Three Kids and A Classic Movie

“We watched that movie last weekend with the boys and one of their friends. I had to laugh when the movie opened with kissing and all three boys were like “Kissing? Already? UGH!” Then it cuts to 10 year old Fred Savage’s character saying the exact same thing.

Good times…

They still think kissing is gross.

They loved the movie, of course. What’s not to love. Andre the Giant. A six fingered man. Plenty of slapstick humor. The only part the six year old, Bang, was unsure of was the torturing of Wesley in the secret room under the tree. He had TONS of questions about that after the movie.

How did it make electricity?
Did it really hurt him?
How did all those gears turn?
Was it metal?
Why did he have to get electrocuted?

Some of them he asked multiple times just to make sure he understood it. I had to explain about generators and water wheels and electrical currents. I also explained acting that stuff in movies isn’t real. He was good after that. His favorite character was Andrew Andre the Giant. His favorite part was when Buttercup pushed Wesley down the giant hill then she rolled down after him.

We have also watched “Gremlins”, “The Neverending Story” and “The Goonies”. The Goonies was far more crude than I remember it. There weren’t any words in the movie they haven’t heard before. Naturally, the boys loved it. What’s not to love, though? Now they know why we don’t feed them after midnight. They also know why we sometimes call them Goonies and where their mother and I get the line “HEEEEY YOOOU GUUUUYS!”

What old classics have your kids watched? Was their reaction what you expected?

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Hold it, Hold it! Is this a kissing book?

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Where are the Feeders?

It was everything I hoped it would be.

And I was hoping for so much.

*Warning: There are no spoilers here…

The original Cars came out in 2006, the same year we found out DW was pregnant with the one we now call Crash. Late in ’07, or perhaps early in ’08, we bought it not knowing what it was. We bought it simply because Crash LOVED playing with cars (and trucks and pretty much anything with wheels). It instantly became a favorite. Soon after, he would refuse to eat unless Cars was playing on TV.

As new parents we allowed it because, hey, what’s a little TV while ya eat? Plus, it got him to eat. Have you ever fought with a toddler to eat? It ain’t pretty and the mess rivals that of a tornado in a trailer park . You have to chose your battles wisely.

We watched that movie more times than a toddler asks, “Why?” It was a good thing we liked it. So many times we caught a new line PIXAR sneaked in there for us adult-like folks.

Well dip me in axle grease and call me slick!

or a bumper sticker in Lizzie’s shop…

Nice butte

Needless to say we loved it and didn’t mind watching it over and over…

and over and over…

Cars 2 was released in 2011 and, like faithful Cars fans, we went to see it. It’s a big deal because we generally don’t see many movies in the theater. Perhaps just once a year. Perhaps fewer. The one we now call Bang was just a week old. He slept through the whole thing. Crash liked it, but got a bit scared when Mater had a bomb stuck to him. We weren’t all that impressed. It was too different from the original. It didn’t carry on the story line that was created in the first movie.

So you can imagine our excitement when we heard about Cars 3 and saw that it was more like the first movie. It came out the day before Bang’s 6th birthday. Unfortunately, that weekend was already jam packed. That, and he was running a fever so we didn’t make it to the movies on its opening weekend.

We went last Saturday when it was cold and raining. It was an hour and 15 minute drive and ten minutes into the drive and we hear, “Where’s the feeder?”

The what? We have several bird feeders at home.

“Where’s the feeder!? Where the movie is!”

Oh, the theater. Duh.

Not to give anything away because I hate spoilers, it was full of emotions. We were laughing at Mater and the situations Lightning found himself (trying to flee Ms. Fritter). We were crying at his longing for The Fabulous Doc Hudson (voiced by the late Paul Newman). They seamlessly combined two eras – dirt racing of yesteryear and virtual reality racing of “today”. It was flashy and new. It was down to earth and retro.

DW and I were as excited to see this one as the boys were and for good reason. Once again, PIXAR lived up to the reputation it built when it made Toy Story. Now we have to wait for it to come out on DVD…

Did you see it? What did you think?

 

A Birthday Surprise Created and Then Ruined by Pixar

Well dip me in axle grease and call me slick.

I’ve got a few topics I considered writing about, but they all seemed too heavy for a Wednesday Evening. Who wants heavy lifting after a full day of work, or sunshine, or whatever you had today?

So we’ll go with something light and fun. Especially, since tomorrow is the start of Bang’s birthday month, I thought I’d talk about what I’m excited for.

His birthday. He’s been asking for days, “How many more sleeps until June?” He would buzz with excitement when we’d tell him.

A couple weeks ago DW and I saw a trailer on TV for a sequel to a movie we’ve seen a few hundred times.

Cars. Lightning McQueen and Mater make a team that rivals Buzz and Woody. It was Crash’s favorite movie. DW and I loved it, too. We found new things to laugh at every time we watched it.

Then they made Cars 2. It was okay, but I equate it to the Star Wars prequels. It just wasn’t the same.

Then DW saw the trailer for Cars 3 and knew we had to see it. We’ll probably take the kids, too.

Cars 3 comes out the day before Bang turns 6. We were going to make it a surprise. However, since both boys watch TV they eventually saw the trailer. Then they saw it’s release date. Thanks Pixar for both creating a great birthday surprise and then ruining it.

They may have been more excited than me. But not by much.

I think Pixar will live up to its usual expectations. The movie appears to revert back to it’s roots of racing, friendship, and overcoming incredible obstacles that rang out in the first movie. I expect it to have all the humor and all the feels Pixar has been known for since it’s iconic release of Toy Story.

Are you planning on taking your kidlets to watch?

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It’s Just A Movie

No it’s not.

It’s much more than that.

It’s the connections we make. It’s how we react to the message, react to the storyline, react to the words. Combine that with a powerful, stirring soundtrack and you have the makings of movie that moves us to laughter and to tears and back to laughter.

If you haven’t seen Disney’s Moana you might want to put this post in the “to read later” folder. 

To begin with, the movies tackles fear; the fear of a people who teach its peoples to fear. Fortunately, Grandma remembers braver times and encourages her granddaughter to be courageous. Secondly, it tackles love. Unfortunately, Grandma gets sick. Forehead to forehead, her last words to her Granddaughter were

There’s nowhere you could go that I won’t be there. 

Like, Obi Wan, she comes back stronger. Moana casts aside her peoples fears, shoves off from shore to save her people from despair and destruction. Her goal is to restore the heart of Te Fiti that was stolen and lost by the demigod, Maui. When she finds Te Fiti, forehead to forehead she restores her heart and restores life to her people’s island and way of life. 

I could have cried and I don’t cry at movies. Well, there was that one time. But I claim my eyes were watering from not blinking.

In church that morning, our Deakon spoke of a photograph of he and his grandson that he holds dear. They’re forehead to forehead. Then he went on to explain the significance.

It’s living in the moment. In that single moment all we can see is each other. Nothing else exists.

Nothing.

Our eyes are so close all they can focus on is who is immediately in front of us. They have our complete, undivided attention. They have our moment, we have theirs. I find it more endearing than a hug. As meaningful as a kiss. It’s going to be my new thing with DW and the boys.

Questions I Asked My Kids: Star Wars Episode

1. If you were a Jedi, what color light saber would you use?

Crash: Most likely an orange one, but it could be green
Bang: Blue

2. Would you fight for the Rebels or for the Empire?

Crash: The Rebels have Luke and Leia and all the x-wing fighters and snow speeders and the emperor has stormtroopers and Red Guards. The Rebels.
Bang: Empire

3. Would you live on Tatooine, Hoth, Degoba, or Coruscant?

Crash: Tatooine is hot with no water and jawas can take your droid. Hoth is icy, cold and has an Imperial probe droid. Degobah is swampy, has lots of water and you can live with Yoda. Coruscant is a big city. So probably in Coruscant.
Bang: Hoth

4. Using the Star Wars Name Generator what would your Star Wars name be?

Crash: Gacrux Deleat- A droid dealer from the Haruun Kal sector.
Bang: Skeet Gianttreader- A Jedi master from Nam Chorios
Dad: Baham Binarblast- A master of the Sith from Sarcophagus
Mom: Okerth Zosma- A starship racer from Iego

5. Who is prettier, Queen Amadala, Princess Leia or Rey?

Crash: Princess Leia
Bang: Queen Amadala

6. Which vehicle would you drive? A speeder bike, AT-AT, X-Wing fighter, TIE Fighter or Millennium Falcon?

Crash: Millennium Falcon
Bang: X-Wing fighter

7. Who is your favorite character?

Crash: Han and Luke
Bang: Queen Amadala

8. How would you escape from Jabba the Hutt?

Crash: First Rancor would have to be defeated. Second we would have to get out of there. And third, sneak away.
Bang: With a TIE fighter

9. What would you use a droid for?

Crash: Sending messages, searching stuff and asking it questions, it’d be my Google.
Bang: Destroy the windows. So if there was like a fire in the house it could destroy the windows and we could jump out.

10. Who would win in a duel, Kylo Ren or Darth Vader?

Crash: Vader. But maybe Kylo because he’s stronger with the Force.
Bang: Darth Vader (pronounced thader (“th” sounds like the “th” in the)

This Taboo Word Challenge is getting tougher. Today’s word was “I”.
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