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Star Wars (original trilogy) for 4 yr old....  

post #1 of 42
11/21/08 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, this is for the moms who dont give their kids free reign on entertainment choices...

DS, 4, is among the last of his friends to never have seen the original Star Wars. What are your opinions on the level of violence/gore/scary factor in the movie... too much for 4 yr old?

As a framework, he has seen Kung Fu Panda with no problems. Maybe 1-2x wk he will watch a Spiderman or Hulk cartoon on TV. Hasnt ever watched Power Rangers....
post #2 of 42
11/21/08 at 1:31pm
I would not even consider letting my 4 yo watch star wars. Too much war action and people cutting each other to pieces.

That said, I am an A-#1 prude by anyone's standards.
post #3 of 42
11/21/08 at 1:31pm
Too long. DH and ex were both big Star Wars fans, we didn't want to take the chance with them being turned off by exposure too young. DS2 is a big fan, but it's only been since he was about 7 that he really got it: the violence/gore/scare was an issue, but for me the biggest factor is that it's just too mature for a kid that small.
post #4 of 42
11/21/08 at 2:05pm
sooooooo depends on the child.

my friends son is v. into it and watched it when he was 4.

if you do decide start with new hope epi 4 or return of the jedi epi 6. never of course epi 3 revenge of the sith.

i tried my dd at 4, but she didnt enjoy it. she was asking waaaaaaay too many questions, questions i wasnt willing to answer at 4. so i stopped the movie.

i havent tried it since. she is 6 now. i think she has been reading and watching harry potter since she was 5. i dont think that is her interest.
post #5 of 42
11/21/08 at 4:17pm
We let our ds1 watch at 4 ...of course we had the remote in our hands the whole time and skipped the scary/gory stuff ...he has handled it really well
post #6 of 42
11/21/08 at 4:31pm
I saw Star Wars when I was 3.5yo back when it came out--my mother took me to see it.
That said, we waited until age 5 for our oldest to see it (and #2 was 4). Then age 6 & 5 for Empire Strikes Back. And we plan to wait until 7 or 8yo for Jedi. I think they get increasingly more violent and scary. We wait until naptime though so the younger set don't see it yet.
post #7 of 42
11/21/08 at 4:35pm
My DS saw it for the first time at 4. Well parts. There are parts in empire & Jedi that I did fast forward through (for example luke entering the cave on dagobah, the monster under jabbas throne room). Now he is 6 he watches and loves all of the original trilogy and we allowed him to see episode 1 and the new clone wars. As for episodes 2 & 3, well they cover such adult themes and are a bit much for a child. Those are off limits for a long time.

I saw Star Wars in the theater at age 6 when it first came out. My little sister age 4 was right there next to me. She loved it and still does just as much as I do.
post #8 of 42
11/21/08 at 4:38pm
I'm just jumping in because I saw a few minutes of Star Wars when I was probably 4 or 5 and it gave me nightmares that I still remember, 24 years later. So I think it really depends on the child. I have friends who saw it at the same age and weren't bothered by it at all.
post #9 of 42
11/21/08 at 5:34pm
My daughter started watching the original 3 movies at 4 or 5 (don't remember just when) and she didn't have any problems. I think it depends on the kid.
post #10 of 42
11/21/08 at 6:55pm
My dd has seen all 3 numerous times, starting around 4, without any problems. She loves them. I definitely sit with her and answer any questions and explain things that might be a little scary. DD is afraid of very little. Like the PPS said, it's depends on the kid.

Funny side note, we were watching an Indiana Jones movie recently and I told her that Indiana Jones was also Han Solo. She was completely floored when I explain the concept behind making movies: actors and sets and cameras and CGI. It's all she talks about now. Especially once she found out that all of the kids in movies are kids just like her. "You mean I could be in movies, like, right now?" She's decided she's going to be an actor.
post #11 of 42
11/21/08 at 6:59pm
my ds (4) has been watching star wars since he was in the womb lol... seriously we didnt have cable but we had the star wars movies so i sat down and watched them all when i was 7 mo preggers because we didnt have tv! anyways, he loves the movies and doesnt seem affeted by the violence. we talk about it though...and make sure to tell him its all pretend...
post #12 of 42
11/21/08 at 7:07pm
My DS (4) is on a total star wars kick right now. Maybe you could start with the newer "star wars:the clone wars" cartoons (shorter, but still with the war/violence) DS has no problem watching a whole episode of that. Bonus, it helped him learn days of the week because he knows it's on tv on Fridays, so that has led to lots of discussions about what day it is, etc.

I can see why some would stay away from any of the SW stuff (violence, etc) but for our family, it is ok. YMMV. My guess would be that your 4yo wouldn't sit and watch the whole movie anyway, just kinda flit in and out. At least, that's what mine has done the times it has been on tv.

I just reread the post above. DS thought it was hillarious that Han Solo was also Indiana Jones. He just sat there and laughed for a good 5 minutes.
post #13 of 42
11/21/08 at 7:08pm
I'm not anti-media at all, but I think Star Wars is too graphic, suspenseful, and violent for many 4yos, mine included - and too long - just too mature in general. He developed bedtime fear problems over Scooby Doo "monsters", so I'm pretty sure that Star Wars is inappropriate for him. I'd consider Star Wars at maybe 7 or 8.

My DS talks about other kids in his PreK class watching Spiderman, Hulk, and Ben-10 alien force...but I have no inclination to let him watch any of those. I know it's not specifically what you asked, but I think that in general, "because all the other kids have" is a lousy reason to do just about anything...


ETA: I do limit content quite a bit because my kids do tend to pick up on behaviors and phrases from media pretty easily. I don't limit time spent much, but do limit content for sure, for that reason.
post #14 of 42
11/21/08 at 7:09pm
Honestly I wouldn't risk it. There's no downside to just waiting a few years, or a couple at least.
(but the possible downside to showing it too early is those scarey images, nightmares etc)
post #15 of 42
11/21/08 at 8:04pm
My DS is 4 and really into Star Wars, and I would never let him watch the movie. He has learned about it through legos, books and pretending to be Star Wars guys with friends. My dad bought him the books (a couple of thin paperback books - not the whole story), and I was not even comfortable with that! In my opinion, there is too much violence and a plot that is too complicated for them to really get anyways. DS gets to watch Frances or Handy Manny or something along those lines a few times a week...he's a long way off from actually watching Star Wars - poor guy!
post #16 of 42
11/21/08 at 9:18pm
Thread Starter 
[QUOTE=The4OfUs;12658356]I know it's not specifically what you asked, but I think that in general, "because all the other kids have" is a lousy reason to do just about anything...
QUOTE]

I agree. His friends seem to be really into playing Star Wars, though, so not knowing anything about it is making him the odd one out when the game starts. So I was weighing that against the downside of letting him watch the movie.

In the end we watched a little of it today. He didnt seem phased by it at all and it actually didnt grab his attention once he had gotten a grasp of who the characters were. He'd seen the action figures but having seen a bit of the movie made it fall into place for him.
post #17 of 42
11/21/08 at 9:28pm
It may be that his friends are into Star Wars right now because of the new animated series on Cartoon Network, not the original movie. I don't find the current option nearly as much fun as the original, but then I'm not a 8-10 YO boy, which is clearly what the new series is targetted for.

My DD saw the first Star Wars movie at about 4 -- she has an older brother, so she sees things that I might not have allowed without that consideration. But I also don't think its fair to deny DS something he wants just because DD is in the room. I think DS was 5 when he saw the first movie. Both handled it just fine. Neither of them have seen the second trilogy, which I find much less charming.

I'm not a big fan of violent movies, but I feel differently because of the "fantasy" aspect of these. There really isn't a lot of gore, per se. Not spurting blood, that sort of thing.

I think it will vary by child and by family value. Its also possible to start a movie and then turn it off if he seems unduly disturbed by it.
post #18 of 42
11/21/08 at 9:39pm
My 8yo has not see Star Wars yet. I think it is pretty violent, even with the fantasy element. It wouldn't occur to me to show it to a four-year-old - not only for that reason, but also because of nnot being able to follow the plot or really understand the dialogue.

That said, both my 8yo and my 5yo play Star Wars. They know the characters from listening to other kids and from the old SW legos we got at a yard sale. I never worried about them being the odd kids out. Kids easily pick up the names and themes and go with them in play.

But for us, the main thing is that our kids have just started watching movies and there are so, so many out there, so many classics to see. They have the rest of their lives for stuff like Star Wars, so what's the rush, especially if they are thrilled with Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang and Escape to Witch Mountain?
post #19 of 42
11/21/08 at 10:03pm
It's interesting people think kids that age can't follow complicated plots. My daughter had the plots for all three down very well certainly by 5. And she knows the name of every character and how the characters are related to each other. I don't think it's too advanced for a kid that age. It might be too violent, depending on the sensitivity of the particular child.
post #20 of 42
11/21/08 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinemama View Post
My 8yo has not see Star Wars yet. I think it is pretty violent, even with the fantasy element. It wouldn't occur to me to show it to a four-year-old - not only for that reason, but also because of nnot being able to follow the plot or really understand the dialogue.

That said, both my 8yo and my 5yo play Star Wars. They know the characters from listening to other kids and from the old SW legos we got at a yard sale. I never worried about them being the odd kids out. Kids easily pick up the names and themes and go with them in play.

But for us, the main thing is that our kids have just started watching movies and there are so, so many out there, so many classics to see. They have the rest of their lives for stuff like Star Wars, so what's the rush, especially if they are thrilled with Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang and Escape to Witch Mountain?
Same here. My ds is 6 and reads the books and plays with the Legos. I am holding off on the movies for now, at least.
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