Movie! Ratatouille

[celticdragonfly]

I got to see a movie today!

Some people may not realize the true amazement and wonder of this. Let me remind you, Gentle Reader, that I have three small children at home, one 5 weeks old and nursing.

I got to see a movie! In the theater! Even better - I saw ALL of it! Truly an amazing day.

Maggie looked over my shoulder at a webpage today that had off to the side an ad for Ratatouille. She asked what it was. We tried to explain it. I started muttering that I wanted to see that, darn it, but well, getting me to a movie... fordprfct started talking about early showings during the day - and soon we were looking up times. Clearly we were *insane* - but hey, let's go before we change our minds.

So we took all three kids, with Alanna in her sling. I was nervous - I've been exposed too way too much anti-kid stuff lately - but darn it, we were going to a G-rated Pixar movie in the early afternoon on a weekday. I was ready to face off any anti-kid type giving me a hard time. Fortunately I didn't have to - families with kids were the whole audience.

And it went wonderfully. The kids were SO good. The movie was fun. The kids laughed now and then, and at one point when a character was leaping out of a chair and getting loud, Jamie said "Sit down! sit down!" - but other than that, very quiet kids, enjoying and watching. It went beautifully. I was amazed and very pleased.

It was a cute movie. I expect we'll get it on DVD.

In discussion with selenite and fordprfct tonight, I was musing on how it seems that a lot of the anti-kid types want to keep kids away from things that used to be for them - kid movies, for instance. I have no objection to adults enjoying childrens' movies and books, but the type of adult who'll rant about kids at G or PG family movies, or some of the brouhaha I've heard about happening at Potter book release parties, sheesh. The idea that selenite and I came up with is that as long as there are no children present, these kid-hating people can stay immature and not have to face being a grownup.

Comments

[kitanzi.livejournal.com]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for differentiating "child free" from "anit-kid".

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. People who choose not to have kids get no hassling from me. This job is too hard to be handed to anybody who doesn't want it. Anti-kid is another matter - the type of people who are angry that ANYBODY has kids, and hates them. Boggles my mind - don't they remember they were kids once?

Thank you for being a child-free person who ISN'T anti-kid!

[tmrlinnc.livejournal.com]

Wow I must have my head in the sand. Never even occurred to me that people would get snarky about kids at a kids' movie or at a Harry Potter party. I am scared to travel by airplane after hearing about two families kicked off planes for noisy toddlers. I'm sure we'd be stranded because our toddler is most definitely noisy and active.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I mean, my friends and I tend not to like noisy kids at movies, but we solve that problem by going to late-night showings or to theatres like the Alamo Drafthouse that serve alcohol and thus usually don't allow people under 21, and not by going to kids' movies at kid-friendly times and complaining about it.

I was in Houston last weekend and we picked the Alamo Drafthouse over the IMAX for Harry Potter 5 because although the Drafthouse was allowing kids in for the movie, they had to be with a parent, unlike the IMAX, so there would be no kids running wild because they were parent-less. It was an enjoyable expereince overall.

[filkferengi]

If they can have an airline specifically for smokers, why not kids? Claudia, an e-pal who frequently flies internationally with multiple small, active children, had an eloquent post contrasting different airlines. One airline took care of her baby & let her rest during the whole flight. Another airline wouldn't even give her milk for the baby and stole and destroyed her stroller and was in general blatantly bogus.

Yay for enjoying the movie!

[friday18.livejournal.com]

I don't have any kids yet, although we're working on it. I do get very frustrated with people who bring their children to an R-rated, 9pm movie. I expect to enjoy that movie without the noise of children.

I haven't seen Ratatouille yet, but I want to. When I go to see it, I -expect- that there will be kids there. That is an event designed for kids. If I want to go and enjoy it as well, that's fine, but I have to do it with the understanding that kids will be there, and they will be making kid noises.

As far as airplanes go, no, I don't think anyone enjoys a cross-country flight with a screaming toddler. But the mom isn't enjoying either, and she's probably having a worse time of it than I am. People need to travel, and I've never heard of a kid-specific airline. People just have to deal with it. I suppose I could be snarky and all nasty about it, but that's not going to improve the situation any. Better to give the mom what might be the one smile she gets all day, and maybe make some funny faces in the hopes of getting the kid to laugh.

You get the same kind of thing in the grocery store. Everyone needs to buy food. If a kid is throwing a temper tantrum, I might avoid that aisle until the kid is gone, but I can't help the situation by making a stink about it.

I definitely think there are spaces designed for kids, spaced designed for adults, and spaces just for the general public. If I'm in a kid space, I need to accept it for what it is. When bringing kids, especially young ones, into specifically adult spaces (late-night or adult-rated movies, for instance), I think the parents need to be prepared for the kid-less adults to not be pleased. And if it's a public space, I really don't understand what's so hard about just smiling and dealing with it.

The real issue here, though, is that so much of the world is obsessed with themselves, without any care how their actions effect anyone else. As far as I'm concerned, the adult complaining at a kids' Harry Potter event, and the parent bringing their kids to a late-night, R-rated movie, are equally guilty of being way too focused on themselves.

Sorry if I beat a dead horse here. I'm really glad you guys enjoyed the movie, and that no one got snarky with you.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is, as someone else mentioned, some of these people don't want to grow up.

If it's a "kid"/"family" place, those without children shouldn't complain because kids are there. You don't want to be surrounded by kids? Don't go to, say, Harry Potter movies or Chick-Fil-A.

Yes, children should behave, and parents should remove the child from a scene where they are obviously misbehaving/not able to cope (we've been a few places with Adrianna where it was just overwhelming for her), but "misbehaving" does not mean "the child is making sounds".

I'm glad you enjoyed the movie!

DV