Pie in the Face is to have lots of whipped cream on top! We bought a small pie from the deli already made and took spray whipped cream and covered the top. You can also pick one up in the frozen food section of the store or make one from scratch. Be sure to cover it in whipped cream (Beware of clown-wannabe's getting ideas!).

Get a bag of peanuts in the shell from the produce section of the store. Put them in a big bowl or small bags for each person. Make sure that you have a place to put the broken shells.

Here's Thomas's review of the movie:
Dumbo is a fun movie to watch. It shows the life of an elephant that is different from others. He has to change his "curse" into a "gift" and he becomes famous (sounds similar to X-Men). Dumbo is someone you could relate to. His mother is sweet; the mouse was a funny character, the crows were cool, and everyone else was enjoyable. It's a good movie to enjoy.
Story: 7/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Total: 8/10

Fantasia Magical Meal

Walt Disney's third feature animation was Fantasia. I had never seen it before, so I enjoyed viewing it with my kids. But enough about the movie. Let's eat! Our menu was as follows: Fantasia Chicken Salad
Sorcerer's Apprentice Ambrosia
Alligator Tails
Hippo-tatoes
Night on Bald Mountain Dessert
For the Chicken Salad, start with a bed of green lettuce. Layer shredded cooked chicken on top. Then let your imagination go wild! Fantasia is all about colors and creativity. Add different colors to the salad. Anything from tortilla chips to fruits to nuts. How about colorful cereals? I sprinkled a few fruit loops for a bright color. Surprise your kids!

For the Sorcerer's Apprentice Ambrosia combine 1 cup vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Set aside. In another bowl combine 2 cut up bananas, 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup pineapple chunks, 1 cup strawberries, and 1 cup red grapes. Add fruit to the yogurt mixture to coat. Serve in small bowls.

For the Alligator Tails, buy 2 packages of crescent rolls and bake according to directions. For Hippo-tatoes, clean small red potatoes. Cover each one in wax paper and prick with fork. Cook in microwave, one minute per potato. Night on Bald Mountain has to be dark, evil, wicked. In serving bowls, dish out chocolate ice cream and drizzle chocolate syrup over. Whipped cream is optional.

I know you're waiting for it. Here it is. Thomas Fitzmartin's review of the movie Fantasia:
Fantasia was a great, new experience for me. It's the first movie solely based on music with animation. It doesn't need a good story to make a good movie (with the exception of the Sorcerer's Apprentice). The animation was fantastic. The characters are memorable to this day (like Mickey or the evil Chernebog). The music was so beautiful, the way they play it was spectacular. It's a good movie to see if you're in a mood for something amazing.
Story: 7
Animation: 10
Characters: 9
Songs: 10
TOTAL: 9

Pinocchio Magical Meal

Last night the Fitzmartin family viewed the Disney classic "Pinocchio," which surprisingly held my teenagers attention, even drawing a chuckle from them. The kids' comments were again hilarious. When Jiminy Cricket first appeared one said, "He's a hobo cricket or a bum cricket." Then a minute later, "This is the second time in two movies that we've seen breaking in. What are they teaching?" Later, "'Not practical' says the talking cricket." And then when Jiminy kept messing things up one said, "You're tempting us to squash you."

Our meal to go along with the movie included the following: Stromboli
Pinocchio Lying Nose Vegetables
Jiminy Cracked Corn
Blue Fairy's Berries
Geppetto Gelato

Here's how you put it together. Take half of a 17.3 ounce package of puff pastry (one sheet) and thaw it. You can find this in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Heat the oven to 400. Unfold the pastry sheet and using a dusting of flour, roll it out to about a 16 by 12 rectangle. Layer half a pound of cooked deli ham, half a pound of cooked deli turkey and one cup shredded cheddar cheese on half of the pastry. Then starting at the short side roll it up. Place on baking sheet, seam side down and tuck under the ends. Beat one egg with one tablespoon of water and brush on the pastry. Then bake for 25 minutes. Yum!

While that's cooking, chop 1/4 cup onion, 1/4 cup red pepper, and 1/4 green pepper very finely. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a nonstick pan. Add the veggies and saute for about 4 minutes. Drain one can of corn and add to the pan. Heat thoroughly and then cover and simmer until ready to serve.

For the Pinocchio Lying Nose Vegetables, clean long sticks of carrots and celery and put on a platter. When eating, tell a "truth" for every bite, making the "nose" smaller. I would say, "I love my children very much" and then take a bite. Cheezy, yes, but it never hurts to tell your kids that you love them. Clean a bunch of blueberries and set out for Blue Fairy's Berries (or mix in a smoothie, if you choose). For dessert, enjoy a scoop of delicious gelato (Italian ice cream), easily found with the ice creams in the grocery store.

Thomas's review: Pinocchio was a great follow-up to Snow White. It is the great story of an adventure of a puppet; the animation was nearly perfect; the songs were greatly memorable; the characters are also memorable. Pinocchio is just a boy that needs to learn to be a boy. Jiminy Cricket is so funny to see (alive for that matter). The fox and cat were memorable too. The movie is something to really enjoy. Story: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Songs: 10/10
TOTAL: 9/10