Do u think Disneys a little HARSH?

[Monkey]

I just bought Monsters Inc. Im in the sun room and i can hear it from the den. I CRINDGE when i hear YOU STUPID! BLAH BLAH BLAH... THIS ISNT THE FIRST TIME EITHER, IN bUGS lIFE, THEY ARE CONSTENTLY SAYING LOSER!

I really think the majority of these "childrens" movies are cute and fun. BUT WAHTS WITH THELAUNGE?


I know why am i letting him watch if i dont like it? i dont know but do any of u guys feel this way or have you all noticed the CRAPPY language?

[charmarty]

I dont like disney at all for my kids right now.They are totally NOT allowed to watch any with the exception of one...Bambi. It really is a great movie for them,and the scene with the forest fire help to put our house fire into a better perspective for them. They pretend they are "Lil Faline" allt he time!LOL

[Leonor]

Yes, unfortunately the modern Disney movies also got the "loser" culture on them. Blame the 90's. I'm glad my kid doesn't like them much (yet). If he wanted to watch them, I would suggest my favourites.

[Eddie's Mom]

I'm glad to hear you voice your opinion on the language. We've been doing the "Nemo" thing for a few months (ds is crazy for it) and dh is getting sick of it. He suggested "Monsters Inc" but I think ds is too young for it (he's only 24 months). Nemo is cute and innocent, and even the humor aimed at adults is harmless. Now I know we won't be picking up that one. It's terrible how language like that teaches kids to think that that's a normal way to speak to others.

Debbie

[traceface]

I totally agree with you, the tone of the characters in these movies is just unpleasant and sarcastic even when they are not actually calling each other names.

Not to defend Disney (they are no better) but aren't the movies you mentioned Pixar or something? There was just this break between Pixar and Disney that was in the news.

I think maybe it was a co-marketing deal but Monsters Inc for sure isn't Disney.

[Eddie's Mom]

The "Finding Nemo" movie was a joint effort between Disney and Pixar. Pixar is an animation studio, but the movie was Disney property. I don't know if Disney had involvement in "Monsters Inc". Anyway, have you noticed the trend that the humor in these kids animated movies seem to be geared towards adults? You always seem to hear innuendos and such that you know the kids aren't getting. My guess is that they think if you're amused by these movies too, you'll keep buying them.

[Trishy]

Moving this to Books, Music, and other Media

[Monkey]

i truly think thats terrible, the indendo crap. my ds watched nemo at least 5 times a day for at least 2 weeks. my mom got it for him and the one part i think is the worst ive ever gerd was when nemo tells his dad i hate you WHAT!

tonight dh and i watchecd telephone booth? with collin ferrel and ds says FU**:

so i know now at his age 29 mos its time to really , really, start screening everything, if thtast possible.!

ugh, I even find myself changing words in the stories i read to him, loser this fat ugly! i cant get over it!

thanks for the input. i appreciate it MUCH

[Vanyalos]

Ugh .. Yes .

My son was going around saying " I heard that you twit ! " and I couldn't figure out where he got it from .. until we watched Bugs Life together ( I let him watch a few scenes alone while I'm making dinner ) . The ' lady bug ' says it in one of the scenes ... I coudln't believe they'd put something like that in a movie for children .

He was watching the first scene of Nemo the other day ( not a bad movie, compared to the others ) and the scene where the mother goes missing ( yeah ... ) sounds like a scene from a horror movie . SO looked at me and was like " WHAT is he watching " ....

It's hard to find anything on TV that doesn't have bad stuff in it ...

[Monkey]

oh yea the bericuda fish that eats coral?

wtf is up with that?
i tell ya! there is no shelter or protecting the little ones now days!

:

[Bearsmama]

Unfortunately, I think a lot of kids tv/movies are much harsher than I ever imagined. DS doesn't do videos-but he does watch some tv in the early am hours (Sesame, Clifford, etc). He's seen bits and pieces of other kids shows, and I've heard "STUPID" and I "loser", not exactly what I would call great toddler words.

Makes me so frustrated!

[lilmiss'mama]

I agree with the above posts. Bug's Life says "stupid" and Nemo was the first full length film I let my girls watch. When the opening kill mama scene came on I thought, what am I doing?! My nephew loves Monsters Inc. too so unfortunatly my oldest dd has seen that as well.
I too change words in books to make them more appropriate. Even Dr.Seuss in Fox in Socks when Fox tells Knox "come now, come now, you don't have to be so dumb now." I say "silly now."

However, Dr. Seuss does have some great videos for kids if you are looking. They are about 30 minutes long and a little animation. They are just retellings of his stories. You can get them cheap on ebay.

[seren]

I did notice that in Bug's Life. But, also in Toy Story. Woody calls Buzz "Light Beer" and says stupid somewhere in there. It took me a while to figure out where she got that one. I think they actually say stupid dog and we didn't have a dog then. Why can't they just leave all that crap out?

[IfMamaAintHappy]

Maybe this isnt really the same, but Big Bird taught my daughter to say "darn". It's in the Journey to Ernie segment where he says it. And it happens often enough that when I let her watch Sesame Street for a few days in a row, "darn" creeps back into her vocabulary.

So it's not d@mn, but at her age, it's much cuter to say "oh bother" or something else, and not darn. There is actually very little on PBS that I let Grace watch.

[khrisday]

Pixar is an independant company, however Disney owns their merchandising rights (so Monsters, Inc., Nemo, Toy Story 1 and 2, etc). From what I have read, Disney's tendrils are pretty deep into Pixar, even though they don't own the company. Liek they have exclusive merchandising rights, own the characters, and get 50% of all profit or something like that. So, no Pixar *isn't* Disney, but they may as well be IMHO.

My kids don't watch TV anymore, but evenif they did they woudl not be watching Disney. There is just so much better stuff for them to see. When we were doing a family movie night we woudl get IMAX movies on video, things from The Discovery Channel, nature shows, old musicals, etc.

[davidspalding]

Pixar is independent ... boy are they independent, Steve Jobs is the Chairman or CEO, can't remember which. what else do you need ot know?

they've had a multi-film agreement with Disney since Toy Story, just ended after this year's THE INCREDIBLES. the new strain of Disney flicks under Eisner have had more with-it, contemporary spins, and i think Pixar has been much conservative than things like LILO AND STITCH, ALADDIN, et al. some of the Disney stuff from the last 20 years has been wonderful, but mch of it makes me cringe. for instances, did anyone notice that theres no father in Toy Story 1 or 2? maybe i missed something, but the long-standing Disney subtext of "mommy dies," or "father is not present" really sticks out like a sore thumb. when i saw Toy Story, i just kept asking, "where the heck is the boy's FATHER?" (oh yeah, the demon next door, Sid, has a father who appears briefly, passed out in front of a TV, i recall. swwwwwwwell.)

short version: i think the Pixar films are harmless, but not for really little ones. much of the humor seems aimed at pre-teens, not post-toddlers. just imHo.

[zinemama]

Originally posted by Monkey

i tell ya! there is no shelter or protecting the little ones now days!

:

Actually, there is shelter. It's called good judgment, and it's our job to excercise it. I don't want to come off sounding super-harsh to anyone, so please forgive me if I do, but it really bothers me when parents say, "Oh these movies have so much bad stuff in them - but what can you do?" As if watching them was something that just naturally happened to kids without any say-so from us.

We don't have to buy them, show them or bring kids to them. Really, we don't. My problem with Disney is how in just about every one of them, the parents, most often the mother, is killed off right at the beginning. This isn't some big secret - you can pretty much guarantee that if you take your little kids to a Disney movie they will see the destruction of a family. I don't like that. My kids don't watch it. Simple. I know they are going to pick up stuff like "stupid" "dummy" and "loser" from tv. They don't watch tv. Sure they'll learn it eventually at school, but it won't be on my watch. That's my job.

[Monkey]

zinemama, i agree whole heartly but, this is my FIRST babe, so its not like i just plop down and watch disney all on my own
I agree its up to us, but it can get tricky.

I am really in search of the dr seuss stuff, i looked at abay and they have some books and stuff, ill look for the movies too!


Thanks everyone so much! I really enjoyed EVERYONES respones.

[crazy_eights]

Disney movies of late have a "formula" that bugs the heck out of me: it's either people from another era or animals using modern slang and behavior (anyone else bugged to no end by the brothers in "Brother Bear" that were constantly giving one another 'nuggies'?)/feel good plot that is supposed to teach us appreaciation for other culture or animals/ and don't forget the Phil Colins soundtrack. Barf. I personally find Disney stuff so BORING.

[Eddie's Mom]

I agree with much of what's been said, and won't let my son watch any Disney other than "Nemo". The opening scene where his mother gets eaten by the fish - they don't actually show her getting eaten, just the father getting batted away with the fish's tail. Regardless, I used to skip this scene and start the movie with the following scene, but I don't any longer. DS always points to the predator and I say, "Bad fish!".

When Nemo says "I hate you" to his father, the pain on his father's face is clear. And at the end of the movie, Nemo does tell his father that he doesn't hate him. While I don't approve of a kids saying "I hate you" to anyone, it's good to see that they resolve the issue.