No ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Indiana Jones’: Where are the tween action/adventure movies for this generation?
When I was growing up in the late 1970 and 1980s there was a bonanza of action/adventure movies that kids could go to with their parents. Think about it: “Superman,” “Indiana Jones,” “ET,” “Ghostbusters,” “Goonies,” “Gremlins,” “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Jaws” and all of their sequels.
At 10 and 8 our kids are ready to see some movies that aren’t cartoons or merely cartoons mixed with live action a la “Chipmunks” or “The Smurfs”. (Boy I hope they don’t want to see that one.) However, the studios don’t seem to be making them anymore. It is rare to find an action movie that isn’t too intense or violent. But why is that? Why did they used to be produced but not anymore? What has changed in the industry or in the consumer?
Let’s look at this summer’s offerings:
“Thor” – Michael was dying to take Walsh to see this movie but after reading parent reviews online I felt like it wasn’t going to be appropriate. I would love to hear from parents who have seen it. Could you take an 8-year-old who likes comics and superheroes but is not exposed too much violence to it?
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ” — My kids aren’t particularly interested in this movie or the three before. I saw the first three and didn’t’ think they were appropriate for my kids at the ages they were when they came out. What did parents think of this one? What age kids did you take?
“Green Lantern” and “Captain America”– While I am super excited to see both of them, I suspect they will also be too intense and too violent for my older kids similar to “Thor.”
“Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2” – While Walsh has finished reading the series, I think it’s pretty intense and don’t think I would take him to see it on the big screen. I might change my mind after I see it but I think the end battle is going to be pretty fierce.
“The Three Musketters” – It doesn’t actually look good but this like the superhero movies is a type of movie that could be dialed back just a little bit and be appropriate for kids.
“X-Men First Class” – Thinking too violent and looks like some sexiness going on with Mystique.
“Super 8” – Directed by J.J. Abrams (of ‘Lost’) and produced by Steven Spielberg, “Super 8” looks like a classic summer action/adventure movie. I am so excited to see it but again I think it will be too intense for my kids. This I another one that I think if they dialed back just a little bit, parents could bring their kids to enjoy it with them.
So what are left with for summer movie viewing? Cartoons and movies about animals – “The Smurfs,” “The Muppets: Fuzzy Pack,” “The Zookeeper,” “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” and “Cars 2.” While I am sure they will be cute and enjoyable (except for “The Smurfs”), there is no “Indiana Jones” or “Ghostbuster” in this group!
“The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn” will probably come the closest to providing action and adventure and be kid-appropriate but it isn’t scheduled for release until December! (Bummer!) It is directed by Steven Spielberg. It is a cartoon like “The Polar Express.”
So we are left watching a whole bunch of older movies off of Netflix and borrowing from the library. (Dear Netflix, please also acquire the real “Ghostbusters” for streaming instead of just No. 2) The kids like the “Harry Potter” movies and the first “Percy Jackson” movie. (The second Percy Jackson is scheduled for 2012.) We did borrow Disney’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (version with Nicolas Cage) from the library. Michael found it unwatchable but the kids liked it and it wasn’t too violent or bad.
Would it not be worthwhile for movie studios to cut back a little on the intensity and violence of some summer movies and pick up all the kids in the U.S. seeing it over and over again? Would it be worth their time to shoot less violent sections and to run in theaters a kid-friendly version?
Or is everyone else taking their kids to see “Thor” and I’m the only person that thinks those movies are too intense for kids?
– Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, ajc.com Momania. Follow me on Twitter and read what I am reading each day. Great stories on family health, family fun, parenting, fashion, stars, and more. Click on the right-hand column to check out links to stories that will interest you. )
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56 comments Add your comment
DB
May 31st, 2011
8:18 pm
@Becky: Titanic came out in 1997, so he was 8 (goodness, was that really 14 years ago?!). He loved “Star Wars”, “Indiana Jones”, etc., etc. — but those are basically live-action cartoons — great stories, but not really based in reality, so to speak. “Titanic” was a bit different in that regard. Since it was PG-13, I told them that they could see it when they turned 13, and they accepted that. Imagine my amusement when, on his 13th birthday, my son came downstairs, took the “Titanic” tape off the shelf, and popped it into the VCR! He watched it avidly, and at the end, he remarked that it wasn’t as gory as people said it was — I pointed out that what is gory to a 7/8 year old usually isn’t that intense for a 13 year old.
Speaking of language: Anyone remember the beginning of “Four Weddings and a Funeral”? I had only seen it on TV, and loved it, not realizing how many “f**k!!!!!”s had been edited out of the entire scene where Hugh Grant oversleeps and leaps out of bed, runing around like a chicken with its head cut off. So I got the tape on sale, brought it home to my young teenage kids and put it on, exclaiming how much I enjoyed this movie. Imagine my shock when the first five minutes were basically F-bombs — there must have been at least 50! My daughter was laughing so hard at my look of shock and my frantic scrabbling for the remote to fast-forward, she had tears in her eyes!
JATL
May 31st, 2011
9:45 pm
@homeschooler -thanks! I just can’t stand what so many are doing to their kids -boys and girls. I’m all for kids showing their feelings and having their emotions valued, but all of this extreme helicopterish, over-protection of our kids is insane! Far too many of them are completely whiny and soft and have no idea how to handle anything.
LM
June 1st, 2011
12:12 pm
I know we are several subjects past this but I wanted mention that we I was growing up going to see a movie was a huge treat, not something we got to do just because a big hit or cool movie was comeing out. Even when my daughter was little, I didn’t feel I needed to take her to see the newest movie. Yeah, she might not be able to talk about it at school with her friend, but too bad. I did take her to see movies, even got off work early to surprise her to take her to see one in the middle of the day just for kicks. But it was not a regular occurance.
Praveen
June 1st, 2011
9:38 pm
Some of you guys are so overprotective. I come from a family that is open minded but was bashful about things like sexual stuff . Not all kids are the same. Star Wars was a great kids movie. Close Encounters was another family oriented movie that was not dumbed down for kids. I even watched Alien as a kid though you have to determine if your kid has the mentality to like such a movie. Dont lump all kids in the same category. Superman is FOR KIDS!!!. As an adult, I find the logic in a few places an insult to my intelligence. Hell, even when I was 7, I found the earth reversing thing or the superkiss that made Lois forget too dumb for words. But nevertheless, that is a movie for all ages.
And yes, ET is for all ages. Sometimes, it is good for a little kid to experience a few scares. That is part of growing up.
Praveen
June 1st, 2011
9:46 pm
As far as sexua stuff, my parents motto was that if it was on the borderline, then getting exposed to it was no big deal as long as exposure was not CONSTANT. That means , a movie like GOdfather even with the James Caan with his mistress on the door scene or Pacino’s wife’s topless scene is worth it for a young teen becuase it is not explicit enough and the movie quality makes it worth the exposure. If that same scene was in a worthless movie like some Nora Ephron movie, you would rather not show your younger kid such a movie. The trouble with adult situations is not your kid getting exposed to them, but getting bombarded with them on a constant basis on TV and movies these days. I watched a lot of quality R movies as a kid and I still grew up in a family values type family.
FSG
June 2nd, 2011
3:02 pm
Speaking as a lifelong comic nut, and father of little ones – if your 8 yr old likes superheros, Thor should work. It plays as classic fantasy, with lots of sword fighting but not much scary blood, and no sexiness that an 8 yr old boy would notice. The opening half hour is a little exposition heavy, but shouldn’t be too bad. Scored with classical music, so not as loud as Iron Man either (a plus in my book). If he’s ready for the Hobbit, he’s ready for this movie (or vice versa).
X Men is probably a bit complex politically – they’ve wound this one around the cuban missile crisis. GL will have more of an SF tone, which might or might not work for a little one. Finally, much as Captain America is just about my favorite super hero – that movie is going to be a war film about fighting Nazis, and the Red Skull is about as scary a villain as Marvel has; it’s probably a 10 and up, at least.
Also, if the little one likes Thor, take a look for the ‘Thor: The Might Avenger’ comic collection (writer is Roger Langridge); it’s an ‘all ages’ comic version that Marvel recently put out, that has been well reviewed and appropriate for kids.