Last September I traveled to San Francisco to see how the movie, The Good Dinosaur was made. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to see the movie from the very first sketch, and I got to meet the people who lovingly made the film. I sat down with the producer and director. I watched and listened as the illustrators and animators talked passionately about how they brought the movie together. Taking photos was a no-no on the trip, but I wish I could have shown you everything because it was beautiful, inspiring and simply awesome.
After seeing everything that went into that movie, and writing about it on my blog, I still didn’t get to see the movie until it was released in Australia. Talk about making me wait! I was so excited about seeing the finished piece come together.
It was such a beautiful film. I cried. I fell in love with the main characters Arlo and Spot, and I connected with themes in the movie. One of the main themes I loved was about making a mark on the world. Arlo wants to leave his footprint as a sign that he made a difference, and he’s not allowed to do until he has made his mark. I don’t want to ruin the storyline for you, but he may or may not get to leave his footprint.
It made me think about my own girls and how I want them to leave their own mark on their world. I know parenting is big and huge, and exhausting, but when I look beyond the day-to-day stuff {toilet training, making dinner EVERY night, homework and picking up after them}, I realise it’s bigger than that small stuff. My girls can, and will, make a difference in the world.
THREE WAYS I HOPE MY GIRLS MAKE THEIR MARK
ONE: FOLLOWING THEIR PASSION THEIR OWN WAY
I think life is too short for living a mediocre existence, and that finding your passion is important, but in the same breathe it can’t be forced. Lacey has this dream that she wants to work in a pet shop when she’s older. It’s funny when she’ll tell people, and they’ll tell her she can do better than that. If that’s her dream though, I hope she lives it. I hope she loves it. I hope she does it passionately. The world needs more people who are happy and passionate about what they do.
TWO: LIVING WITH KIND & COMPASSIONATE HEART
I hope that my girls live compassionately, that they’ll help people who need help, and live in a way that makes the world a better place. I know the seed is planted in them already. Lulu is a little too young to be completely aware, but she’s sweet, kind, caring and thoughtful. Lacey already has an awareness, which I love.
THREE: TO BE STRONG AND RESILIENT
It freaks me out that my kids won’t always need me as much I hope they will. I want to be there always to protect them. I guess that would be a bit weird when they’re in their 20s, starting a new job, and I rock up to hold their hand. ? I just want them to learn from life experiences, even the really tough, hard stuff, and let them take any lessons that they need from it, and then let it go. I want them to be the sort of people that get back up, and be better people because of their experiences.
The Good Dinosaur is available now on Blu-ray™ and , and ready for you to own. To celebrate, I’ve got 5 DVDs to giveaway to one lucky person. Simply answer the following question below for a chance to win: How do you hope your kids make a mark on the world?
One entry per person. Competition closes May 25th 2016 at 11:59pm. Open to Australian residents only.
I hope my son leaves his mark on the world and others by being happy…so happy that it radiates from him and makes everyone who is around him happy too. I hope he’s the kind of person that people talk about and say ‘oh yeah, that guy, he’s always smiling, so nice, always happy’ and he truly will be
Oh lovely. You’re a winner. Let me know your postal address and I’ll send your DVD out to you. xx
They do say that you should strive to make the world a better place for the next generation and so on. I think by just being the best they can be they will achieve this.
All I hope for is that they bless the world with a happy family and a gentleness making it a better place
They’ve already made their mark. Bringing joy to someone’s life is enough to be remembered for and all four have done that for to me and their dad from the word go. Believe me it is more than enough as we only have three with us now to bring up and no matter how small the amount of time you spend with someone, they can leave the greatest love-print on your heart.
I hope that unlike me, they get to extensively SEE the world and let it make its mark on them. Learning new cultures, traditions, and the beauty of diversity. And then I hope they will do great things.
Hello! Congrats. You’ve won. Please let me know your best postal address and I’ll get it sent out to you. xx
I hope my middle son in particular can continue breaking down gender stereotypes. He is both a lover of Dinosaurs and the colour pink! He’s only 4years old and already knows around 100 dinosaur names/characteristics and proudly shows off all his pink belongings. I’d love for him to keep showing society that pink is not just for girls – it’s a colour just like any other for anyone to enjoy!
Both my hubby and I cried at this movie, and so did one of our 3 kids. I hope my kids leave their mark on the world but doing something to help those who live in poverty, sadness or are refugees. I just want then to realise that we are so fortunate to have what we have and live where we are. I want them to leave a humble but meaningful mark on the world x
I hope my three children continue to live their lives with compassion, tolerance and empathy. I am already so very proud of how naturally my teens seem able to do this, and hope that my 4 year old son will follow in their footsteps. He is already a very kind and considerate 4 year old – we call him our little old man as he thinks carefully and considers everything. Recently after asking me to tell him nursery rhymes from when he was a baby, he asked me why in “This little piggy went to market” the pig who went to market didn’t just buy something for the one who had none 🙂
I have 2 daughters and I don’t necessarily want them to make a big mark on the world (unless of course they want too!), but rather that they feel that the world is theirs – a safe, exciting, interesting, weird and wonderful place that they can enjoy and experience and share. I don’t want them to feel limited by their gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. I want them to know that they are loved and that who they are is OK, so that they are free to make whatever mark they choose. I’m interested to see what mark they might choose for themselves! 😀
This week my daughter received an award for having beautiful manners. It made me so proud to be raising a young women who is thoughtful of others, kind and full of lovely manners!
We told her these traits are very important in life. She is already leaving her mark at 8 y.o. and my hope is that she continues be respectful of all people. (Its a little mark but one that is special for us).
I hope my little man has the strength to be truly gentle in a beautiful yet sometimes harsh world.
I wish for my child to be kind to and accepting of others and embracing of people of all ages, races. Being a kind and caring human can make the world of difference to people especially those less fortunate. X
I hope my kids leave a big smile on the world. I want them big and work hard and follow those big dreams and do everything with a smile…
I don’t really care if my kids ‘make a mark’ as long as they are happy, do something that brings them (and hopefully other people) joy and that they are kind to others.
By being themselves….
I just want them to feel like they have made it, in whatever way is important to them. So many people make huge marks and never know it, I want them to be proud of theirs.
I love this. You’ve won a DVD. Please let me know your postal address and I’ll get it sent out to you. xx
My 2 year old brightens up every room she walks into and makes new friends wherever we go – even if it’s just one stop on the bus we end up saying goodbye to people she’s befriended – usually the older ones ? I hope she stays this friendly and outgoing her whole life.
Simply with kindness and love ❤️
I want ny children to be tolerant and compassionate – to be remembered for celebrating difference and lighting a path of hope. Soppy, but it would make such a difference to the world!
I would like my boy
I’m not expecting my kids to change the world, but if they can care for their little corner of it, I’ll be happy.
I really just want my children to be loving, kind and caring & respectful. Not too much to ask right? Given today’s world especially… ? I don’t care about outer beauty (they are gorgeous) but want for them to be beautiful on the inside and show that beauty to all they meet.
I just want the kids to be happy. So much negativity in the world today.
I want my children to be able to have logical conversations with their peers and teachers. I want them to love and be loved. My eldest wants to make an actual mark on the solar system planets.
.. great things to hope for, for your children Chantelle……..
my children and grand children are all grown….all I ever wanted was that they kept loving each other and us…. and to be happy.. xxxxx … and they do.. xxxx
We loved this movie! I cried and cried!
My son is in year two and the first line on his report card for last year was “Xavier is a friend to everyone…” I couldn’t ask for more and I couldn’t have been more proud! My hope is that he will always show kindness and always be a friend to everyone.
I just want my children to be kind. There simply isn’t enough kindness in the world. If I can achieve to raise 3 kind hearted souls, then I believe they will make their marks in the world wherever they go, in the form of leaving footprints in people’s hearts.
Hi Cindy,
You’re a winner. Please let me know your best postal address as soon as possible.
Thanks
Chantelle xx
I hope my kids make a mark on the world by their unending compassion and strength of character. I want them to be known as people of integrity, steadfast loyalty and unconditional love to those around them, not just the ones the world deems ‘worthy’ of love. Even if they only impact one person, that’s one persons life that is a little brighter because they choose love. That’s totally worth it and worth fighting for 🙂
(And my son is totally obsessed with Dinosaurs! I can’t wait to show him this movie!)
I hope my kids make a mark on the world by being true to themselves, not affraid to stand up for what they believe in (miss 4 is already very good at this) and value themselves. Their world may just be their family or work etc but thats what is important
I just want my kids to be loving, respectful & above all…happy.
Happy with themselves, happy with with their family, friends & the world around them.
Be strong & believe that they can do whatever they put their mind to xxx
I want my children to know who they are, stand up for their beliefs regardless of what others think of them and live a happy and full life x
I hope for my kids to make a mark by being open. Open to new new experiences, change, dealing with tough stuff, love, kindness and in being open I hope they take those things in and project the good stuff back out.
Make a difference for good, it can be some thing little like make people smile and be happy or some thing big world changing! If they can change some thing and make the word a nicer place I’ll be happy.
I just want my daughter to be happy {for the majority of her life anyway}. If she’s doing things that make her happy she can’t help but leave her mark on the world through the things that she does and other people’s lives that she’ll touch along the way.
Hi Chantelle. I loved your blog. I also believe life is too short to be mediocre. I have two girls and I’ve always encouraged them to set their own limits and not let anyone else tell them what they are or aren’t capable of. I tell them to follow their dreams and that I hope they can build a life around their passions. Ever since they were in the womb I’ve been telling them they are going to be amazing and beautiful… Just for being who they are. So far so good. I hope they travel and gather a collection of experiences and people they have touched in a positive way. They both have high expectations of themselves and have great senses of humour… This alone seems to drive them to explore what life has to offer and draws people to them. my hope they continue on these paths. Ultimately I hope they are happy.
Mark, you’re a winner. Please let me know your postal address so I can get your prize to you. x