Meher Marfatia: Four legs good

You havent seen Jungle Book yet Im asked a lot these days The movie must be a magnificent watch Its just that my mind still swirls with sights and sounds from Disneys enchanting earlier version But be it the pure animation classic or the new CGI action adventure millions of children and adults across the world find both films fabulousWhy does the device of assigning human traits to animals mdash called anthropomorphism mdash from the most ancient myths fables fairytales and fiction work so delightfully Because animals cast in human role play are as reassuring as they are whimsical They allow emotional distance when what seeks to be expressed is too powerful or painful in a way human characters do notThey give kids temporary relief from dilemmas not the same as escapism and a safe space where they breathe and reflect on life choices What would Roly Robin do I wondered each time I debated something bothering me I was a schoolgirl fan of the chirpy Robin familys exploits adorably serialised in the Womans Weekly magazine my mother subscribed to for recipes romances and knitting patternsMy children were as passionate about their animal favourites as toddlers Not quite four years old on the morning his sister was born my son peered into her hospital cot and took gallant charge Mummy looks tired let me tell you a story he whispered bending to pour a Babar the Elephant tale into her shellsmall ears The brainchild of Jean de Brunhoff dressed in natty spats and determined to forge ahead in the world Babar is hard to beat for smart individualityWhen said baby daughter got to age four she obsessed enough over Tweety Bird for us to buy her bed linen with the Warner Bros canary printed on it Distressed when she thought the sheet would make Tweety grow in the dark she misheard me saying it was from Bombay Dyeings glow in the dark range mdash she wept to see how night after night of snuggling down with Tweety didnt result in the yellow bird becoming any biggerBirds mice or rabbits cats dogs or fish bears horses or elephantsnonhumans peopling the nursery world are universally and instantly related to Animal characters also break barriers of race colour gender and nationality Free of such insulting and insulating boxes kids connect closer with a strong sense of metaphor and vivid imagination Editions of Richard Scarrys Busytown books changed progressively to mirror social change his anthropomorphic characters as politically correct as humans are expected to be in realityA literary bear Ive always been partial to in The Hundred Acre Wood created by AA Milne is Winnie the Pooh Red shirt endearingly stretched only halfway down his tubby belly Pooh joins his pals Tigger Piglet Owl Rabbit Eeyore Kanga and Roo to learn that we need to celebrate differences everyone needs someone and never blindly trust authorityPsychologist Bruno Bettelheim explains in his seminal book The Uses of Enchantment In play toy animals are used to embody aspects of the childs personality which are complex unacceptable and contradictory for him to handle This permits the childs ego to gain mastery over these elements which he cannot do when forced to recognise them as projections of his own inner processesOlder children ponder over promise and betrayal on the pages of a revolutionary satire like George Orwells Animal Farm Or start thinking about selfperfection and transcendence in Richard Bachs spiritual allegory Jonathan Livingston Seagull It could be reasonably assumed that readers emerge less judgemental and more forgiving of the foibles of animals than of humans caught in the same situationsBack in Kiplings forest fantasia I hear Colonel Hathi memorably march to Hup two three fourKeep it up two three four Apparently comic actually heroic hes galumphed into our hearts Ever ready to answer the call of duty he is respectful and responsible displaying dignity and courage He shows grace under pressure obeys laws of the land for the larger goodThe cleverness of anthropomorphism stops his story from becoming a boring homily This may well be the animals ultimate triumph mdash they never preach plus theyre great fun Which kid wouldnt want thatWrite in to Meher at mehermarfatiagmailcom