My little boy is growing up

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2004
My little boy is growing up
8
Tue, 05-02-2006 - 3:09pm

My 5yo DS (ASD) told me this weekend he wanted to watch "mommy and daddy movies with people in them". Basically he is getting to big for "cartoon-type" movies and want to venture into "big boy" movies. LOL. I need suggestions/help. DS is BIG into animals (likes Racing Stripes) and dinosaurs. BUT he scares very easily, the beginning scene

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Tue, 05-02-2006 - 4:51pm

Well, we haven't seen Free Willy, so I can't comment on that one. There is one movie that my boys watch, Looney Tunes Back in Action. It's got people and cartoons mixed together. Well, there aren't any animals really....just the cartoon characters! LOL I'll have to rummage thru their movies and see what I come up with!!

michelle

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Tue, 05-02-2006 - 5:14pm

If he loves animals, how about "Babe"? (Not "Pig in the City" -- the original "Babe.") It's actually one of my favorite movies! And it shouldn't be at all intimidating or scary.

HTH!

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-02-2006 - 8:00pm

Babe is a great movie.

Cait recomends "Because of Winn Dixie" but that may be wordy. They loved all the "Air Buds" too. "Neverending Story" is one my kids loved and is Live action. It has alot of fantasy type creatures in it.

Gosh we have seen so many it is hard to think of right now. Cait's favorite is animals too so she will watch any animal movie. My kids love classic movies believe it or not. The old Lassie's might be good. Bengi.

Check out Disney Channel. They have alot of original movies that are live action and for slightly older kids. Many have animals.

Renee

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 05-03-2006 - 11:07am

Hhhmmmmm.....let's see....

* Babe (I agree - the first one)
* The Garfield Movie (real actors with computer-generated cat......son loves this movie....but beware of language....no one swears but Garfield does like to insult people/dogs)
* Stuart Little was cute - both 1 & 2

That's all I can think of for now.....I'll be back

Christie

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-11-2004
Wed, 05-03-2006 - 11:54am

Thank you guys sooooooo much. He has seen Babe that everyone has mentioned, but why not the Babe II one? Is it bad?


He did see Garfield in the theater and we had to leave, too loud and scary (pre-dx). But he is OK with watching movies at our house. He can not wait to see Ice Age 2, but told us "Not at the loud dark room place, I want to watch it at home".

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 05-03-2006 - 12:01pm

Animal movies: We like a few, but my kids are older. I pulled out some movie moms comments for soem we wttch, soem we have but dont; owatch, and some I hav eheard of, but don't have. (i.e. Andre) Also there is a movie about a monkey starring that kid who played the daughter in American Beauty (Thelma somebody?) which my kids used to like. I can't remember the name of it though; basically a out-of-place child meets a monkey who teaches her what's important kind of deal.

Snow Dogs:
(from Movie Moms)
Parents should know, though, that despite the PG rating, there is some material they might not consider appropriate for children. Characters drink hard liquor. Brooks' late mother leaves a drink of Wild Turkey to all her friends. Brooks learns early in the movie that he is adopted, which some children (both adopted and not) might find disturbing. Later, he is told that his natural parents were two loners who had a one-night stand, and his biological father is a cranky (and white) mountain man played by James Coburn. Brooks tries to gain the respect of the mountain man and find out how his biological parents felt about each other and about him.

When Brooks finds out that he is half white, his adoptive mother makes a stereotype joke, responding, "That explains why you're so crazy about Michael Bolton." Parents should also make it clear to younger children that despite what it says in the movie, humans do not bite dogs on the ear to tame them.

Families who see this movie should talk about when we allow ourselves to be measured by the standards of others and when we trust our own ability to know what is important.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Beethoven(about a St. Bernard that adopts a family) and Rat Race(another slapstick comedy starring Gooding).

Mousehunt:
Didn't get a movie moms review (it's too old), best I could find was (PG for language, comic sensuality and mayhem), but my kids like it -especially the mayhem. The movie opens with a funeral, and a gross restaurant scene, but there is a happy ending.

Andre:
(movie moms)
Plot: A shy little girl from Maine makes friends with a seal in this fact-based story about a seal that swam from Boston to Maine every summer for 24 years. Toni (Tina Majorino) is more comfortable with animals than with kids. Her father, Harry (Keith Carridine), is not very responsible, but he has a real gift for animals, and his wife manages to cope with the chaos and be "the only grown-up in the house."

Andre the seal is a delightful playmate, a sensational participant in "show and tell" at school, and a courageous life-saver, warning Harry away from a sunken mine when he is scuba-diving and rescuing Toni in a storm. The local fishermen blame the seals for their unusually low catches. One of them, a bitter man who hates Harry and his family, calls the Fish and Wildlife Administration. They send an inspector who insists that Andre must go. Finally, Andre goes to a Boston aquarium. But, set free every summer, he comes back to be with his family.

Discussion: Kids will enjoy this movie, with its adorable, raspberry-blowing, television-loving seal (portrayed by a sea lion). Parents will enjoy the soundtrack, filled with 60s oldies.

To the extent that it feels a bit messy, due to its episodic structure, that seems consistent with its portrayal of the chaotic life of the Whitney family, though the mother is impossibly understanding and the problems are all resolved a bit too neatly at the end. Andre gets to be in an aquarium and be with the family. And the motivations all seem much too simplistic. It turns out that Billy's bitterness is because he envies Harry's family and his job, and that he believes (correctly) that he would be a better harbormaster. So, he gets that job (and, one presumes, then becomes a nice guy), and Harry gets to work for the government on marine protection.

Toni's older sister Paula has the thankless task of appearing petty and jealous; furious because Harry misses her appearance in a 4th of July pageant, and even more furious when he tells her boyfriend, Mark (Billy's son) that he can't see her any more after Andre alerts him to their smoking. So Paula helps Mark take Andre out into the ocean, until she sees he plans to shoot the seal and stops him. This could be the basis for a worthwhile talk about displaced anger.

Cats and Dogs:
(movie moms)
Anyone who has ever lived with a cat or dog already knows what this movie finally reveals to the rest of the world – they are the ones who are really in charge. While humans go about their business, tossing a ball here, scratching behind the ears there, they never notice that cats and dogs use extensive technology to conduct all kinds of surveillance and spy missions – and then to clean up all the mess afterwards, before the humans get back home.

It turns out that once cats ruled, back in the days of ancient Egypt. But with the help of dogs, humans took over, and cats have been trying to regain their position ever since. As this movie begins, an evil rogue cat named Mr. Tinkles (that name would probably make any cat into an evil rogue) has a plot to foil the development of an injection that would cure allergies to dogs. If he can get the formula, reverse its effects, and expose every human in the world to it, then everyone would become allergic to dogs, and cats could take over. This is the worst affront to dog dignity since those Siamese-if-you-please cats got Lady into such big trouble.

The movie is silly fun, a throwback to the classic Disney days of "The Absent-Minded Professor" and "The Shaggy Dog." It moves along swiftly thanks to a brief running time (less than 90 minutes) and spectacularly seamless special effects work. It also benefits from outstanding voice talents: Tobey Maguire (Lou, the young pup called upon to save the world), Alec Baldwin (Butch, the senior agent, using some of the same world-weary courage and avuncular twinkle that he gave to James Dolittle in "Pearl Harbor"), and Susan Sarandon (kind-hearted canine femme fatale Ivy), as the good guys, and Sean Hayes (from "Will and Grace," enjoying the role of evil villain Mr. Tinkles), and Jon Lovitz (his sidekick) as bad guys. Live action duties are undertaken with good spirits by Elizabeth Perkins, Jeff Goldblum, and Miriam Margolyes, who does a funny twist on her role as the Nurse in the Leonardo DiCaprio version of "Romeo and Juliet."

All of this is aimed at 8-year-olds, so expect some PG-rated litter box humor, a couple of mild references to whether a male dog has been fixed and a lot of slapstick pratfalls and head-bonks. All of this was a huge hit with the kids in the screening I attended. They got a special kick out of the ninja cats (with a now-obligatory "Matrix" joke). There were a couple of good moments for parents, too, including a dog who explains that she is not homeless, just "domestically challenged," a canine news commentator named (of course) Wolf Blitzer, and having the dogs read the Miranda warnings to thousands of arrested mice. The movie comes down on the side of loyalty and families. And Mr. Tinkles’ punishment is both funny and (literally) fitting.

Parents should know that the movie features several potty jokes and a great deal of comic/fantasy violence (no one hurt). Some children may be upset about an elderly character on life support, especially when his condition is used for comedy. A boy is sad when his dog disappears, and is reluctant to make friends with a replacement. The movie is mildly sexist -– although one of the spy dogs is female, she is not a part of the team, and the message that goes out to the spy dogs is prefaced with "gentlemen." A boy’s feelings are hurt when he does so badly at soccer try-outs (off screen) that the coach suggests that he try out for the girls’ team. Although Michael Clarke Duncan (of "The Green Mile" and "See Spot Run") provides voice talent, the movie has an all-white Dick and Jane feeling.

Families who see this movie should compare the way that the cats and dogs deal with failure and setbacks and their ability to work as a team. Those are the keys to the resolution. Families should also talk about Ivy’s comment, "Sometimes mad is just a way of hiding how sad you are." This is a very important concept for children to understand. They may also want to talk about the way that Goldblum’s character gets so caught up in his work that he forgets how important it is to spend time with his son.

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy The Absent-Minded Professor (Colorized) and it’s colorful but dumber remake, Flubber. They might also enjoy a gentler comedy featuring a dog and cat, The Adventures of Milo & Otis And every family should enjoy the irresistible pig story, Babe.

There is also MVP Most Valuable Primate, which we have but never really watched for some reason. It may be too slow-paced in the beginning. (no Movie Moms info -rated PG for mild, crude language):

When hockey ace Steven Westover and his kid sister, Tara, move with their family from California to the snowy British Columbia town of Nelson, they have more than a little trouble adjusting to their new environment. Steven finds that his new hockey team, the Nelson Nuggets, are a bunch of dispirited losers who'd rather fight than play the game and because of her hearing disability, Tara feels like a bit of an outcast amongst her new classmates. However, everything changes for the better when they come across a highly communicative chimp named Jack who not only knows sign language, but also has one helluva slap shot.

Good Boy: -we like this movie. There are some good themes of loyalty and friendship.
(movie moms)
...is a not-so-good movie, but it is not so bad, either.

It's a watered-down canine version of "ET." It is not particularly imaginative and it goes on too long, dragging through the last half hour. But it has a cute kid and some even cuter dogs. The children at the screening I attended laughed and "awwwed" and applauded, and I found myself smiling a couple of times, too. That makes it a mild little entertainment suitable for a second-grader's birthday party outing.

Owen (Liam Atkins) is the only child of loving but preoccupied parents (Saturday Night Live's Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon). He has been working hard walking dogs all summer long in order to earn the right to get a dog of his own. He picks a dog from the pound and names him Hubble. But Hubble turns out to be an inspector from the Dog Star who has been sent to earth to see how well the dogs are doing in establishing dominion over the planet. If not, all the dogs on the planet will have to go back to the Dog Star for retraining.

The dogs try to persuade Hubble that they do control humans ("You don't see us picking up their poop!"). When that doesn't work, they try to figure out a way to fake it so that when the ruler of the Dog Star arrives, she will let them stay. Meanwhile, Owen needs to find a way to deal with some bullies and to make friends with a dog-loving girl named Connie (Brittany Moldowan).

Atkins has a nice screen presence and a terrific smile. Shannon and Nealon are wasted in under-written roles. The script saves its best moments for the dogs, and top-notch stars lend their distinctive voices to the dog characters. Highlights include Matthew Broderick as Hubble, Vanessa Redgrave as the ruler of the Dog Star, along with Cheech Marin, Carl Reiner, Delta Burke, and Donald Faison.

Parents should know that there are some naughty words in the movie ("screwed up"), a couple of mild double entendres, and some potty jokes. The dogs are exposed to laughing gas and get a little tipsy. Characters face a little mild peril and some tense situations, but everything turns out fine. One of the movie's strengths is its understated, even casual, portrayal of a diverse community, including a nice friendship between an African-American girl and a white boy.

Families who see this movie should talk about why it was hard for Owen to make friends and why Connie kept hanging out with the two bullies. What makes people act like bullies? What does Owen teach Hubble about the importance of encouragement? What do they teach each other about friendship? What does it mean to say that "dignity comes from within?"

Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy the similarly-themed Cats and Dogs and the classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. They should also try the under-appreciated The Iron Giant. And they might want to check out this site to see pictures from the Hubble space telescope, which inspired the name of Owen's dog or this site for pictures of the real dog star, Sirius.

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 05-03-2006 - 1:31pm

Wow paula, thanks for those ideas too. Mike just read "Cats and Dogs" so I bet he would like that.

I was reminded last night of "The Shaggy Dog". That actually had all of us rolling with laughter in the theatre and I hear it either just came out or is coming out soon on video.

There were others Cait mentioned last night but they escape me right now.

Oh, not quite an animal but "5 Children and It" is GREAT! "It" is a sand fairy and tons of fun. And the new one may be scary but the old BBC versions of "Chronicle of Narnia" my kids loved. They love the new one too but it is a little scarier. The old one is very slow but my kids loved it.

Other real people movies we have seen and enjoyed are "Second Hand Lions" and "Millions".

As for Garfield, my kids love it too. Funny movie but there is a fair bit of potty type humor that my kids like to copy as well. But there are some good lines too. Dave is prone to say lately "That hit the spot!" and "My life has been saved by the power of lasagna". He LOVES lasagna so he relates to garfield, lol.

Renee

Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-24-2004
Wed, 05-03-2006 - 1:50pm

"Angels in the Outfield" is another cute movie......

(just thought I'd toss it out there) :o) Not an animal movie, but a baseball movie that seems to be a hit with Jack. (wow, no pun intended LOL)

Image hosting by Photobucket
src="http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g20/mom2jacknsam/I_love_a_boy_with_autism.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting">
Photobucket