Warning: Movie Despereaux

[Schmeck]

My 8-year-old actually did fine with Desperaux (he and DH had been planning to see it since they saw the previews) but I do know what you mean - I kept thinking I would love to show it to a 7th grade English class, and already had 3 papers in mind to assign them!

Hopefully they will also read the book for class as well? One of my pet peeves is that some teachers will show a movie before the kids read the book, then the kids never bother to read it at all.

 

[momsully]

We took two first graders and two fourth graders to see Despereaux. They all loved the movie. The first graders had read Despereaux as a class and the fourth graders had read it on their own. One thing that was interesting is all four kids said the movie was not like the book. I haven't read it so I can't comment there.

I also agree with the PP on Bedtime Stories. We went to see that Christmas Night and everyone loved it!

 

[Camno's Mama]

Do you think a 3 yr old could sit through Bedtime Stories. He has a pretty developed sense of humor...likes all the stuff that his 5 yr old brother does. Or is there a lot of adult dialogue?

Thanks for the Desperaux info...it did look a little dark, but I didn't realize how scary it might be.

 

[robin09]

Thanks for the warning! My dd (3) has being asking to see this, and the previews look cute so I was planning to take her. She doesn't scare easily, but I think I will wait until it comes out on dvd and watch it myself first. Looks like we will go see Bolt instead.

Boltt was a great movie for kids, left it with a good feeling, and as my duaghter kept saying again again, I can say she loved it.

Marley and Me was a good movie, saw it yesterday, but I cried at the end, and my dd10 hid her face at the end. I would tread lightly with this movie if any chiuldren have fears of dying or death.

 

[maxiesmom]

Boltt was a great movie for kids, left it with a good feeling, and as my duaghter kept saying again again, I can say she loved it.

Marley and Me was a good movie, saw it yesterday, but I cried at the end, and my dd10 hid her face at the end. I would tread lightly with this movie if any chiuldren have fears of dying or death.

My dad wanted me to take him to see Marley and Me and I said no way! I read the book, and cried my eyes out at the end. I know they have to be true to the book, but it is too bad they couldn't end the movie earlier on in the story.

 

[melancholywings]

Thanks for sharing about Marley & Me, I was thinking of doing that tonight but I don't want to go see a movie that sounds so sad. After seeing 'This film can not be rated' I don't trust the ratings board as I don't approve of their agenda.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

Thanks for this - I am often surprised by the ratings some "children's" movies receive. We're still boycotting Open Season for a vulgar slang term turn child friendly in the previews.

On the same topic of movie warnings, I took DD6 to see Marley & Me last night. It was an absolutely adorable story, but the end proved to be too emotional for her and she just sobbed all the way home.

We went to see Marley and Me yesterday with my DD8 and DD7. My oldest read the book at school and she told me what it was about. My youngest who is super emotional and she didn't cry. I talked to her about the movie before we went. To be honest, i think more adults in the move theatre cried than children.

 

[almburr]

DS4 cant wait to see (as he says it) 'Dep per row' he loves Hellboy movies right now. We saw bedtime stories lastnight he sat through it he was a little bored though not enough action.

 

[design_mom]

We went to see Marley and Me yesterday with my DD8 and DD7. My oldest read the book at school and she told me what it was about. My youngest who is super emotional and she didn't cry. I talked to her about the movie before we went. To be honest, i think more adults in the move theatre cried than children.

I'm surprised that she read Marley and Me at school. It has some pretty adult themes in it. However, John Grogan (the author) has several books about Marley aimed at different age groups. Bad Dog, Marley is a picture book and Marley: A Dog Like No Other, is a "chapter book" aimed at the younger grades. They are both good books and geared more toward their intended age groups (more about Marley's antics, less about the Grogans' sometimes grown-up problems). My DS8 has read both the other books and is dying to go see Marley and Me, but I'm not sure about it. I think we'll wait and rent it on video. Then I can preview it.

Honestly, the end I think we could deal with. The book is about Marley's life -- his whole life, including the end of it. (It would be emotional for us, because we lost our Marley-esque dog after a long illness and it was tough on all of us. It hits close to home.) But... there's the whole miscarriage part, and where the neighbor is shot -- I'm not sure I'm ready to be explaining that stuff yet. For those who have seen it, how was that handled in the movie?

 

[bumbershoot]

Even before I read this I had a feeling that at minimum this movie was going to be a DVD viewing for us, so we can stop, explain, and even just turn it off. DS can be jumpy, LOL.

Still curious about this..."We're still boycotting Open Season for a vulgar slang term turn child friendly in the previews." What does that mean? What word?

DS and DH have watched this several times and they just love it, and no one has started saying a naughty word b/c of it...

 

[disneyjunkie]

I took my nephew and nieces to see Depereaux this afternoon. They are 11,9 and 3. All three loved it.

I didn't think it was dark or scary. I think the G rating was on the mark.

Of course the book is much better than the movie, but it was cute, kid friendly movie.

I get to watch it again on Tuesday with 13 five-year olds.

 

[carj]

I'm surprised that she read Marley and Me at school. It has some pretty adult themes in it. However, John Grogan (the author) has several books about Marley aimed at different age groups. Bad Dog, Marley is a picture book and Marley: A Dog Like No Other, is a "chapter book" aimed at the younger grades. They are both good books and geared more toward their intended age groups (more about Marley's antics, less about the Grogans' sometimes grown-up problems). My DS8 has read both the other books and is dying to go see Marley and Me, but I'm not sure about it. I think we'll wait and rent it on video. Then I can preview it.

Honestly, the end I think we could deal with. The book is about Marley's life -- his whole life, including the end of it. (It would be emotional for us, because we lost our Marley-esque dog after a long illness and it was tough on all of us. It hits close to home.) But... there's the whole miscarriage part, and where the neighbor is shot -- I'm not sure I'm ready to be explaining that stuff yet. For those who have seen it, how was that handled in the movie?

The miscarriage part was very sad. They went to the doctor and couldn't find a heartbeat. I am not sure that my children evern "got" that part. The neighbor is stabbed or maybe shot and John goes out to wait with her, help her until help arrives.

For us, the last 30 minutes was just hard to take. Marley gets sick, and you know that it is just a matter of time, then he gets sick again. You watch the dog being put to sleep and watch him die. Then, if you aren't in tears yet, the family has a funeral for Marley. It was just so very sad.

I do realize that dying is a part of life, but I wouldn't have taken them to see this movie because I wasn't looking for some big life lesson. I just wanted to hang out, eat some popcorn and enjoy a family friendly movie. Don't get me wrong, it was a great movie. I really think that they missed the mark with their marketing. It was NOT a kid movie, even if there was an adorable, mischieveous dog.

 

[luvmy2sams]

We took two first graders and two fourth graders to see Despereaux. They all loved the movie. The first graders had read Despereaux as a class and the fourth graders had read it on their own. One thing that was interesting is all four kids said the movie was not like the book. I haven't read it so I can't comment there.

I also agree with the PP on Bedtime Stories. We went to see that Christmas Night and everyone loved it!

We saw Bedtime Stories last night and really enjoyed it!

We read The Tale of Despereaux as a family, and everyone loved it. The movie, on the other hand, was awful. It wasn't like the book at all. Characters had different personalities, and the storylines didn't make sense. Too much was either left out of changed. I think we would have enjoyed it much more if we hadn't previously read the book. DD9 and DS5 did fine with the movie...not scared at all...just bored and disappointed. We thought the rating was appropriate.

 

[Elmo888]

Ugh. I didn't want to know this.

Here's the story...

In October or November, I get a letter from DD8's school. She's in the third grade. The letter states that the entire school (K - 5) is going to see The Tale of Desp. on the last day of school before Xmas break, which is opening day for the movie. I thought that this was one of the dumbest ideas that I had ever heard. On top of that, I knew nothing about the movie. The entire school had the book read to them before the movie. The money and permission slip for the field trip had to be in by Dec. 5th. The letter came out before the movie was even rated.

Now, I check ratings for movies. I like commonsensemedia.org and I'll also look at the other web site the one of the PP mentioned. But if the movie isn't out, then it isn't reviewed. I did read the book review at commonsensemedia.org, and it stated that the book was for 7 and up (or 8 and up, I can't remember).

My objections specifically about DD8...she seems a bit sensitive to what she sees, we don't see a lot of movies, and we don't see a lot of full price movies. DD8 seems more sensitive about movies than DD4. And it is one thing to read it in a book and another thing to see it on a movie screen.

I reluctantly let her go against my better judgment, but I did so after I had more info. I didn't give her the permission slip and money until Dec. 5th. By then, the movie rating was out and she had checked out and read the entire book herself. She was into it and seemed to know what to expect.

She did like the movie. But if I had a child in K or 1st, I don't think that I would have allowed the child to go.

Thanks for the reviews of Marley and Me...DD8 thinks that she wants to see it, but we'll pass!

 

[tanyaandallie]

We saw Bolt over Thanksgiving - Totally cute kid's movie and way funnier than the preview let on. In some parts I think DH & I laughed louder than our DD. Your whole family will love it.

LOVED Bolt. Many times I laughed more than the kids.

 

[Kit'smommy]

We took our almost 5 year old son to see this this afternoon, but we knew a great deal about the movie prior to going and know our child enought to know he would be fine. He was a little afraid of the dungeon scenes, but overall liked it. He is very mature for his age and deals well with themes that might give other children his age nightmares.

Overall, I would not recommend this movie for 3-6 year old children.

DH and I liked it but the book is much better.

 

[HeatherSue]

Wow, I had no idea this was a scary movie! The previews don't show that side at all! Thanks for the insight!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

My sons school took all 14, 4th grades to see the Tale of Despereaux for a field trip on opening day. This is a book that was read in their classes earlier in the year. I chaperoned so I seen the movie too.,

I really didn't think it was bad at all, and I think a PG-13 rating would be way out of line. Yea there were some insinuations in the rat scenes but nothing was shown. The worst I thought were the dark dungeon scenes.

If a kid is already scared of situations like that it might bother them a bit. But I didn't see or hear any kids say anything negative except it was nothing like the book.

My 5 yo didn't see it but I wouldn't have a problem taking her.

 

[teresajoy]

Thanks for the heads up on this one!! I had no idea this was even a little bit of a scary movie! My kids have been wanting to see it. Why don't they just come out and tell you what the movie is really like in the previews??? At least then parents could make an informed decision! Thanks to the poster who posted the review sites! I will be bookmarking them!

 

[GEM]

Wow. I took my five year old son just this afternoon, along with DH and my mom. We all loved it. My five year old was really into it. I don't think he looked away the entire time. I didn't think it was scarier than any of the Disney movies. We all really enjoyed it, although my mom did say the book was much better.