The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Title: The Velveteen Rabbit Or How Toys Become Real
Author: Margery Williamson
Illustrator: William Nicholson
Pub. Date: 1922
Pages: 40 pages
ISBN: 0380002558
Publisher: Avon Books

I hadn’t read this story in a long time, but I love this excerpt. I really believe that children learn a lot through this story, and that adults have the opportunity to learn once again, and more, from this beloved children’s story.

I’m also interested in various adaptations of The Velveteen Rabbit. There have been various plays, as well as illustrations. Most recently I discovered that Feature Films for Families is releasing their production of Feature Films for Families in the Spring of 2009. I am excited to see their production of this film.

I spent some time contemplating this article and was surprised. I spent my childhood watching Disney movies and thinking about it, I realize that some of them may have not been as kid friendly as I may have thought. I’m sure that many animators had some fun introducing “amusing” innuendos into their films, things that many children would not perceive. For that matter, many adults may not perceive them either. However, that does not detract from the fact that the films contain dabateable content.

I feel that over the past decade, the objectionable content in these films has probably grown. Certainly, since the first Disney film, “Snow White” the story line has changed in these films. We no longer see movies about the damsel in distress being magically attacked by a jealous or hateful witch, sorceress, or step-mother. These days, the viewer is more likely to find a computer animated film about insects, cars, or superheros. These productions are certainly entertaining, but they are becoming less and less suitable for children. Perhaps this is the way they have always been and I am merely noticing these innuendos just now as I grow older and more aware. Or perhaps they were always there.

Now that I am becoming more aware of the content in films, I am in search of movies that are not only family “friendly” but made for the family, and people of all ages. After reviewing many of my favorites, my thoughts are reinforced that Feature Films for Families truly does produce films that contain not objectionable content. It is nice to know that I don’t have to contemplate and double check these things. It is unnecessary for me to prescreen them. Luckily, they have the producer’s guarantee that they are completely, 100% family friendly films.