?Justine Bledsoe 04/25/14 Van Gundy Comp 2 The Parent Trap Disney movies are framed as family classics instantly, and both versions of The Parent Trap uphold that tradition with ease. The Parent Trap is a classic children’s movie filled with humor, wit, and fun that all ages can enjoy. This movie charmed audiences in 1961 and again with the remake in 1998. I loved both versions, but the remake won me over. The original Parent Trap, released in 1961, was directed by David Swift and starred Hayley Mills as the twins. The remake released in 1998, was directed by Nancy Meyers and starred Lindsay Lohan. Both Mills and Lohan were praised and adored for their performances as these two spunky and determined girls. It was other aspects of the movies like the special effects, humor and overall feel that made me favor the remake. In both films identical twins meet at summer camp, unaware of each other’s existence. Their identical appearance initially creates rivalry between them which results in prank wars. Eventually their behavior gets them into trouble and they are punished with living together in an isolated cabin for the rest of camp. Once the two finally get to talking they come to find numerous similarities in their lives including birth dates and broken families; eventually realizing they are twin sisters and their parents divorced shortly after their birth, with each parent taking custody of one of them. The twins decide to switch places and pose as each other so they can finally meet the other parent and hopefully reunite the whole family. The plan is disrupted when they find out that their father is engaged to a new woman who is only out for his money. They then reveal the truth to the mother and have her come to stop the wedding. Once the girls are reunited they re-create their parents first date, and do everything to scare the new woman away. The parents end up rekindling their love and re-marrying, including the twins in the wedding. Although the overall plot of the two movies are pretty much the same, there were a lot of little differences. For starters, the names were different along with the hometown of the families. In the original, it was Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick. Sharon lived with her mother, Maggie (Maureen O’Hara), in Boston. Sharon lived with her father, Mitch (Brian Keith) in California. In the remake, the two girls were named Annie James and Hallie Parker. Annie lived with her mother, Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson), in London. Hallie lived with her father, Nick (Dennis Quaid), in California. How the girls find out they’re twins differs as well. In both movies they figure it all out while in the isolation cabin through pictures. But in the original, Sharon explains how she has seen a picture of her mother on her father’s desk, Susan pulls out a picture of her mother and Sharon confused, says “Why do you have a picture of my mother?” Sharon and Susan then realize they are twins. In the remake, both girls explain that they have half of a torn wedding photo of their parents. Eventually they reveal their pictures to each other and come to find their halves match and were once a whole picture, confirming