A couple times a month (usually on a Friday after a long week) we like to plan a family movie night. We frequently make homemade pizza or pop popcorn, then we set up a kids’ table in the family room and put in a movie. It’s a lot of fun! (And yes, I know eating in front of the TV is a bad idea, but if you only do it once in a while it’s a great treat.) The only tough thing about family movie night is picking the movie. My husband and I insist on an actual, full length movie- not a series of episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine or something like that. My daughter likes Barbie movies, my son likes Bob the Builder. My daughter enjoys involved plots but thinks characters like Jafar from Aladdin and Ursula from Little Mermaid are too scary. My son falls asleep if there isn’t enough action. So how do we find common ground? Through recommendations from friends and memories from our own childhoods, we’ve come up with several that make everybody happy. Here is a list of our favorites in no particular order.

1. Nim’s Island: A newer adventure movie about a girl who is left alone on an island and has to save it and herself. It’s a really fun adventure, but there are some scary moments (mainly a couple big storms) that we discussed ahead of time. The main character is a very adventurous, smart girl which my daughter loved! We had a group of neighbor kids over to watch this once and had an island party with old luau decorations- lots of fun!
2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: A classic with lots of adventure and fun songs. Who wouldn’t love a really cool car that flies? And my kids love when the kids help catch the bad guys!
3. Mary Poppins: Another classic, full of fun! We especially like the rooftop dance by the chimney sweeps.
4. Herbie Movies: The newer one (Herbie Fully Loaded) with Lindsay Lohan is alright, but my kids prefer the classics, especially the Love Bug. The car is funny and full of antics. But you may find yourself explaining some things: the characters get the car drunk, and there is a scene with hippies (which didn’t make sense to my kids.)
5. Pixar Movies: (Our favorites are Cars, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles and Toy Story) They can be a bit scary for little ones (Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles come to mind) but they are also fun to watch for children AND adults.
6. In Search of the Castaways: When I was a kid, I loved anything with Haley Mills in it (Parent Trap, Pollyanna, etc.) This movie may be hard to find, but the adventure is fun. After we watched it, we found ourselves in an interesting conversation with our 6 year old about stereotyping and how different cultures were portrayed in old movies.
7. Curious George: If you’re looking for something for young kids that won’t get them too worked up before bed time, this is it. Curious George is short and sweet with some really funny moments and great music.
8. Space Chimps: I came across this one on Netflix and didn’t know what to expect. It’s about chimps who go to space (duh) and end up saving a planet from a horrible leader. We were pleasantly surprised when the kids loved it and my husband and I laughed through the whole thing! It’s goofy and lots of fun, and we’re going to get it again.

I made this list for two reasons: First, when I talk to other parents about movies, they often say “Oh, I forgot about that one- but I loved it!” so I thought I might jog some memories. Second, I’m running out of ideas! What movies do you and your kids enjoy? Leave a comment with your favorite(s) and maybe we’ll all have a family movie night this week. Popcorn, anyone?

I love the Olympics.  Summer, winter…it makes no difference.  And this year, both of our kids are old enough to actually enjoy the spectacle.  In fact, they’re obsessed with Shaun White, snowboarding, skeleton, and the bobsled (our 3-year old says he wants to be a “bobsled pilot” when he grows up!).  It’s been great snuggling up on the couch each night and watching the Olympics through the eyes of my little guys.

But, there’s something else we found this week that has me and my little ones connecting too.  On every trip to our local library, our kids each get to pick out a DVD to take home with them.  This week, they picked Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics.  I was so psyched!  This was one of my absolute Saturday Morning favorites.  As I’d munch down my Cap’n Crunch cereal I’d loyally cheer for the Scooby Doobies every week (although I totally enjoyed the cheating antics of the Really Rottens team).  After watching the Laff-A-Lympics Volume 1 DVD, my kids were split between cheering for the Yogi Yahooeys amd the Scooby Doobies. But they seemed to share the same enjoyment of the Really Rottens crazy schemes as much as I ever did.

I thought for sure the kids would find the “older” cartoon dated looking and not too amusing, but they loved it.  I guess those old favorites have some lasting power after all!  By the end of the night, we had a great time watching the silly races together and I really enjoyed sharing a part of my childhood with my kids.   What a blast from the past!

And, just in case you’re too young to know what the Laff-A-Lympics were (or too old to remember!), here’s a short video clip from one of the episodes:

When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. So, it was without question that I was thrilled to hear that Spike Jonze was making a film version of it. I talked it up to my kids, we read the book a few times this week and today, we went to the opening matinee showing of it. In one word, I was disappointed. Maybe I should try two words: highly disappointed. My disappointment stemmed mostly from the fact I wanted so much for this to be a fun, family experience that we could enjoy with our two boys (ages 3 and 6) and it wasn’t! Parents be warned: this is NOT a movie for kids, especially young ones. The themes tackled in the movie are very heavy and include serious issues ranging from dysfunctional families, death, sadness, and anger. It was NOT a happy movie at all.

Max, the hero of the book, is portrayed in the film version as a kid with serious anger management issues. He lives with his detached single mother and teenage sister in a home that is quickly identified as “broken”. The first 25 minutes of the movie focus on Max’s problems at home and culminates in an intense argument with his mother over dinner. Language alert: During the argument, Max’s mother screams at him to “Get down off the damn counter”. In a fit of anger, Max screams “I hate you” and runs away from his home. There are no nice fading walls and growing trees in Max’s bedroom to transition to “where the wild things are” as there is in the book. Max leaves his home in anger, finds a boat and sails away from home. So, that’s the first 25 minutes. Heavy topics, anger, running away. Pretty much not something I was anticipating having to explain to my two little guys.

Once Max gets to “where the wild things are”, things don’t get much better. His initial discovery of the wild things is kind of scary. Once the ice is broken, the wild things start talking with Max. They immediately look to Max to help them overcome their loneliness and sadness, to which Max responds with a story of his own which includes things like a sadness shield. It’s very clear from the start that all of the wild things are relatively unhappy and all have serious issues of their own. At one point, the wild thing named Judith says “Even happiness doesn’t really make you happy”. Hmmm, that’s encouraging. The somber mood of the film is finally broken after about 30 minutes when Max is crowned king and the “wild rumpus” begins.

The rumpus lightens the mood a bit albeit with some pretty bad behavior…but they are “wild things” so I get that. However, the movie quickly returns to more serious topics when Max talks with KW about his “problems and issues” at home. By the way, if you need a potty break for little ones, this is good time to take one. There is about a 5-minute section of the film when Max is walking in the sand dunes with Carol that kids of just about any age could stand to miss. The conversation is slow and covers Carol’s thoughts on the “end of things” like the end of the Sun.

There is a lot of very hostile language used in the film as well. When planning to build a “fort” Max promises that the fort will automatically “cut the brains out” of anyone that the wild things don’t want to enter. Not such a nice graphic image for kids. During the dirt clod fight scene, Max explains that the object of the game is to “kill the bad guys”. Again, not something I want to have to start explaining to little ones. The dirt clod fight scene does manage to add some much needed levity to the film, but still relies heavily on violence to break the dark mood of the film.

Unfortunately, the film returns to heavier themes pretty quickly. We work through Max’s questions like “How do I make everyone OK?” as well as a tense relationship between KW and Carol which is clearly a reflection of Max’s troubled relationship with his own mother. As the film reaches its climax, the wild things realize that Max isn’t going to help them solve their problems. Carol’s disappointment and anger with Max finally surfaces in a very frightening scene where he rips his best friend Douglas’ arm off and then begins to chase Max, trying to eat him. Finally, KW hides Max from Carol’s rampage. Carol confronts KW and admits he’s angry because he “Just wanted us all to be together”. After Carol leaves in disappointment, Max explains to KW that Carol acts angry because he’s scared and KW comments that “It’s hard being a family”. At this point in the movie, my kids looked sad and uninterested and I knew they weren’t getting this movie.

The movie doesn’t ever really resolve any of the issues that it raises. It just sort of ends, leaving you and your kids feeling like nothing has really changed in Max’s life. It’s actually a pretty sad movie, and confusing for kids. The audience reaction at the end of the movie was not very enthusiastic. A little girl (she looked to be about 7 years old) sitting in the row behind us said to her mom “That was a very sad movie”. Another mom in front of us looked exasperated and just shook her head. Then I looked over at the Painted Hen. She had that look of “I can’t believe we just brought our kids to this movie”. And I was left feeling the same way. Something that I loved and cherished from my childhood had been turned into such a dark, gloomy film. Although this is being heavily marketed as a kid/family movie, I would seriously caution parents of children under 10 (and probably under 13) to avoid this movie or at least be prepared to deal with the issues it raises. The serious adult themes are confusing and inappropriate for little ones. As an adult I found the movie to be quite depressing and a big departure from a beloved children’s classic. Two words: highly disappointed to say the least.

To view five sneak peek videos from the film, head over here.