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Taylor Danielle Castro

Taylor Danielle Castro is an actress, writer, and singer with an intense love for all things Disney. Find out more about her in the "About" section. 

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Kingdom Keepers, Make the Movie!

In a course of over ten years, there was this small group of people that felt even smaller because it was spanned out across the country. The group was lucky enough to have invested their time into a book that, generally, blended into the shelves in the children's section of the bookstore. It may not have been Harry Potter, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or Percy Jackson, or The Hunger Games, but it didn't have to be. It shouldn't have been. It was greater than that. It was Kingdom Keepers.

I didn't have the pleasure of growing up with this series, but you can bet yourself that I sure caught up. I missed the excitement of a second novel. I wasn't there for the frustration of the cliff hanger. I didn't feel the weight of the first series ending only to discover that a new one was coming. I wasn't there then, but I am now.

In just one year, I've gone on the adventures of a lifetime and made friends that I could no longer imagine being without. I am not alone. I know that there are those of us who cannot find a soul to join in our excitement. I know that people don't want to read anymore. I know that people tend to judge a book by its cover. I don't care. I know that, one day, this story will be heard.

These stories have brought us tremendous joy. They've sprung our heart to our head; they've made us too happy to stand still. Then, just the same, they've haunted our dreams and filled our eyes with tears so unstoppable the words on the page begin to disappear. As far as I'm concerned, any story that can make a human feel that alive is more than just real, but it must be told...in more than one way.

I've just finished The Return: Disney At Last! This book caused me tremendous pain. I couldn't put it down. For the record, when I say that I was crying, I mean it. It wasn't some false sadness that came from an interest in the plot, but a disconnect to the story. It wasn't some temporary shock followed by moist eyes that dissipated a few pages later. I mean that I felt, and still feel, true pain. One moment I was at the top of the world, squealing with glee and smiling ear-to-ear. The next, I dropped down farther and harder than the tower of terror, a wreck of pain and agony, crying so hard that, not only could I not see the words on the page, but my nose began to drip until I couldn't even breathe - let alone read. I was bawling. I felt what the characters were feeling. I was - I am - connected to them. I will always be. So, it was no surprise that just a few moments later I was, again, so high that I could see the whole world. No, I was higher than that. I was in space, touching the stars. It left me there in the galaxy, with no breathe and no one to talk to, only an inexplicably beautiful view and a shooting star to grab onto.

Now, I'm here, looking into First Light and trying to imagine what will come from seeing how the Keepers are 15 years from where we left off. Talk about weird!

Side Note: My only hope is that Philby and Willa are married.

However, as much as I'm thrilled to experience a third era of adventure, there is more that I have set in my heart. I need to see Kingdom Keepers come to life on the big screen.

As many of you know, I'm an actress. My mother, Barbie Castro, is a movie producer. I've recently co-starred with her in the Lifetime movie, "Girlfriend Killer" and I'm set to appear on another one of her movies called "Dream Killer" around the Spring of 2018. So, I'm in an interesting situation. Naturally, the moment I picked up Disney After Dark I was already considering a movie. In fact, I even remember thinking about it as a distant observer of the series. For, I tried to pick it up at a young age, but my reading skills weren't there yet and I didn't comprehend a word. However, I remembered the series and finally picked it up for some light summer reading before going into my Junior year of high school. I had no idea that I had just set off a rocket.

It's true. That small book I finished in less than two days has become about one third of my ENTIRE social life. I literally brought all ten of them in for my senior photos today. Yeah, guys. It's gotten to that point. In case you didn't notice, however, Kingdom Keepers doesn't have the largest group of fans. Everyone who picks it up falls in love. Everyone who hears the idea asks why there hasn't been a movie yet. The problem is not the book. It's the people. They don't want to spend their time reading and, if they do, most of them won't go for the Disney-themed adventure book in the children's section. People now-a-days just don't roll that way. I, however, know something that people will like when I see it - or read it.

In my mind, I can see the movie. I can see Finn's hologram sparking and fuzzing awake below Cinderella's castle. I can see the moon glowing above him. I can see Wayne's icy blue eyes and an all-too realistic Winnie the Pooh walking around with an all-too realistic Piglet. I can see Finn awaking with a start. I can see him panting and sweating. I can see him calming down only to catch sight of that light from his window. I can see Finn approaching and I can see that moon, laughing at him.

There's just something to it. There's something about it that makes me completely confident that, if done with great care, it could be iconic. I believe that it comes with the universe of it all. It's not Hogwarts or Narnia. It's not some other world. It's our world; but it's Disney World. It combines our everyday, our comfort zone, our limitations, with that of the middle realm, the ether. It's just like Disney, in a sense. 50% of it is normal, 50% of it is fantasy, and 100% of it is surprisingly original. We are not here, nor there. The Kingdom Keepers are neither real, nor fake. It combines magic and technology. It combines the past and the future. It combines nostalgia and new beginnings. It is new, but familiar. It is our world interacting with their world in a way that doesn't seem impossible.

As time has passed, I've only grown more driven to cause the creation of The Kingdom Keepers movie series. I've gone to some extreme measures. It's a crazy, outrageous dream, I suppose. I don't even know how to respond when others ask me what I'm planning to do once I graduate high school and which college I'm going to. I mean, what are you supposed to say to that? "Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not exactly sure yet because it all depends on whether Disney turns my favorite book series into a movie, but I'm totally planning on college eventually!" Are you aware what some people think of something like that?! It's completely absurd to them and I'm sure it probably sounded a bit absurd to more than one reader, especially considering that I'm an honors English student and member of NSHSS. Don't get me wrong, I will obtain a college degree, but, guys, what I'm trying to say is that I'm basically molding my entire life around this very specific, insane dream. Why? Because I believe in it. I believe in it so much that I'm willing to adjust my life for it. I mean, what kind of Disney fan would I be if I didn't believe in my dreams? Disney teaches us that all of our dreams can come true if we persist on believing in them. This is not obnoxious, overbearing optimism. This is honest to goodness, spiritual truth about the universe and He who created it.

Walt had barely a penny to his name when he traveled to California on that train. He wasn't headed to the animation capitol of the world. In fact, he was on the full other side of the country from where anyone else should have been. However, Walt wasn't anyone else. He was a young man with a big dream; the only thing to his name - the belief that his dreams would come true. He had this confidence to him, this overwhelming confidence that snuck into a person's heart and turned it back to gold. He made them believe as-well. And, when Walt was at his lowest point, He gave the young man the idea of a small mouse; A mouse that, not only unlocked the door to Walt's dreams, but changed the heart of the world forever. Not so bad for a naive farm boy without a dime to his name and no artistic talent.

If I can't learn from that story, if I can't be brave enough to follow my big dreams, then there is absolutely no probability of them coming true. You see, I have to take that leap and trust in Him who catches those who believe He will.

So, Kingdom Keepers, I need your help. I know your small and dispersed. I know your young and silent. I know you feel alone in your passion. I know it, but I also know that if one person's belief can change a million lives and the world as we know it, then a couple thousand passionate kids have a pretty good shot at making a movie.

Kingdom Keepers, Make the Movie!

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