We’re big fans of Pixar’s Toy Story in this house. My three year old son, E, runs around the house, arms outstretched while saying, “(to) infinity and beyond!” no less than 275 times a day.
So, naturally, when I found out that Toy Story 3 was being released on the big screen this summer, I was practically flying around the house myself. This, my friends, is a magical moment – the first trip to the movie theater with my son and a Pixar movie, to boot. Double awesome!
I’ve never been sure WHEN is the appropriate age to bring a child to a movie theater. Some parents bring infants – an act which would be met with extreme prejudice if I owned a theater (but that’s another post for another day). I wanted to wait until E was both old enough to appreciate a movie and mature enough not to run through the aisles screaming like a … well, three year old.
While he’s got the good behavior down, he is a bit sensitive. And by “a bit”, I mean, VERY. He got upset during THE COMMERCIAL for the movie, where one of the toddlers was going to put Buzz Lightyear in her mouth. However, if that’s the worst the movie had to offer, we could talk him down from that. Right?
So, tonight was the big night. My wife and I told him prior to dinner that we’d be going somewhere special tonight.
“The mall?”
Um, no, more special than that.
Arrival
We dressed him in his Toy Story shirt and drove to the theater. As we approached on foot, he wasn’t sure what to make of the large building. As we got closer, he saw a Toy Story 3 poster on the wall and knew we were going to do something which involved Toy Story.
We went to the snack counter, where a girl called him “cutie” and asked what he wanted to eat.
We’re going to see a movie AND eat junk food?! Is this place Heaven?
His eyes lit up at all the colorful candies and treats he’d never seen before. There was one snack he recognized, though – Chocolate M&M’s. She handed him a bag, about 10 times larger than those tiny snack packs! His eyes lit up.
Sidenote – How on Earth can anyone justify charging nearly $25 bucks for two sodas, a small water, and a bag of candy?
E, dwarfed in the big, overstuffed bucket seats, looked around at the other kids in the theater, “are they gonna watch Toy Story, too?”
The previews started. E’s eyes were huge. This screen was WAAAAY bigger than the TV at home!
I was excited too, as I LOVE everything about Pixar, from the company’s creative process to their business strategy to their dedication to great movies, to the art and storytelling. Not only was this E’s first movie in a theater, this was my first Pixar movie on the big screen.
During a preview of some movie about talking dogs and cats, E got a bit nervous. I’d be nervous too at the prospect of my cats talking and plotting world domination. Not that I’d be scared of their leadership abilities; but I just KNOW they’d make me change the litter box every day.
The traditional pre-movie Pixar short came on – Night and Day, a great little feature with a deceptively profound message.
And Now For Our Feature Presentation …
Then, the movie began … with what I can only describe as a scene about as jarring to a three year old as the opening massacre sequence of Saving Private Ryan.
The toys, characters he’s come to love and be fond of thanks to the prior movies, were fighting one another, blowing things up, trying to kill one another, and were stuck on a train as it derailed and went flying off a cliff! And this was all in the opening five minutes!
A Toypocalypse!
E was gnawing on his fingers, watching nervously as harm befell his friends.
We tried to calm him down, tell him things would be okay, that they were “just playing pretend” and it would all be okay.
Meet Rex
Now’s a good time to mention that E has recently developed a weird fear of the dinosaur character, Rex. I’m not sure what spawned the fear. As dinosaurs go, Rex has to be the least dangerous looking one in movie history. However, E has become convinced that Rex, who happens to be on one of his blankets, is “looking at him” during the night. He doesn’t want us to take the Toy Story blanket out of the crib, mind you. He just wants us to put Rex at the bottom, where the goofy dino can’t look at him.
So, back to the movie … at just about the time we were trying to calm E down, Rex shows up on screen, BIGGER AND SCARIER AND ROARIER THAN EVER! I mean, we’re talking Godzilla-big and Aliens-popping-out-of-the-shipmate’s-chest scary!
E lost it!
“I want to go home with you, mommy and daddy,” he repeated over and over, crying.
Here we’d been telling him we were going somewhere special after dinner and by special, we meant, “We’re going to watch your favorite characters fight and kill one another.”
I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head.
Which brings me to a question for Pixar: Why did the opening of Toy Story 3 have to be so … violent? I mean, this is a kid’s movie, right? Yet the characters were attacking and threatening one another and doing things which seemed a bit more extreme than the movie’s G-Rating would suggest.
I hate to be critical of any movie for its content, particularly a Pixar movie, as it makes me feel like one of those clueless people who complain about the content of everything and how things were so much better in the good ole’ days when people slept in different beds on TV, children addressed adults with “ma’am and sir”, and well, yeah, there were the occasional lynchings of people based on their skin color, women had no rights and abuse was rampant but well-hidden, but other than that, the world was perfect. I don’t want to be that person. And maybe my son is just too young or too sensitive and the movie wasn’t meant for him. But, did it have to start out so action-packed and violent?
I feel a bit let down. I’d hoped to bond with my son over some beautiful Pixar movie magic. But instead, he’s traumatized. So, please, Pixar, I’m going to wait one more year for our “First Movie” when the next Cars movie comes out. But I swear to God if Cars 2 starts off with Mater being dissected in a junk yard by the evil guy from the Saw movies, you’ve no longer got a friend in me.
Questions for the reader: Did you see Toy Story 3? What did you think of it (without posting spoilers)? How old were your kids when you brought them to a movie?
UPDATE: E went and saw Toy Story 3 with his cousins. And while he was still scared a bit, he did watch the whole thing and loved it. He still likes Toy Story 2 the best. I’m sure, once he’s a bit older, he’ll like Toy Story 3 a lot. Unfortunately, I wasn’t with him so I have to wait a bit longer to see it for myself.
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I had a similar experience with chicken Little with my daughter when she was 3. Now she’s 6 she’s much better.
Maybe for sensitive kids 3 years old is too young for the movies.
Chicken Little is scary for me, too!
I guess I’ll have to pre-screen even G-rated movies before he watches them.
You’re an amazing writer and the pics of E are the cherry on top. It’s like I was there while you were telling the story. I haven’t even seen TS3 and I’m upset about how it traumatized him as well.
.-= Anthony from CharismaticKid´s last blog ..Teaching your kid the secret of charisma… Shhh- – Episode 3 =-.
Thanks, Anthony. I appreciate the nice words.
WOW, E looks Ginormous.
My son was three when Cars came out. And though it quickly became his favorite movie on DVD, he spent about five minutes in the actual theater before running around the lobby with his mom while my daughter and I finished the film.
He sat perfectly still for Ratatouille the following year. It gets better!
Can’t imagine Cars not holding a boy’s interest!
I’ve heard others say their toddlers reacted the same way. 2, 3 or even 4 might be too young for this movie. My son is 5 1/2, and he got that it was all just pretend. I also think different kids react differently. If this were on TV it would probably get a Y7 rating. I think because it’s called Toy Story we’re lulled into believing that it will be OK for all ages, when really most media is beyond the comprehension of toddlers unless it’s specifically geared for that age.
.-= Mommie Daze´s last blog ..Cupcakes and Cowboys =-.
Good point. I generally avoid TV unless its PBS Kids or Nick Jr. which I generally don’t have to worry about. Although there is that creepy bug cartoon which skeeves me out.
We took our two year old and our five year old. Bud, the little one, ended up leaving with Daddy. It didn’t have anything to do with the content of the movie. He just got bored. I also took him to see Shrek and he was fine with it. Of course he slept for almost an hour during the whole middle part.
My five year old LOVED it. We’ve been taking her to the movies since she was about three with no problems.
If you could have got him past that first part then he probably would have enjoyed the middle part. Close to the end was pretty scary though.
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Unforgiveable =-.
The whole hour middle part of Shrek? That’s like the whole movie!
E has since seen Toy Story 3 (with his cousins) and now loves it. I’ll need to update the blog to reflect that. However, he doesn’t want to see it again anytime soon, as it scares him to see his “friends” in jeopardy.
I also took my just turned 3 year old to see Toy Story 3. It was his first time in a movie theater, too. And he is obsessed with Toy Story. It went better than expected, which is to say, we stayed for the whole movie. At times he was more interested in the lights on the floor and kept falling through the seat. I was surprised by that first scene but I don’t think he noticed.
.-= SuburbanDaddy´s last blog ..And It Keeps Getting Weirder =-.
LOL, E kept falling through his seat, too. We had to get a booster, but even then, he was fascinated with rocking back and forth in the chair. He probably would’ve had fun just sitting in the chair with no movie at all.
I was going to take my three year old. I might have a re-think and wait for the DVD!
.-= Spencer Park´s last blog ..Chocolate Ice-Cream =-.
Like the people above said, it depends on your child. Mine is an 8 out of 10 on the sensitivity level, if that helps.
I didn’t go but my husband took the littlest one (will be 3 in August) and he enjoyed it and did well. He is not at all what one would call sensitive though and has 4 older brothers so has seen bits and pieces of all sorts of things that would have made me faint had my oldest seen them at that age.
E sounds like a really empathetic little boy.
Your children have been inoculated by all the scary food items you have!
Our 3-year-old was okay with this movie, and it was his first theater experience, too. Like you said, I truly think it depends on the kid.
Prior to this movie, my son has caught glimpses of movies I wouldn’t recommend for his age, due to being the youngest cousin on both sides of the family, and because several of our friends have older kids. We’ve had to address “pretend” scenes for quite a while.
So sorry your son had a bad experience with this. And Mater better be okay next year. Huge Cars’ fans here.
.-= RC´s last blog ..Fifteen years =-.
Yeah, if Mater gets killed, my son will cry for weeks.
Right! I also don’t get the $25 charge for just popcorn and some snacks. Sorry you guy had such an upsetting movie trip. They just dont make kid carttons the way they use to.
.-= Nikki @ Mommy Factor´s last blog ..BFF Bracelets Help Kids -amp Celebrities Support Military Troops =-.
You know, I was thinking the same thing about kids cartoons the way they used to. But then I happened across some old Tom n Jerry and Looney Tunes stuff and I have to say, MAN, WERE THOSE SHOWS VIOLENT! I’m surprised every kid of the 70′s and 80′s didn’t turn into violence-prone, mouse-killing, Roadrunner-chasing, Bugs Bunny-shooting psycopath!
We’re closing in on three-years-old in October and no movies yet. However, my son will sit through an entire football game and that is awesome!
God it’s a tough one isn’t it. We took my 4 year old to see Disney’s Princess and the Frog when it first came out and like you I was laughably excited to be going on a family film outing. But like any old-fashioned fairy tale, it had its token baddy and I personally found the evil voodoo witch doctor creation the stuff of nightmares. What are these cartoon guys thinking of??
I guess the psycho-babble theory is that if children see/hear/read of scary things in the comforting arms of a loving parent, they’re going to be better prepared for coming face-to-face with scary stuff in the Big Bad World. Or something. I dunno. In our case, we got away with it and my daughter remembered the funny frogs, lovely singing and all round treat of the trip rather than the evil shadow man.
I hope your son can edit his memory of your outing and remember the giant packet of M&Ms rather than the awful-sounding Toy War. Sometimes, I do think the movie bosses forget their target audience is kids or at least families.
You see, now I worry! My 3yr old can’t get enough of it – all of Pixar, Dinosaurs, Monsters & Aliens,…..etc!!
No mental scars surfacing so far – just an imagination I try to keep up with!!
(Great Blog).
.-= Dan Bruna´s last blog ..Have you ever =-.
The movie theater does not get to keep the money you pay for tickets. Let me repeat: The entire amount you pay for tickets goes to the movie studio (less a small amount that covers the theater’s operating costs). The only way the theater can make money is by selling other stuff.
This is prolly my first time actually reading and commenting on your blog. I like how your son’s so cute and how you’re so descriptive about everything. What’s E’s complete name? I’m curious.
And oh I don’t have kids. Haven’t seen Toy Story 3 either. Nothing I can contribute but an appreciation for a witty, interesting post.
.-= Fershers´s last blog ..Long Walks On The Beach =-.
We went through this with my eldest son, now 14. He found the noise, the hugeness of the images, and the staccato of the bam-bam-bam too much when we took him to see a Wallace & Gromit movie at 4. He only wanted to start going back to the movies last year. We asked him down through the years if he wanted to go to this or that movie and the answer was always No.
Our second son, on the other hand, is much more interested in keeping up with his peers and he wanted to go the movies much earlier. Our third son has been like our first son, although at 8 he has sat through a movie. But just the one. And shows no interest in going back. Our youngest is more like the second but also just likes to do whatever might be fun and if going to the movies is what everyone is doing he wants to go too.
My point? After having cycled through it a number of times my impression is that I need to give them their own space to work into it, which they will eventually, some sooner, some later.
.-= The Wahdad´s last blog ..What Comes Between Boy And Man =-.
Oh, my 7-year-old nephew was brought to tears by the opening scene of TS3, and his dad had to take him out of the theater because he could not calm down (they got a refund). So it’s not just 3-year-olds that got traumatized.
Seven? I just know that’s gonna be my kid in 4 years.
Hi David
Poor E! He looks like he’s about to burst into tears in that last photo.
I took my 3 children to see “Toy Story 3″ during the recent school holidays here in Australia and while we all enjoyed it, there were many times during the movie that I had to reassure my 5 year old son that the toys would be safe and sound by the end of the movie … even my 8 year old daughter had a few “moments” during the movie where I was holding her hand while she was squished up beside her 5 year old brother who was even more squished up against me!
My 11 year old daughter was fine, thank goodness (she’s old enough to understand that it isn’t real), because I’d run out of hands/arms and my neck was getting very sore from leaning at an odd angle trying to comfort two kids and watch the movie!
hehe – my son regularly says “That’s not flying … it’s falling with style!” (it’s one of my favourite lines too).
Our eldest daughter was roughly 1 year old when I first took her to the movies. She sat on my knee the entire time, watching without any fuss or wriggling. Our second daughter was about 2 years old when she had her first trip. She sat on my knee for the movie, but certainly did get the wriggles! She was very well behaved though, no noise, just wriggling (she’s a very active kid). Our son was also about 2 years old for his first trip, and he alternated between my husband’s knee and mine – again, very well behaved. All 3 kids enjoy going to the movies and are always extremely well behaved.
David, I agree with you that “Toy Story 3″ was a little “dark” in places. I had been told by friends who’d seen it that there were a few scary bits in it, so I had already told my kids that there were going to be a few parts they may not like, but that most of it was great. I’m glad I was able to prepare the kids for that, because I’m certain they would have been more upset not knowing that first.
I completely understand your disappointment with the intensity of some of the scenes, though. As I said, I’m glad I’d been told that there would be some intense/scary scenes. Mind you, in the first “Toy Story” movie, I didn’t enjoy the darkness of Sid’s character in the way that he blew toys up, dismembered others and made his own creations with them, although these scenes obviously weren’t as “in your face” big, loud and intense as those in No 3.
“Toy Story 2″ is my favouite of the 3 movies.
I believe Mommy Daze (above) hits the name on the head with this comment:
“I think because it’s called Toy Story we’re lulled into believing that it will be OK for all ages, when really most media is beyond the comprehension of toddlers unless it’s specifically geared for that age.”
Due to this perception, I believe that Pixar do have an obligation to keep their Toy Story movies suitable for the very young viewer, given the wide age range of viewers. Others may disagree and that’s fine by me. How I feel is how I feel. Of course, the other side of that is how does anyone determine what is suitable for a particular age, when there are so many variables involved (eg: like E and my kids, some are more sensitive than others).
I feel it’s a good idea to be as informed as possible before taking our kids to the movies, particularly the more sensitive kids. I ask others who’ve seen the movie and read reviews where possible to help me determine the likely suitability of movies for my kids to watch.
As usual, another terrific post from you, David.
~ Kylie ~
.-= Kylie Doak´s last blog ..A Blast From The Past =-.
Kylie – Thank you for weighing in and for the nice words. While I wouldn’t dare tell Pixar how to make movies – I DO love everything they’ve done – I think if a particular title is aimed at a certain demographic, with ADVERTISING towards that demo (even the mostly ad-free PBS and Nick Jr.) have Toy Story-related ads, then the movie ought to have content appropriate for kids in that age range.
It’s my pleasure, David.
lol – I wouldn’t dare tell them either! I love everything they’ve done too (including the hilarious out takes at the end of Toy Story 2 … they are so clever AND very believable. I’ll ‘fess up here and admit that just for a little bit, I got caught up in the moment and was “sucked in” to them the first time I watched – doh!). I bet I’m not the only one.
You’ve summed things up perfectly in your reply.
.-= Kylie Doak´s last blog ..A Blast From The Past =-.
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