I think the longevity of Amelia Bedelia depends upon how kids
I think kids like it when grownups make mistakes because grownups are always these, you know, fountains of authority and knowledge. And, you know, they’re always saying like, “Would you just do exactly what I tell you to do? Look, would you just do what I say, okay?” And here’s Amelia Bedelia, she will do exactly what you tell her to do. And that’s the problem, she does exactly what you tell her to do.
And the problem is, of course, the English language, but I’m sure kids delight in seeing a grownup doing exactly what they’re told to do and making a mistake. And what I really love about her is that she’s not self-conscious about it. You look at her and she’s not — she doesn’t think, “Boy, am I stupid. Gosh, you know, am I never going to learn?” No, she just goes and keeps going. You know, she just keeps going ahead, every now and then baking something to get herself, you know, out of hot water.
So does Amelia Bedelia have permission to misbehave then? I guess so. I think that she’s just so charming and endearing. You know that her heart is in the right place so to speak. And so I think that, you know, that gives her a lot of latitude in terms of, you know, because nobody’s every hurt by what she ever does.
