There are some seriously great movies out there. I however find myself trying to figure out which ones are actually for children and which ones are simply adult movies in animated form.
I recently watched "UP" for the first time. What a fabulous movie! It had humor and adventure, a great moral and dialogue. I LOVE that the first portion of the movie is devoted to the wonderful marital relationship that was there. Trying to keep promises to each other. They helped each other deal with hardships. They worked together for common goals. They spent time together and enjoyed each others company. It almost made me cry how beautifully it was done. It was one of those " I want that kind of relationship" moments. I love watching old people who still love and court one another. It was completely a beautiful thing for children to also witness and draw from the example.
Contrast that with another Pixar movie that I think was completely inappropriately marketed. The "Incredibles" movie was in no way acceptable for children in my opinion. Yes, it was animated, yes there are scenes that are perfectly fine. It had some good kid humor in it. What was the over arching theme? At least what I mostly got out of the movie was a married couple not only arguing, but actually YELLING at each other. How often does yelling at your spouse improve the situation? There was lying. There were accusations of cheating, what kid needs to hear about parents having an affair? There was lack of communication and trust. These are not issues or examples that kids should have to deal with.
Then again, maybe this is what a lot of kids are dealing with and thus they think they should address it in the movie theater. Just the other day at the bus stop the 11 year old said to me, " I can't wait for my birthday. I don't have to go to my dad's house any more." How heartbreaking is that? He doesn't even want to deal with his own father. Maybe situations like this are just more common than I would ever like to imagine and thus movies are just an outlet for this kind of pain. At the same bus stop there is a grandmother that has several of her grandchildren, not all from the same family, that live with her. Their parents, though have different excuses, all simply were working too much and in the end their own children moved in with their grandparents. Why on earth did you have children if you don't even deal with them? Do you honestly believe that it is grandma's job to raise them for you, so you can occasionally take them to the zoo or out to a movie? I understand that things happen and not everyone lives in the ideal situation. It simply makes me sick to see so many examples of terrible relationships at just ONE bus stop. I can't imagine how much there is in that entire school.
Ok, so I started with movies. I just end on families. I get off track sorry. I also think that Cars was not that great of a kids movie either. I want to know who thought putting in "Hill billy Hell" not just once but TWICE was acceptable for a children's film. Are you making a movie for kids or adults, pick one and work from there.
My wife and I went to see "Up" on our anniversary this year. Too perfect. And I have no idea how you were holding back - I was *bawling*.
ReplyDeleteI'll agree that "The Incredibles" and "Cars" definitely were more appropriate for older children - especially given how heavily marketed "Cars" was to VERY little kids. (We went to a Cars-themed birthday party for a TWO year old.)
Honestly, aside from "hey, cool, talking cars!" I have no idea why that movie appeals to so many people who aren't race fans. (If you ARE a race fan, though, it's deeply entertaining - tons and tons of great racing references, from the obvious to the obscure.)
I think "The Incredibles" actually was written heavily to its '50s-'60s theme. There are an awful lot of TV shows one can cite from that era that included all the things you noted as negative, many of them marketed at kids. Heck, I can remember episodes of Mister Ed that had spousal arguments and suspicions of infidelity, and that show certainly was intended for kids.