It was necessary for me look up the chronological list of Disney animated movies to figure out the first theatre movie. It was Little Mermaid. I took my children and their cousins to a movie during Christmas holidays for many years and don’t remember much about the first movie. I vividly remember taking a car full of small children, aged four through six, to Beauty and the Beast, because on the drive home, listening to them discuss it with each other, I realized they all thought Gaston was the hero. When I tried to explain the moral of the story, one nephew just flat out refused to believe me. It was all really upsetting to me at the time.
Wow (#60). That’s really scary, that kids as old as 6 would see Gaston as the hero, presumably because he is the one who is white, male, and studly. Were they all boys?
A separate sub-thread could be what was the first adult movie you inappropriately took your children to. In my daughter’s case, it was Dances With Wolves. She was (gasp) almost 5. I had no idea the first 20 minutes of the movie was an ultra-violent Civil War movie with an on-screen amputation. It didn’t have any terrible long-term effect as far as I know. She loved the Indian names, and promptly came up with one for her younger brother – Talking Turtle. Vestiges of that followed him through high school and beyond. A group of his closest, oldest friends called him “Turtle” among themselves, and he accumulated quite a collection of turtle tchotchkes that they gave him over the years.
I remember we took D to see The Muppets Christmas Carol. The guy who played Scrooge scared her and we had to leave. I think her first movie was Lion King. It’s not a movie but H and I made the mistake of taking her on the Haunted House ride when we took her to Disneyland at age 3. She couldn’t go on that ride for years afterwards!
I don’t remember the first movie we took S to see in the theater. But I do remember D and S were both distressed by the fire in Bambi. They were also scared by the wicked witch and flying monkeys in the Wizard of OZ.
Someone mentioned Balto. I remember I took D and a friend to see that. They were a bit scared by it, but generally liked it.
@JHS haha, that would be a great thread! There are at least a few movies we inappropriately took S and D to see. None were too bad though. H took D to see Air Force One when she was in elementary school. If anything she was mostly bored and confused during the whole thing. Though, she saw it again in college and thought it was good. S saw some of the Harry Potter movies when he was pretty young and H took him to see the Marvel movies when he was still in elementary school, but those aren’t necessarily inappropriate. I think it depends on the kid too. D wouldn’t have liked the Harry Potter and Marvel movies when she was in elementary school, but S saw them in elementary school and was fine. H did take S to see Anchorman and Wedding Crashers when he was in elementary school…I thought that was too young.
I took D to see Father of the Bride 2 when she was about 8 and she loved it! D still remembers when her dad took her to see Castaway when she was 12. She actually liked it, though she thought it was boring at times. Her favorite thing about the movie was the volleyball named “Wilson.” Oh and she says it was basically an ad for FEDEX.
My nephew’s first movie was Home Alone, I know that because my SIL invited me along!
I think one of S’s earliest movies was Mulan…his sister loved that movie. The Parent Trap (with Lindsay Lohan) was also one of his earliest movies, he tagged along when I took his sister and her friend.
I know mine was The Sound of Music when i was about 5, likely the reason I had a childhood fear that the Nazis were going to invade my home at night and therefore my plan that I would hide in the top of my closet behind the pile of board games so they couldn’t get me.
For my kids I really can’t remember. We had quite a collection of videos they watched a lot when they were younger. But guessing the first time in a theater was an animated film and probably in 2003 I looked at a list of movies from that year and now I’m pretty sure it was Brother Bear.
Wow, @alh, I would have been upset too! That is to me a pretty bizarre reaction to that version of Beauty and the Beast in particular. Howard Ashman probably rolled in his grave.
One of my kids has never been afraid of any movie. She got the Wizard of Oz on tape just before her 4th birthday (and then we had to have a wizard of oz themed party) and watched it straight through twice. After that she’d watch it in 5-10 minute pieces to memorize it word for word, song for song. “I’m up to the lion part, Mom.” (from the back of the car, in a Munchkin voice (her natural voice), “the wind began to twitch, the house - to pitch. And suddenly the hinges started to - unhitch…”)
Her first ballet? Dracula
Early (if not first) broadway show? Lion King, which is pretty scary
One of her favorite shows? Little Shop of Horrors
She’s a ghoul.
Her sister is afraid of everything so just immediately falls asleep. I used to decide it if was cheaper to pay for a babysitter or just buy a ticket and pay for her nap.
I took my three year old son to a matinee on my birthday since H was on call and working. A Disney movie- maybe Pinocchio (a re-release). Halfway through the movie he was so tired he was falling asleep so we left. So much for mother-son time and a special birthday.
The Lion King came out the summer he was six. A college friend, single/no kids, wanted to see it so she asked to take my son. I said yes but that I had to chaperone (so I could see it too). Anyone else use kids as an excuse to see G-rated movies?
We never had money for movies so they were a rare occasion for me growing up. I remember a bunch of us neighborhood girls went to one- dropped off and picked up by someone’s parent. I still remember going to a movies with just my mother- a real treat for a middle child to have alone time with her- it was “A Boy Ten Feet Tall” as I recall. We also went to the drive in as a family- they showed a G rated (back then different ratings) movie first then a more adult one as kids would fall asleep.
Times have changed. The current generation of parents with young kids (some may be your own) can stream movies, not even using a DVD.
“Anyone else use kids as an excuse to see G-rated movies?”
Oh, we used to go all the time before we had kids. No excuse needed. 
We still have a drive-in in our area and will go once a summer.
“Anyone else use kids as an excuse to see G-rated movies?”
My first date with my husband was a matinee of “Bambi.” Afterwards, he complained about the veracity of the depiction of the forest animals (did you know that Bambi kept his spots for too long?) - and yet, I married him anyway. My husband, not Bambi!
I don’t remember the first movie I ever saw. I do remember seeing “Mary Poppins,” “Sound of Music,” and “My Fair Lady,” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” when I was a kid. I know I saw more movies. And I do remember I was older then my kids when I saw my first movie in a theater…