<p>My son and daughter-in-law and I took our grandson (their son, aged 3) to see Brave today. It’s an absolutely gloriously beautiful Pixar film, and our grandson was very, very excited about seeing it. He’d seen all the previews and loved it, and loves lots of Disney classics, such as Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, Tarzan, etc…</p>
<p>Well, it was a fail. The part of the movie that we really did not know about ahead of time was the notion that the mother of the primary character is turned into a big, frightening bear, and stays that way for much of the film. There is a scene prior to that one that has an even scarier bear, but the notion of someone’s mommy turning into a bear just terrified my little grandson, and they had to leave. I stayed to see the rest of the movie and really loved it, but I am glad they left. It really, really is very intense…</p>
<p>We plan to purchase the DVD when it comes out and watch it with him, and I am sure he will love it once he knows the story and knows it turns out ok. </p>
<p>Just a caution to those who might be thinking about taking really small kids…</p>
<pre><code>The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo - Mother killed by Frollo.
The Little Mermaid: Ariel, Attina, Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Adella and Alana - Mother killed by pirates.[10]
Bambi: Bambi - Mother killed by a gunshot.
The Fox and the Hound: Tod - Mother killed by a gunshot.
Dumbo: Mrs. Jumbo is locked up for the majority of the movie, but is not killed.
The Jungle Book: Mowgli - Raksha Killed by Shere Khan.
Brother Bear: Koda - Mother killed by Kenai.
Tarzan: Tarzan - Mother killed (as well as father) by Sabor.
Finding Nemo: Nemo - Mother killed by barracuda (as well as all of Nemo’s siblings)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Princess Kida - Mother killed while trying to save Atlantis from its first fate.
</code></pre>
<p>While I don’t think any 3 year old has the patience, attention span, or ability to be stay silent to sit in a movie theater for 90 minutes, I’d certainly vet any film very carefully before taking such a young child. Brave is rated PG–that should alert any parent that there might be content inappropriate for a three year old. Here’s one of the several websites that analyze movies with respect to appropriateness for kids:
[Kids-In-Mind:</a> Movie Ratings That Actually Work](<a href=“http://www.kids-in-mind.com%5DKids-In-Mind:”>http://www.kids-in-mind.com)</p>
<p>I was disappointed in the movie–to me it was a typical Disney flick, albeit prettily done in 3-D, without any of the delightful originality we’ve come to expect from Pixar.</p>
<p>Yes, I wondered too (and this is not aimed at the OP, just a general question): why do people take such young children to the movies? Even the most innocuous film in a theater is going to be loud and visually overwhelming to a 3-year-old, no?</p>
<p>He has been to other movies which he loved and did sit through. That being said, we went at 11:00am (and there were very few others in the theater) in case this very thing happened. The movies listed in post #5 include many of his favorites, so we really did not think there would be an issue…no way to anticipate. I think he’s just cognitively to the place where he can internalize things, and the mommy part of it just got to him…</p>
<p>I started this just to let people know. Before going, we just thought it was a cool movie about a young girl being brave enough to go her own way. And it was…but with some intense moments.</p>
<p>I went with a friend to see Beauty and the Beast, and the wolves scared quite a few kids in the theater setting…but not as much as the awful trailer for…The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. I would really, really like to meet the folks who felt that trailer was suitable for all audiences.</p>
<p>What is it with kids movies and mothers?
They are either evil or dead.</p>
<p>I took my D to a children’s play when she was almost three.
It was within walking distance and sounded like so much fun.
The play was the Snow Queen, and I guess I had forgotten about the wicked sprite who breaks the mirror in the beginning.it was pretty scary, especially since we were sitting on the floor right in front.
( but she enjoyed the rest of it,especially Greta saving the day!)</p>
<p>I have warned people that Brave is probably too intense for little kids. It’s partly the situations but mostly the extraordinary realism of the animation.</p>
<p>Absolutely wonderful movie but not for the very young.</p>
<p>I liked the animation in Brave (my husband worked in computer graphics for many years) but I thought the plot was trite and cliched in the end. </p>
<p>Are there any Disney animation movies in which the mom is not dead or missing? I’m honestly hard-pressed to think of any.</p>
<p>Having one or both parents die is the standard formula Disney generally uses for their movies. Of course, sometimes they throw in the evil step-mothers or siblings as well. I think my W is still traumatized by the killings in Bambi.</p>
<p>When D was 3, H and I wondered whether she was old enough to see The Wizard of Oz. We were comcerned the flying monkeys would be too scary.</p>
<p>She started watching it with us. At the very beginning she became upset because Miss Gulch (the witch as the school teacher) took Toto from Dorothy. We turned it off.</p>
<p>The movie is PG which suggests it might not be the best choice for a 3 year old, you know.</p>
<p>SPOILER ALERT!</p>
<p>I had mixed feelings about* Brave* - because when it comes right down to it the girl doesn’t really decide her own destiny. Her Mom kills the bad bear and the willo-the-wisps lead her both to the witch and later to safety. I felt like she just had tantrums and went to play in the woods and had fun being a tomboy. At least she doesn’t marry a prince.</p>
<p>I thought it upended some typical tropes -dead or evil step-Mom, but mostly just dealt in the same old stereotypes.</p>
<p>The short film in front of the main picture - * La Luna* - now that was terrific!</p>
<p>I thought it was wonderful and unique in the way it portrayed a mother and daughter and how they come to terms with each other. Very few animated movies have mothers. I can’t think of one other than The Incredibles in which a major storyline is the mother daughter relationship. And that was only one of several story lines while this was the focus.</p>
<p>I confess I had to see it because my D looks just like Merida. We have also spent a lot of time in Scotland. First thing I did after the film was google to see if there are bears in Scotland. </p>
<p>My D went to see it too (not home for the summer due to internship). Ever since the first pictures and trailers came out, she’s heard repeatedly about the resemblance.</p>
<p>We took DD to Beauty and the Beast when she was almost 3. (It was cute - she had only seen videos. She sat in the theater and said, "ok - you can start it now). Wow, I found those wolves really scary! I was concerned and leaned over asked how she was doing. She replied cheerily, “I have popcorn! I have soda!”. No trauma for her ;)</p>
<p>I had to laugh when someone said they couldn’t take their children to Brave because of the nudity. I rather enjoyed all the butt shots in the film. For some reason, they were more worrie about that than about the animals.</p>