Kung Fu Panda

[VeronicaBelle27]

ACK! I'll buy it, my 8 yr old loved the girl trio and she sees it as more of a 'friend' movie than the teen stuff. She ewwwws at the kissing. She also seems to have a good sense of justice, she cheers when the bad girl looses.


If my kiddo is well behaved this whole week we are going to take her to see it this weekend.

Yes, I'd love to give it to your eight-year-old. Much more appropriate (especially with the ewwww-censor at play)!

We were at grandma's house and they had it on and the not-quite-five-year-old was enraptured with the mermaid scenes. I bought it after much searching, and put it on for her... and proceeded to be like, "why, oh, why did i not pre-screen this one?"

I can't wait to surprise her with the Kung-Fu Panda, hopefully we can go Friday night. I think she may grow up to be a vet (tough field to go into, only a few colleges offer it) or some type of zoologist, she LOVES animals, more than most little ones, I think.

[Broadway]

I think she may grow up to be a vet (tough field to go into, only a few colleges offer it) or some type of zoologist, she LOVES animals, more than most little ones, I think.

Pssst.... Michigan State has one of THE best, if not THE best vet schools around. (At least it used to.. I haven't heard lately.)

[PWS]

Pssst.... Michigan State has one of THE best, if not THE best vet schools around. (At least it used to.. I haven't heard lately.)

Cornell's good, too, and I think the vet school is part of the state system aspect of Cornell, so much cheaper than private Cornell (but you should check that out...however many years from now that is!). But you are right, VB, vet school is hard to get into--I"m told harder than med school for people! If she turns out not to like chem and math though, there are lots of related animal careers...but can't hurt to give her some incentive on the chem and math!
But back to movies, I wonder how much these animal themed movies, like the penguin craze, influence kids' aspirations.... I know my friends who work in marine biology are besieged with kids wanting marine biology so they can work with dolphins....

[Harmony2000]

They totally influence kids aspirations. My son is so obsessed with karate movies that he wants to take classes (also his uncles are all black belts that helps). Because of his obsession with Power Rangers and Transformers he is already telling everybody that someday he will grow up to be a "man" who does karate and works on robots. I've told him he has to do really good on math and science to be able to work on robots some day and that's made him try even harder.

Thanks everybody who has offered to review the movie. He's never been to a theater before, if you guys say its good for one that young....he might get a really awesome treat this weekend and go see his first movie on the big screen.

[DesertRose]

Thanks everybody who has offered to review the movie. He's never been to a theater before, if you guys say its good for one that young....he might get a really awesome treat this weekend and go see his first movie on the big screen.

He's going to love the movies! We brought my son for his first viewing at 3, for Alvin and the Chipmunks. He did not even blink for the first 45 minutes of the movie. It was hilarious. You have to know that my son usually has ants in his pants. He never sits still.

We haven't found an age appropriate movie since, but I'm also waiting on the reviews to see if we should bring him to this one.

[VeronicaBelle27]

Yes, I work with someone whose daughter is going to Michigan State to be a vet.... he said it's ridicuolously competitive and VERY expensive... She just may do it though, as it is now, she's only 4 1/2, so we don't know if she has any math/science aptitude, but she does learn quickly and can draw really well (a kid after my own heart in that aspect) so she does have the determination to learn to do something properly...

I've heard that about the dolphins, and I remember when 101 Dalmations was released (re-released?) everyone went out and got themselves that dog only to discover that they, for the most part, weren't a great family pet. So I think these movies are very influential, but the kiddo is really obsessed with animals thus far. Barbies and stuff she could care less about, it's all animals...she washes that horsie on her DS so much he's going to sparkle right off the screen!

BF said to me the other day as we wandered about our county zoo that maybe instead of a vet or zoologist or biologist, she could be a cryptozoologist (or something like that?) and I swatted him and said "She doesn't want to work with DEAD animals!!!" Some English Major/Writer/Editor/Latin-Class-Taking person I turned out to be: I honestly thought it was kind of like animal autopsies or burials or something.... Turns out it's more like archaeology and research, but still.... He used to work in an emergency animal hospital, and says it's too tough for words to see all the sick animals and distraught people.

Anyway!!! Back to the movie.... Soooooo Off-Topic here, sorry!
My niece's first movie on the big screen was Bee Movie this winter when she was 3, and she got such a kick out of seeing all the people in front of and behind us before the movie started, she was ensuring that they were all there to see the Bee with her! So funny. Both girls are still obsessed with the movie now that we have it on DVD. I have an unnatural LOVE for Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks movies, but even I am so sick of that bee!!!!!

Maybe another research expedition tomorrow afternoon will yield us some parental-advisory information (if there's any to be had) on Kung-Fu Panda, I'll check it out! Hopefully, the PG is really just for some martial-arts fighting and that's all. If that's the case,though, IRON Man was under-rated!

[PWS]

My youngest's first theater movie was ET. I'd gone alone first--I admit partly because I wanted to watch it without having to watch what effect it was having on my kid!--so I knew to warn him that it was going to have a happy ending even though there might be some scary and sad parts, which I thought would be sufficient. He was 3, but with a great attention span and was glued to the screen until the part very near the end where it looks like ET is dead. At that point he stood up and turned around to me and very loudly and accusingly said "You said it had a happy ending! ET is dead! That is NOT a happy ending!" I am laughing, crying, hugging him and trying to turn him around so he can see the flower coming back to life. What a moment. I'm sure my seatmates were thrilled at the spoiler.
I'm a big believer in pre-screening for the young 'uns. And sometimes for the not so young. With one of my teenage sons I once wound up at some movie where the main character had an incestuous relationship with his mother...a little awkward to be watching with a parent.... It was one of those "surprises" that the reviewers don't want to reveal....
Anyway, the previews for Kung Fu Panda look adorable. Looking forward to all the reviews.

[ClosetRTWatcher]

...He was 3, but with a great attention span and was glued to the screen until the part very near the end where it looks like ET is dead. At that point he stood up and turned around to me and very loudly and accusingly said "You said it had a happy ending! ET is dead! That is NOT a happy ending!" I am laughing, crying, hugging him and trying to turn him around so he can see the flower coming back to life. What a moment. I'm sure my seatmates were thrilled at the spoiler.

Awww. That is hilarious and so cute. And I can completely sympathize with the "loud child in a quiet place" aspect of it!!

I'm a big believer in pre-screening for the young 'uns. And sometimes for the not so young. With one of my teenage sons I once wound up at some movie where the main character had an incestuous relationship with his mother...a little awkward to be watching with a parent....

I am totally with you on this one. I watched the movie version of Rent with my young teen. I knew the very general premise of the story, but I didn't realize going into the movie that a significant discussion about lifestyle choices and sexually transmitted diseases was going to be required by the end of the movie. It was a very beneficial conversation, I just felt a little blindsided!

[veejer]

I usually checked out SCREEN IT! ENTERTAINMENT REVIEWS FOR PARENTS before taking my kids to the movies. If you join, you can see the reviews right away, but even if you don't join, I think they are available by Saturday.

They rate 15 different categories like "violence; sex/nudity; profanity" as "none; mild; minor; moderate; heavy; extreme". Then further down on the page give details.

Of course if you don't want to be spoiled at all, don't go there. The reviews are pretty detailed.

[PWS]

Awww. That is hilarious and so cute. And I can completely sympathize with the "loud child in a quiet place" aspect of it!!


I am totally with you on this one. I watched the movie version of Rent with my young teen. I knew the very general premise of the story, but I didn't realize going into the movie that a significant discussion about lifestyle choices and sexually transmitted diseases was going to be required by the end of the movie. It was a very beneficial conversation, I just felt a little blindsided!

Yes, gotta love those "teachable moments"! They are a way to open certain subjects for conversation, whether it is sex or bullying or hyperviolence, but is nice to know they are coming!