Why don't people care about the quality of kid's movies??

[Kete]

Seriously!  G-Force is number 1, and it beat Harry Potter's second week?  Not that I'm a Harry Potter fan, but I can at least respect the effort that they put in to it.  This year, like always, we've had a large number of kid's movies that have made way too much money, in my opinion.

G-Force: 32 Million+
Ice Age: 675 Million+
Hannah Montana: 147 Million+
Hotel for Dogs: 116 Million+

I am very picky about what I'll let my kids watch (6 and 3 years old).  I don't mean picky about the rating (we just watched the new Hulk movie the other night), I mean picky about it not being a pile of crap.  I didn't let my kids watch any of the movies listed, and I also won't let them watch most of the Dreamworks movies (Kung Fu Panda being the only exception).  I have three main rules for kid's shows:

1) The preview can't have any fart sounds.
2) They can't overly promote the cast (think of the way Madagascar's cast  is promoted compared to the Incredibles').
3) The humor must be higher quality than a Saved By the Bell episode (So all the live action Disney stuff is out).

So am I just crazy?  What do you guys let your kids watch, and are you as controlling as me?  What are your favorite shows to watch with your kids?

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

,,,,,I also won't let them watch most of the Dreamworks movies (Kung Fu Panda being the only exception).

You chose Kung Fu Panda over Wallace and Gromit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit?   

1) The preview can't have any fart sounds......

So am I just crazy?

Yes.

I was in your corner about G-Force being #1 at the box office.  And I'm not thrilled for people who are getting squeezed out of voice work in cartoons by all of these stars.

But I wish I knew what happens to people the minute they reproduce - they forget what it was like to be a kid.

[Kete]

You chose Kung Fu Panda over Wallace and Gromit in Curse of the Were-Rabbit?   

But I wish I knew what happens to people the minute they reproduce - they forget what it was like to be a kid.

I forgot that Wallace and Gromit was a Dreamworks.  It is very much unlike any of the Dreamworks movies.  And, yes, I love Wallace and Gromit!

I didn't say that the movie can't have a fart sound, just the preview.  If they put it in the preview, that tells me what kind of movie they're trying to make.  To me, the fart sound is what a writer puts in when he gets lazy.  If they don't feel like putting more effort into the writing, then I can't put more effort into watching their movie.

[Nunyerbiz]

I wouldn't say I have any set in stone rules about what my three year old can watch... My wife and I will almost always watch the movie first then decide if it's appropriate. I believe the only exceptions have been some of the Pixar stuff... Cars and Up were movies that I saw for the first time along with my son. I think the only movies we've decided against letting him watch were the Shrek movies, which really aren't evil / bad by any means, but maybe a little too lowbrow... He's still a relatively cute and innocent little three year old... I'll let him watch Shrek once he's thrown into genpop during kindergarten and picks up all his nasty habits and potty humor.

As far as your three rules... yea... those suck. Not surprisingly, kids movies are made for kids... kids laugh at farts and Saved by the Bell humor and don't give a shit if the cast are promoted as stars or not. Those really come across as "the three rules that will ensure that I will like the movie, and if my kids do as well, then good for them".

[ScottotD]

Kids don't care about quality, kids want to see stuff they like the look of and their parents take them.  I guess you could compare it to parents buying their kids happy meals whenever they cry because they want one even though it's probably not a good idea but I don't think it's as bad as that or as you make out, I'm sure half the movies you loved as a kid are almost unwatchable to you as an adult.

I don't mean picky about the rating (we just watched the new Hulk movie the other night)]

Cool, I was raised on (by?) Monty Python, old horror movies and a bunch of other stuff that wasn't deemed 'for kids'.  I find it odd that people seem to not be able to think outside the box for entertainment.

[Doctor Who?]

Hey most adults don't care what they themselves watch why should they put any more thought into what their kids watch?

[ScottotD]

I think adults do care what they watch, if anything I think a lot of adults think too much about what they watch.  So much so that a lot of people are too nervous to see anything they think might challenge them.

But then I really want to see Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus based on the title and boxart so maybe I'm not the best point of reference.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

All I can tell you is I grew up in the early 60's when they used to show us Three Stooges shorts on the local kid's morning show (Popeye Playhouse) and I have yet to poke anyone in the eyes.  And my school was full of kids getting blinded by other kids in that way.

Then, in the second grade we moved briefly to a very small town in Georgia where there were kids in class whose families couldn't afford TV (and the only movie theater only showed Disney movies) and some of these were the kinds of kids that sling-shotted birds and threw rocks at dogs that were tied up in yards for fun.

If you've raised your kid right in the first place, they're not going to have so little identity and self worth that they blindly copy anything they see or hear.

Now, if you're trying to get them to develop some taste and sense of what is good film as opposed to crappy films....they're too young yet.

I'd suggest doing what my Mom did - having a list of things she thought were the best and that I should sit and watch at least once when I was old enough (because things like A Patch of Blue for instance isn't for a little kid).

[FordPrefect]

I think adults do care what they watch, if anything I think a lot of adults think too much about what they watch.  So much so that a lot of people are too nervous to see anything they think might challenge them.

But then I really want to see Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus based on the title and boxart so maybe I'm not the best point of reference.

Has someone watched the iRiff for it yet? I haven't seen any reviews for it so far. http://www.rifftrax.com/iriffs/mega-shark-vs-giant-octopus

[Tripe]

As far as your three rules... yea... those suck.

Yeah I pretty much agree with that. I think that those criteria are fine for an adult to use to decide whether they want to watch a particular kids film or not (they're as good as any other) but they are hopeless when it comes to deciding if a kid is going to enjoy the movie.

[ScottotD]

It's certainly not perfect but he seems to be treating his kids a human beings who can tell fake from real so... he's at least got a refreshing take compared to most parents I know.

[Tripe]

Are we talking about the same person?

Whenever anyone decides that they can call whether a movie will be enjoyable for another person or not, that's hardly treating them like they are independent human beings.

He even admits he's very controlling in that respect.

What I'm saying is, I'm not sure the attitude is different from any other parent, it just has a slightly different set of criteria.

[Nunyerbiz]

Well, in my original reply to this thread I certainly wasn't trying to throw anybody under the bus for their parenting choices... Just that I thought the rules for what they let their kids could watch seemed much more revolved around themselves and not their kids...

To give you an example... A few years back, I was babysitting my niece. She was six or seven years old at the time... and she wanted to watch a movie. Well, I didn't really know what my sister would let her watch... but I asked her what she wanted to see. She picked "Sharkboy and Lavagirl and Their Magical Mystery Acid Tour" or whatever the hell it was called. That was one goddamned mess of a movie, but she seemed to love it and there wasn't anything too objectionable involved... But of course, it's not something that I would ever let my kids watched if I let the idea that "I should probably be enjoying this too" creep into my head. 

[Tripe]

No, I don't think it's bad to do that, that's sort of the job of a parent (or somebody who is In loco parentis) is to make at least a few choices for their kids. What informs those choices might differ (and therein lies a discussion) but the fundamental function is still the same.

And I agree the criteria listed did seem to be more about "will I enjoy this?" rather than "will the kids enjoy this" meaning a "bad" movie was defined more by weather the guardian would like it rather than anything else.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

I didn't say that the movie can't have a fart sound, just the preview.  If they put it in the preview, that tells me what kind of movie they're trying to make.  To me, the fart sound is what a writer puts in when he gets lazy.  If they don't feel like putting more effort into the writing, then I can't put more effort into watching their movie.

You realize that the writer doesn't make the movie trailers?

In fact, that the director and producer will very often has little or absolutely no input as to what the trailer includes?  Wish I could find the quote of Leonard Nimoy's reaction to the first time he saw an ad for ST III: The Search for Spock and saw that it included the shot of the Enterprise exploding - giving away the climax of the film....

Trailers even have an award show...saw it on the CW, I think.  I remember one of the big winners was the Iron Man trailer  They're all made by seperate companies that do nothing but make trailers for films.

Plus that there are lots of trailers that have things in them that were never in the film.  Look up some of the trailers for Wall-E on YouTube (assuming you've seen that movie) for example.