Hellobee

Movies were a big part of my childhood. We had a small family, just my mom, dad, and me, and being immigrants my parents didn’t know a lot of ways to entertain a child. My dad grew up watching American movies in Taiwan, and I think that influenced how he raised me. My very first movie was when I was around four years old. I can still remember vividly the newspaper my dad brought home with the movie times (because that’s how you found out information like that back then). It was a Goofy movie and he was sure I would love it. We had a quick dinner that night to make it in time for the show. I remember the fold down chairs that confused me as I wasn’t that heavy and could easily tip it back, and the smell of popcorn and butter (still one of my favorite things to this day).

And then the movie started. The screen was huge! The room went dark. And then sadly it turned out my father misread Goofy for Goonies and I was hiding in my mom’s lap when they had that kid’s hand over the slicer. To this day I have never seen Goonies in its entirety because of that scene, but luckily for my dad it didn’t put me off movies. I remember seeing The Little Mermaid (much more my speed) with him. I remember singing Why Should I Worry by Billy Joel after watching Oliver and Company. I remember spending Christmas as a teen at the theater because that was the only thing open on Christmas Day. A lifetime of memories have been wrapped up in theaters for me, and needless to say it’s something I hold on to now that my dad is gone.

Since Drake was born I have been dying to take him to see his first movie. Like my father, I have been waiting years for this moment to see a new set of eyes take in the entire experience. I have built up this moment so much in my mind that I knew I was going to be disappointed; not necessarily because of anything to do with Drake, but simply because of how much the entire thing meant to me.

Drake, by nature, is a very wiggly child. He also has a short attention span, especially for things that aren’t to his liking. Every year since he turned four I would look at coming shows. I knew the movie had to be just right for him, and with Drake that meant animals.

When Finding Dory was announced to be coming out in June 2016, I knew I had found the winner. Finding Nemo was one of the few movies he ever sat through at home. Drake was born in June as well, so this would be the perfect way to top off his 6th birthday. And yet 6 seemed so far away and also kind of old to be going to the movies for the first time. At school his friends talked about Baymax from Big Hero 6 and The Lego Movie. More and more of my friends had already taken their kids to the movies, and here I was waiting for the perfect moment. And then I saw the newest Pixar movie, The Good Dinosaur.

I love dinosaur stories stemming back to The Land Before Time. Drake was also in a big dinosaur phase thanks to Dinosaur Train. I showed him the trailer and he stayed watching it (unlike Big Hero 6 where I couldn’t even get him to watch the trailer). That was a plus. The Good Dinosaur was slated to come out Thanksgiving weekend, and it was good timing with Mr. Chocolate being able to stay with the girls. For the month or so before the movie came out, I started to talk up the movie to Drake. I took him to the Disney store to pick out a toy. I showed him the trailer a few more times and told him about movie theaters with the large screens and popcorn snacks.

Early on Thanksgiving Day, Drake and I headed to the movie theater. Once we bought our snacks, we went into the theater way ahead of time to find the best seats. Drake enjoyed being able to lounge around in the chair, the popcorn and the previews interested him from time to time.

So what was my overall impression of Drake’s first movie? Mixed to be honest. I think the choice of movie might have been part of the issue (Common Sense Media recommends it for kids 7+). Had I held out for Finding Dory, I think it might have gone over better as Drake would have been more invested in the movie, and older as well. Overall I liked The Good Dinosaur, but it wasn’t a favorite of mine compared to so many other Disney/Pixar movies I’ve seen. So what did and didn’t I like?

The Good

• The animation was really incredible and parts of it looked like a wildlife film. You could see the blades of grass blowing in the wind, the drops of water in the river, the fireflies glowing in the dark.
• The emphasis on family and “making your mark” were done well and illustrated fairly easily for kids of all ages to digest and understand.
• It was a coming of age story and Arlo the dinosaur is a likable character that is easy to relate to for kids.

The Not As Good

• The story is slow in some ways. It’s about Arlo’s journey home emotionally and physically, but it drags a little and I felt like some scenes were thrown in there with no purpose other than to make the movie longer (a scene with some wild berries that ended up being like an acid trip reminiscent of the Dumbo elephant scene).
• Like with many Disney movies Arlo loses his dad, in a very similar scene to The Lion King. In the next scene you see a quick makeshift grave marker that truthfully probably went over Drake’s head.
• There aren’t too many characters as a whole to the movie. Arlo and his human friend Spot are the main characters and Arlo’s family does have a nice intro early on before he is separated from them, but the characters he meets along the way, save Spot, didn’t have any lasting impressions on me.
• A few scenes had vocabulary that I felt was a little dark for a Disney movie. It’s clearly meant for older kids as one character names his cuddly and furry pets “Murder” and “Killer.” Drake doesn’t know the meaning of those words, but it was a bit abrupt for me in a children’s movie. There is also a much darker scene which involves Arlo being tricked into helping rescue someone, only to watch them being eaten. It’s not bloody or gory, but it’s still like watching Thumper being eaten on screen, and Drake could understand what was happening.

Overall Drake I think liked the experience, but struggled at times with the actual movie. I think it was a bit slow paced for him and he got antsy and eventually ended up sitting on the floor or my lap. At times I think it was a bit visually dark and scared him a little, which also made him move seats. I think had it not been for the popcorn he might have wanted to leave at some points, but thankfully we bought a big bag and he managed to last. Since the movie Drake has talked about the experience here and there on his own and expressed interest in seeing another movie again. So I have high hopes for Finding Dory in June! I’m already counting the days!

How old was your child when you first took them to see their first movie? Which movie was it? Do you remember your first movie?