Marlo Thomas Makes Me Smile

The Brown One mentioned in passing one day that she had the DVD for “Free to Be You and Me” that I might remember from my childhood. Remember…oh boy…I kid you not when I say that right after my fetish for the full cast movie recording Annie, Free to Be You and Me was my favorite nostalgia album from pre-teen youth. Now, not only was I getting to relieve the music, but I was finding out that there was a whole TV special that this exuberant child geared music came from.

What a magical Saturday morning we had watching this DVD chock full of confidence boasting messages for boys and girls of every age, religion, and ethnicity. One of the most endearing scenes is between a young Michael Jackson and Roberta Flack singing a song called “When I Grow Up” that affirms children are valued for who they are, not what they are. They also pay tribute to working parents (believe me when I say, every parent is a working parent) in a song sang by Marlo Thomas and Harry Belafonte called “Parents are People”. Rosey Grier passably vocalizes on “It’s Alright to Cry”, but it is his sincerity and charm that make this one of my choice performances on the DVD. Here’s a sample of his lyrics:

It's all right to cry
Crying takes the mad out of you
It's all right to cry
It might make you feel better!

He ends the song with "It's all right to cry little boy -- I know some big boys who cry too."

Not surprisingly this positive, heartfelt TV special garnered an Emmy Award for containing such understandable messages about gender roles in “William Wants a Doll” and teaching the difference between good help and help no one wants in “Helping”. Let me say that this show stands the test of time, the lyrics to the music came back to me as if I had just watched the DVD yesterday. Marlo Thomas was instrumental in helping all children when she set out to make this piece with the idea that was born--according to the liner notes--by the desire to provide her niece with music "to celebrate who she was and who she could be."

Whatever your age, this is a terrific DVD, full of affirmations about the changes associated with growing up.