@Rivet2000 I thought it was almost a requirement in Disney films that one or both parents die. At least the deaths aren’t graphic. My kids were more disturbed by the diver that appeared behind Nemo and scooped him up - although we didn’t realize it until we bought the DVD. Fortunately they appear to bear no lasting scars.
On the other hand, my first R rated movie was Jaws as a 12 year old. To this day I can’t go into the water without feeling like I’m not alone. It makes for some quick showers (just kidding).
Don’t remember my son’s first movie in a theater ( he says it was Tarzan.). I do remember taking my daughter to The Little Mermaid and she remembers it too.
When my daughter had just turned 2 we did a “Mommy and Me” camp for 2-5 year olds where you went to a park once a week. One week it rained and they offered the option to go to a movie instead. The other 2 year old moms begged off but my daughter was like “ When can’t we go to da movie?” It wasn’t even a cartoon. It was the live action Flipper. It didn’t cost us anything to go, we had nothing else to do, so I said sure even though I knew she couldn’t sit through it. So on the way I tell her the rules s of movies, being quiet etc… But I told her that if she didn’t like it o r was scared or tired we could leave. So we get there and she just sits mesmerized through the whole thing. She didn’t say a word. I wasn’t sure she understood what was happening. But right after she starts retelling the major plot points. She talked about it for days after too. This was just a window into her that I didn’t have before.
Polar Express. I remember when he turned 3 we watched Nemo on video, and he was hysterically sad in the scene where the girl was shaking the bag with the fish in it. Polar Express was pretty safe though.
D was almost 3 and H took her to see Beauty and the Beast. She sat on his lap (scared at first) then loudly proclaimed “Birdie” everything a bird was on the screen. She fell asleep half way thru…and then had an accident. On H’s lap.
I was home dealing with a teething DS, so H got the better end of the deal…
Toy Story 2, I remember because we drove to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia to see it. It was a fun outing with real beer (more delicious when you can’t usually have it) for the parents at lunch. Our daughter was three I think.
D says it was Snow White, Disney version. They both screamed and hid their eyes with the evil queen/witch.
The Preschool teachers tried to read several books to the class but my S (who was 3-5) would cry and get very upset if there was violence. He’d be sent to the director’s office where he happily read books and enjoyed the air conditioned comfort.
For some reason H thought it was a good idea to take our kids to the Three Musketeers (they may have been 6 & 8). About 5 minutes into the movie, during the dungeon, torture scene, the kids and I left the theater and the kind manager gave us a rain check to return and see a more child-friendly movie
H lost the right to choose family movies for awhile
Obviously D is not scarred, as she majored in cinema.
I’m another who can’t remember. My kids never had trouble with any movie that I’m aware of, so it probably didn’t make a strong enough memory neuron to be able to dust off.
I recall my middle son couldn’t stand any of the “4D” movies at Disney. He also didn’t like the Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror where they had the ghosts. He was fine with the actual falling part. The other two loved the movies and Haunted Mansion. Youngest didn’t like the “fall” part of the Tower of Terror. My mom fondly recalls watching him after the ride when the rest of us went to ride Rockin’ Roller Coaster (he was too small). Supposedly he told her, “I’m never, never, ever, riding that ride again! And when I grow up, I’m not making my wife and kids ride that ride either!” Mom reminded him that she offered to wait with him - no one made him go on the ride - mom only went on it because he wanted to. Of course, on our next visit a few years later, what was the one ride he wanted? That one. (Kids! - I guess it haunted him a bit in a different way.) Middle son didn’t want it though.
But regular theaters? I don’t recall a single problem at any time. From their youth we’ve had some fun family discussions about movies.
I remember my first movie in a theater - it was Bambi. I don’t recall being upset, but I remember being wowed at the whole experience.
For my two oldest kids I think they were Aladdin and Toy Story. Not 100% sure. We very rarely went/ go to movies in a theatre. Too expensive and too loud. (I remember having “sensory overload” after seeing Aladdin. I didn’t go to Toy Story, but I remember H talking about how much he enjoyed it.)
For my son, his first theater movie was The Rugrats Movie when he was four. He stuck it out, but looked stricken most of the time. I thought it was pretty bad. My daughter’s first movie was Finding Nemo (she was also about four). She’s autistic and very sensitive to sound, so she had her hands over her ears the whole time. She stuck with it until the part where Nemo goes down the drain and that was it for her. My whole family was there, so I had to leave with her and sit out in the lobby for the rest of the movie. She was quite traumatized. I think she’s only seen a couple more movies in theaters since that time, but otherwise refuses to go to a movie theater. We did watch Finding Nemo some years later on video.
I’m another who can’t remember. We see movies all the time and H has been a huge movie buff his whole life. He worked in the theater from age 14-24! Neither of mine ever were bothered by movies. We were definitely more careful with what older S saw. My bigger parenting blunder was taking older S to the county fair at age 2. For some reason. We thought it was a good idea to put him on the scrambler between us. I’m surprised they let him on but I guess he was tall enough. He wound up getting squished between us and screamed the entire time and it was years before he warmed up to fast rides.
S’s first was Follow That Bird, but I have no idea what D’s first movie at the theater was. If it was wasn’t The Little Mermaid, that one would have been one of her earliest.
I know my own first movie theater movie…Bambi. It became family lore because my grandmother took me and I sobbed uncontrollably when Bambi’s mother died, so much so that we had to leave the theater. My grandmother, who was extremely tender hearted, felt so bad about it for years.
My D wasn’t bothered by anything in movies. She actually thought Nemo’s mother was just on vacation. Totally didn’t understand that she was eaten.
