I've been reflecting on movies lately and my gripes with the industry and my search for good, clean and positive movies. We have been wanting to buy some family movies that we can all sit down and watch together (I have an almost 3 yr old and 4 yr old), but this process has proved to be as hard as understanding geometry.
We think, Disney, perfect, those movies are geared for kids. Well, I've decided they're not geared for my kids. It seems that you either have to watch Dora for 20-30 minutes for a truly clean, non-scary movie, or watch a feature length that we'll end up fast forwarding bits and pieces throughout.
I know a lot of kids don't care about the scary parts, but mine do right now, esp my older one, and I'm not interested in changing that. I don't see a good reason to try to desensitize them, life will be all too real with all the scary dirty stuff all too soon. And on top of that, it affects them. Hazel is already cursed with that great imagination I have and wakes up from nightmares regularly with loud and sudden cries in the night. And that's without the influence of a mildly scary scene in a G-rated Disney movie.
We just went to Disneyland (which was heaven on earth, I'll try to post soon) and I really wanted to be able to show them movies about the different princesses before and after, but each princess story minus Cinderella (as far as I can remember) has a pretty scary bit to them.
Ariel--the gigantic octopus is first totally rotten and mean and then gets ginormo and stabbed with flames all around--right?
Sleeping Beauty--not only is there the freaky dark witch/queen? but the dragon and the fight with that thing too.
Beauty and the Beast--besides the wolves, which would definitely freak them out (and me if it were a "real" scene--that's sort of how I have to look at it to be in their eyes)--there is the beating down of the castle door by an angry mob carrying weapons and after lots of fighting the stabbings at the end and eventual fall of Gaston to his death. I could keep going, but you get the point.
Snow White--freaky witch trying to kill the princess with poison.
I'm not a fan of teaching my kids about murder, killing, stabbing, whatever. I don't want them to know about bad guys chasing innocent people. I've given them talks on safety, but I don't really want to get that confused with the way movies portray the villains in animated movies and if there are such scary stories, it doesn't usually end happily ever after, so I'd rather just keep that all at bay for a while.
Enough about my frustrations. On to my good news.
We bought Mary Poppins and we've had to break it up into two viewing sessions so far and we're only about half way, but we all have loved it. Josh and I have enjoyed it partly from nostalgia and the great music, but because our kids have been loving it. It is so nice to be able to enjoy a movie all together and not because it's an effort to bond.
During the movie tonight we were all cuddled on the couch with pillows and blankets and Hazel said, "It's great that we have a tv and can watch this." I thought that was pretty funny and sweet at the same time. It was nice she recognized she was having a really good time with us all together and enjoying something fun.
So our current list without thinking much is:
-Mary Poppins
-Cinderella
-Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (although we did fast forward a few intense parts)
-Toy Story 2
-Cars (although I just heard that I've missed some subtle innuendo slipped in for adults--but hey, if I missed it, I'm not so worried about them.)
-Ratatouille (with some parts fast forwarded--and they swear once or twice in it too)
-The Emperors New Groove (with a few of the intense scary-ish scenes with the freaky looking lady fast forwarded)
That's our family movie list and I'm really looking to expand. Do any of you have any good recommendations for family movies that are feature length and not scary? I may have scared some of you away with my possibly freakish screening process, but please share any ideas anyway, esp if there is a movie where there is just an easy scene or two to skip past instead of where a scary part keeps popping up (like in the G rated Princess and the Frog--our first and only movie we've ever taken Hazel too. Nice.) For example, "The Emperors New Groove" was really fun to watch together and we just skipped through a couple of semi-scary looking scenes and enjoyed the rest of the movie. As long as the villain is a funny, that helps a lot!
Q: What are your favorite family movies for families with young children together?
3 comments:
i LOVE you for loving mary poppins! mary is the woman! my alter ego!
Finally, a kindred spirit! I feel the exact same way about the Disney movies. In my family, we are Disney World fanatics that struggle with our kids watching some of the movies. I was very disappointed with the VooDoo elements in PATF, and the dark forms of magic in others.
Some of the movies that we have really enjoyed together (my kids are 4, 3 and 1) are Marry Poppins as well, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and anything VeggieTales.
Thanks for the great post. Keep up the good work!
We have alot of Disney movies and yes, I think lots of the villains are pretty scary! Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Sword in the Stone, and Aristocats are some where the villains are pretty goofy rather than scary. And my kids love Mary Poppins too! VERY good choice. :) Bedknobs and Broomsticks is another family fave, but you may have to fastforward the WWII battle scene against the Germans at the end. I'd love to find old movies I watched as a kid like Snowball Express and The Gnome-mobile. It's sad that it's hard to find ones that are completely "G" rated, huh?
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