March of the Wooden Soldiers
November 23rd, 2009
1As a kid, my family used to watch “Babes in Toyland” every Thanksgiving morning. Contrary to what the title might indicate, this movie was never featured on Skinemax. Instead, the film is an early comedy classic that’s replayed on our local syndicated TV station every year. For those not familiar, “Babes in Toyland,” later retitled “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” was set in a fairy-tale land, complete with Little Bo Beep, The Old Lady Who Lives in a Shoe, and Boogey (pronounced: boh-ghee) Men. There’s a damsel in distress, and a bad guy named Barnaby who unleashes an army of Boogey (pronounced: boh-ghee) Men who reek havoc on the fairy-tale landscape.
The stars of the film, Laurel and Hardy, defeat the evil-doers with an army of their own: giant Wooden Soldiers. Basically, they are wind-up, army robots. Bear in mind that the movie was made in 1934, and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had the foresight to use an army of terminators to fight monsters, thus saving all of those babes who resided in that land of toys. Luckily, the Wooden Soldiers were good guys, and a robot apocalypse was averted.
Now, accelerate your DeLorian to 88 mph and set your flux capacitor to Thanksgiving 2009. Fortunately for us, Boogey (pronounced: boh-ghee) Men are still not real, but robots are becoming a thing of the present. From automated assembly lines to roombas, what once seemed impossible is now becoming our reality. The imaginations of those who came before us are coming to life. While we typically associate science fiction as a possible prediction of the future, even a fantastical 1934 Laurel and Hardy film is becoming a part of our daily lives.
Take a look around the room right now. Everything that you can see did not exist until someone imagined it. If no one had dreamt that millions of tiny lights could combine to form a single recognizable image, there would be no monitor to read these words upon. Or, on another note, if a Thanksgiving glutton had never thought up a chicken-stuffed, duck-stuffed turkey, the world would not know of the “turducken.”
When you are being thankful this Thanksgiving, and before the tryptophan sets in, be sure not to neglect your own imagination or that of those who came before you. Remember that anything you think up is possible. Your dreams just might become reality someday soon.
Also, be thankful for our continued aversion of the robot apocalypse… Happy Thanksgiving!
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Andrew Pettit
Andrew works in business affairs and marketing. He awaits the inevitable robot apocalypse.
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That was inspiring,
I used to love babes in Toyland,
Thanks for writing, most people don’t bother.
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