Ahhh, cute, you either go awwwww or ewwwww and it depends on what each like as cute. Personally, seeing a baby full of cake all over its face, is messy and gross, not cute. Parents thinking their kids taking a dump is cute, is not cute. If that was cute, we would be gooing over grandpa taking a dump when we visit him in the old folks home and we don’t....at least I hope not. I have to say it will be a fun week to see what everyone will choose as cute for this week’s theme over at Wandering Through The Shelves. Here are my 3...
1. THE LITTLE PRINCESS-1939
I had to choose a Shirley Temple film because she is the epitome of cuteness and was THE biggest star in the 1930s ahead of Gable, Garbo, Tracy, Grant...all of them and she was exceptionally talented who could recite lines, dance, sing and was one kid that did not turn up dead or rotten like so many others. She actually became the ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia during the 1970s and early 1990s. Ok, back to the film, she plays cute as a button daughter to a captain who is off to fight in the Boer War. He leaves her in a private girl’s school paying for all she wishes. When a letter comes that he has died, the matron of the school, realizing there will be no more money from her dad, decides to keep her on but to live in a cold attic room with the other girl and work as a servant. Temple is bullied by a couple of snots(she doesn’t put up with it) and does her best to be positive all while visiting the hospitals since she believes her dad is still alive. It is a very sweet film that showcases her cuteness best but she doesn’t take much guff either.
2. BABE- 1995
I love this film and found it such a sweet fairy tale from the thatched farmhouse to the cute as button little pig named Babe. Babe is bought by a farmer, played by James Cromwell, and brought to his farm to be fattened up but Babe meets all the other animals and wins their hearts except for the surly old male dog and the nasty cat. The farmer sees something in this pig and realizes this pig can communicate quite well with the sheep and decides to bring Babe to the fair to win the cup of best dog to round up the sheep. It is sweet, touching and even scary, well, kind of scary and, except for some CGI to have the animals talk, real animals were used (Not like the total CGI dog in the new film version of Call of the Wild, one of my favourite books). I actually had a dream that I asked the mice if I could sing with them and they said sure so I got right in the middle of them and sang the song. The next morning, my husband (at that time), asked me what the hell I was dreaming about. After I told him he said, “That’s it! You woke me up from your singing and I couldn’t place the song now I know!” Yes, I have very wonky dreams.
3. FRENCH KISS-1995
Meg Ryan was considered one of the cutest actresses from all the romantic comedies she made and this is one of the best. She plays a Canadian, engaged to an American doctor who is flying to Paris for some conference. She is too phobic to fly so he leaves much to her regret, when she gets a call from him one night saying he met this “goddess” and can’t marry her. She overcomes her phobia to get on a plane to win him back only to sit next to a Frenchman, played by the great Kevin Kline. He is carefree where she is not and, unbeknownst to her, he drops a stolen necklace into her bag. Let’s just say the necklace is lost, they become attached to the hip for various reasons as they travel from Paris to the south of France to meet up with her ex-fiancée. It is a real gem of a film and one of the best romantic comedies. Meg Ryan looks great which is way before she screwed up her face with all these Botox, surgeries, cheek fills etc...
Which 3 would you choose?
Agree that Shirley is cute and saw that film so long ago I can't even remember it without your description. Saw Babe, too. Missed the Meg Ryan film; never heard of it. "cute" is not a genre I seek out so am totally lost when trying to come up with something. Watching my two-year old granddaughter run back to the house to give me a hug yesterday was cute. My son was standing out in the driveway freezing, lol.
ReplyDeleteCute is not my forte and this was supposed to be about cute meetings..I think my 3 still apply and you can’t go wrong with Shirley Temple, animals and Romantic comedies
DeleteOh and your granddaughter is very cute and sweet
DeleteHi Birgit....from a very wet and windy uk....I just loved Babe....one of those repeatable watches....haven’t seen the other two films...this weeks watch is Judy....have a lovely weekend we are battening down again as storm Denis is due this weekend xxxx
ReplyDeleteI love Babe and glad you love it too. I hope the weather is a bit better
DeleteMeg Ryan was indeed cute.
ReplyDeleteWas is the big word here
DeleteI don't remember if I saw the film of the Little Princess but the book was read to us at boarding school when I was pretty young. Only reason I liked sewing class. Babe is one of my all time favourites along with Charlotte's Web.
ReplyDeleteI never read the book but hope to one day. Glad you love Babe
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteToday's challenge requires us to decide what we consider "cute." I am not very fond of the term itself and find that I don't like much of the material presented as cute. Good examples are the Shirley Temple films of the early and mid 30s which showcased her over-the-top style of cuteness. I avoid them. However, by the end of the 30s when The Little Princess was released, Shirley was beginning to mature, and thereafter I enjoyed most of her film performances.
I favor the cute label when it applies to animals and I enjoyed Babe. There's a fine line, however. I do not like Miss Piggy and other talking animals that are intended to be hip and modern, ones with potty mouths, grouchy attitudes or ones that are mean spirited. Those are human characteristics, not animal characteristics. I very much dislike animal and baby memes that are supposed to be cute. The true nature of animals and children is cute enough without putting "funny" words in their mouths.
Meg Ryan in her earlier years- yes. When Meg was at the top of her game she was the epitome of cuteness. I enjoyed her style and the intelligence she brought to her craft. Someday Phoebe Cates will wake up and realize she could have had Shady and kick Kevin Kline to the curb.
Enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend BB!
I’m not much into cute either but I like this one and Heidi. Babe is so sweet and fun to watch. Ok, you can have Phoebe and I will take Kevin
DeleteI saw a later version of the Little Princess. I can honestly say I don't think I saw any Shirley Temple films (shame on me :) I did like Babe but my kids were of the right age to really like it so maybe that's why I liked it so much?
ReplyDeletebetty
You know, I actually prefer the newer version of The Little Princess but I wanted to pick a Shirley Temple film. I’m glad your kids loved it and even if you watch it now, you will still love it because of the memories
DeleteWhile all three of these are cute I think only the last one fits the exact "Meet Cute" but all are good choices.
ReplyDeleteThe Little Princess is so prototypically Shirley! I think only Bright Eyes is more of a blueprint for what her movies consisted of during her peak years. This one is positively Dickensian!!
I took a long time to get around to Babe because it looked more precious than cute but it was a sweet film. Not one I go back to but glad I saw it.
I found French Kiss pretty forgettable. Both Meg and Kevin Kline are expert comic performers but they didn't share much chemistry, a major flaw for a romantic comedy.
I decided to do a theme within the theme as a tribute to one of the queens of romantic comedy-Doris Day.
Pillow Talk (1959)-Ultrachic interior designer Jan Morrow (Doris) and wolfish songwriter Brad Allen (Rock Hudson) battle over their shared party line without ever meeting. One night when Jan is enduring a bad unwanted date with a client’s drunken son at a nightclub Brad sees her dancing. Instantly attracted and knowing he’s poison to her if she hears his name he pretends to be Texas rancher Rex Stetson. Laying on the charm and aw shucks naiveté he sweeps Jan off her feet soon falling for her himself but when Jan’s other beau (and friend of Brad’s) Jonathan (Tony Randall) discovers the deception he hurries to let Jan know she’s being taken for a ride. Complications ensue but true love eventually wins the day.
The Glass Bottom Boat (1966)-Jennifer Nelson’s (Doris) father Axel (Arthur Godfrey) runs a tourist boat with a glass bottom off Catalina Island and to help business Jennifer swims underneath dressed as a mermaid complete with tale. One day Bruce Templeton (Rod Taylor) hooks her fin and they bicker until he returns her costume. Later she discovers he’s her new boss at her day job in a research lab, tensions and sparks continue to fly.
Lucky Me (1954)-Candy Williams (Doris) is a member of a cash strapped traveling vaudeville troupe stranded in Miami who are forced to work at a hotel when their leader Hap (Phil Silvers) tries to scam the place out of a lavish meal for them. Staying at the hotel is Broadway producer Dick Carson (Robert Cummings) working on his new show. The superstitious Candy goes for a walk one morning and in trying to avoid a black cat crossing her path jumps to the side causing Dick to smash his car into a wall while she walks on blithely unawares. Dick takes the car to a garage and the mechanic loans him the garage’s jalopy while he works on the car. Heading back to the hotel he again espies Candy now jumping along the sidewalk to avoid cracks and distracted he runs into a fire hydrant. Candy apologizes and takes him for a mechanic, he plays along which eventually leads to complications before love and Broadway success for all wraps things up.
Yes, you do expect Shirley Temple to meet Oliver Twist. I do like how she meets everyone including Queen V. I love Babe and it’s sweet how Babe meets everyone. I can always rematch this film. Actually, I thought Kline and Ryan worked well together and I love the soundtrack. I’m so glad you went with Doris Day and who doesn’t love Pillow Talk. Show that to the kids today, they would be confused about the phones. I also enjoyed The Glass Bottomed Boat but was shocked by her Mermaid outfit..I have no idea why. Your last choice is one I have yet to see.
DeleteI forgot about Babe.
ReplyDeleteBabe is great
DeleteI would have never thought of Babe!
ReplyDeleteBabe is so great
DeleteI love "Babe," especially at the end. "That'll do, pig."
ReplyDeleteYes....that’ll do.
DeleteI'm not terribly fond of the meet cute. They tend to try too hard, at least lately. I think I like your interpretation of the topic better.
ReplyDeleteYes and you know, mine still work because they all meet somehow and Babe is so cute the way he meets everyone. Usually cute meetings make me want to wretch
DeleteMy mum loved watching Shirley Temple when she was a child, because they were about the same age. Consequently I saw way too many Shirley films growing up, as Mum relived her youth!
ReplyDeleteMy mom was born the same year as Shirley and always felt a kinship with her even though my mom was German. I didn’t have the heart to tell my mom when Shirley died because I know that would have upset her and for what? My mom had a few Temple films but in VHS
DeleteFrench Kiss: I've always enjoyed Meg Ryan movies. They were good, clean fun. And don't I sound old. Ha.
ReplyDeleteThe. We are both old.
DeleteI'd go with animal ones probably. Seen all 3 this time. Meg Ryan was cute before she screwed up her face. And yeah, babies taking a dump, aren't cute.
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw all 3. Meg Ryan can’t be called cute any more
DeleteI've HEARD of Babe, but never saw it. Haven't heard of the other two. However, I would never miss your synopses, since you are a fountain of knowledge when it comes to exploring each film. Hope all is well in your world.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can see Babe one day. I. Glad you enjoy my writing.
DeleteCan't decide between Meg Ryan and Babe. Both adorable! :-)
ReplyDeleteI will choose animals any time
DeleteShirley Temple was cute, but I've only seen bits and piece of The Little Princess. Not really my kind of movie. Babe was sweet, as you said, and Meg Ryan was the Queen of Romcoms for a while. I don't remember that movie, though. Here's a bit of a twist on meet cute from Love, Actually: The two porn movie stand-ins, who simulate sex all day long and make it seem like another day at the office, then fall in love in the end. ☺
ReplyDeleteLove, Actually is a perfect meeting for all types of cute and the one you talk about is one of the cutest.
DeleteI know all these films! Wow. You sure picked some cute ones. Babe is the cutest of all 3. It is a super film. But you can't go wrong with Shirley Temple either. Hope you have a super weekend and if you are into Valentine's Day, I hope it was a nice one. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteGlad you saw all 3. Hubby cleaned the entire house which is wonderful
DeleteI've seen your first two picks. I love Shirley Temple so I enjoy that version of A Little Princess. I haaaaaaaaaated Babe lol.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like Shirley Temple but I will ignore your comment about Babe..lol
DeleteI did not know Shirley Temple was an ambassador. Thanks for broadening my horizons.
ReplyDeleteI trust you are well.
Hugs
She was and had a great career after she got out of film. I’m still dealing with that weird pain and still can’t drive
DeleteAll your choices are pretty cute--I've seen them all. I've seen plenty of cute movies over the years, especially when my kids were young and cute movies were what I typically took them to.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, Curly Sue was a pretty cute film
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I’m glad you saw all the movies and could add more with all the ones you saw with your grand kids
DeleteBabe was a cute movie. I avoided the movie for years to find I truly enjoyed it. Silly me!
ReplyDeleteI’ve been guilty of not watching a movie because of all the hoopla only to really like it once I gave it a chance
DeleteBirgit,
ReplyDeleteThe first two films, we've seen but FRENCH KISS we haven't. It definitely sounds like something we'd like, too. I always like Meg Ryan's movies from the 89s and 90s. Definitely, she falls in the cute category! Hopefully, this flick will make itself on one of our streaming services. Thanks for the movie reviews!
I love French Kiss and find it endearing. I hope you will enjoy it
DeleteBabe definitely qualifies as cute:)
ReplyDeleteYOU have a great one.
babe is very sweet and i had a tear in my mom when he asked the mom dog to be his mom
DeleteI see Meg Ryan's movies are popular in this Meet Cute category ;-) French Kiss is a lot of fun. Great picks, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteMeg Ryan used to be cute which I think, she disliked. Glad you enjoyed my picks
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