Happy Birthday to Roald Dahl

Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my favorite movies ever. My teenage son asked for the DVD for Christmas. We have gotten it twice in our Netflix queue. It is clever, engaging, witty, charming and will tug at your heartstrings.

The stop animation and casting of George Clooney as the title character's voice are just bonuses to top it off with a cherry.

Yes. It's that good.

When I was in grade school, I devoured Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, then Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Thirty-five years later, I still remember vermicious knids.

Excerpt from Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator:

"But if they're so fierce and dangerous," Charlie said, "why didn't they eat us up right away in the Space Hotel? Why did they waste time twisting their bodies into letters and writing SCRAM?"
"Because they're show–offs," Mr. Wonka replied. "They're tremendously proud of being able to write like that."
"But why say scram when they wanted to catch us and eat us?"
"It's the only word they know," Mr. Wonka said.

Isn't that a riot?! It's funnier today than it was then, just because I understand it on a different level as an adult.

But Dahl was not just a writer. He was a fighter pilot and intelligence officer for the Royal Air Force during WWII. He was married to actress Patricia Neal for 30 years and had 5 children. When he died in 1990 a tthe age of 74, his family honored his life by burying him with his snooker cues, some very good burgundy, chocolates, HB pencils and a power saw. That just makes me smile!!

Happy 96th Birthday, Roald Dahl!