first movie?

[Mary-Beth]

We're a no-TV house (no videos either and very, very limited exposure to computers) We're thinking about taking our kids to see March of The Penguins.
Actually, my Dh heard about it and told our dd1 we could go see it - without talking to me first!! I've always said someday...we'll do some tv...but here we are.....maybe the time has come...and I just want to check it out first.

Anyone know anything more about this movie? Any opinions on when it is okay developmentally to show a movie like this? Did you let your kids see it?

Our youngest is almost 2 and our oldest is almost 3.5.

[malibusunny]

I want to see this movie!

my first movie was the jungle book and i was 7ish. I was the last of my friends to go to a movie theatre. but, i really enjoyed it.

as far as appropriateness, i understand it is a pita to screen a movie in the theatre first. you could look it up at screenit.com.

[SagMom]

Another site is http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ the reviews are extremely detailed , but you need to read it critically. My dd got a kick out of a warning of "nudity" in the Shrek movie (a cartoon character's shoulders were bare!)

It's probably a good idea to point out to them that the theater is dark. I neglected to do that with one of my kids for his first movie and we had to leave the theater as soon as the lights dimmed.

My other two went to movies at this age though.

We're really looking forward to seeing this one.

[UnschoolnMa]

Originally Posted by Joan

It's probably a good idea to point out to them that the theater is dark. I neglected to do that with one of my kids for his first movie and we had to leave the theater as soon as the lights dimmed.

Yea we forgot this with my Ds when he was younger, and it didn't go so well. The darkness combined with really loud music was sensory overload at first. This was the only issue though, and after that he did well though.

[G&B'sMama]

We took our DD to see a movie for the first time when she was three (well, except for those early days when she was a tiny newborn nursling). She enjoyed it very much. We went to see “winged migration” a documentary movie about birds. There was a part where a baby bird was eaten by another bird and she cried because it made her sad, but it was really okay in the context of the movie. Truthfully, I would rather have her see something circle-of-lifey like that than watch a cartoon fish improbably evade all sorts of dangerous situations. (Finding Nemo was the second movie she ever went to see). We plan on seeing March of the Penguins too.

We made going to the theatre a big event- a special treat. If your little one(s) are sensitive to loud noises you might want earplugs. You can get them at the drugstore and they helped DD who most definitely does not like loud noises. The worst part about taking her to the movies, though, was that my Mom took this to be the official beginning of movie watching and began to unleash videos on her.

[amberielle]

We took DD to see Finding Nemo when she was about 3.5, I think. She did very well. She got restless only once over an hour into the movie, but all she did was stand up for a few seconds. We also took her to see Shrek 2 and she did very well with that too.

[quaz]

WAIT!!

Based on the reviews I've read NOT the best movie to take young kids to. One review I read talked about taking a six year old, who was bawling through it...and that was after the mom had prepared the girl. It IS supposed to be a good movie, but march of the penguins is not for young kids. There are penguins that die, get eaten, baby penguin eggs that are frozen, etc, etc.

I'd recommend choosing another movie.
Tammy

[mahogny]

We took our DS to see his first movie a month or two after his 3rd birthday. DS is a train addict, so we took him to see The Polar Express. He loved the book, so he was familiar with the story before he saw the movie. He loved it. We made a big deal of it, and made it a very special treat. He still talks about it almost a year later.

My brother took him to see Madagascar when he was 3.5, so I could stay home and nap with my newborn. I wouldn't have chosen that movie, but DS loved it, and my brother loved taking him.

I'm thinking his next movie will be Pixar's Cars when it comes out.

[AuntNi]

I saw March of the Penguins, and do not recommend it for kids. Even my 7-yo nephew wouldn't be able to handle this movie.

"There are penguins that die, get eaten, baby penguin eggs that are frozen, etc, etc." This is true. The movie ascribes human emotions to penguins, then kills the penguins. Very, very disturbing for a child, imo. Even my 40-ish girlfriend was very disturbed, to tell you the truth.

We took DD (almost 3 at the time) to see Pooh's Heffalump movie, and she loved it. She was very trepidatious going in, but about 20 minutes into the movie, she stood up in the aisle and announced (loudly,) "Mom, this movie isn't scary AT ALL!" which got quite a laugh from the audience. IMO, there haven't been any movies since that were appropriate for her to see at the theater.

Just wanted you to have the full scoop before you make your decision.

Best,
Nichole

[Mary-Beth]

Thanks for all the responses. Looks like we're going to see the movie tomorrow (unless they are sold out)

I actually think the death parts might help as we lost a family member (not immediate- but close enough) and a family pet and she's processed it all very well over the last year...and we've been talking about life cycles and also the food chain. But I'm glad to know going into it that this will be a part of the story...so I can talk to her about it.

I also talked about the theatre and how it may be loud...so cute she asked, "like fire works loud?" And to know it will be dark.

Thanks!!

[lula]

My dd (4) loves March of the Penguins. She does however watch some nature shows, is around animals, has experiences with family members dying etc.

I did cover her eyes for some bits but the scene was well forecast. This must be some sort of mother instinct because on cue all 3 mothers in my row did this!

I would be careful of the previews however, our movie previews included (well saved seats left when previews began and went to the hall)The Corpse Bride which I am excited about seeing but not for dd and Harry Potter. If it is her first movie maybe you could go early check out seats, snacks etc and get acclimated then do a bathroom break for the previews? That is our standard operating procedure because we have found the previews are often more than we are comfortable with dd seeing.