We decided not to take Annabel to Brave as her very first movie theatre movie because of some of the reviews. (Daniel’s first movie theatre movie was Cars 2. It was the perfect choice for my little car lover although the movie was “eh.” That’s MY official review. ) I knew Brave would be perfect for Annabel because it’s about Disney/Pixar’s new princess, Merida. And Princess Merida has curly hair (like Annabel!) and Merida is tough and can hang with the boys. She’s a different kid of Disney Princess and she just seems SO COOL.
But some of the reviews I read on CommonSenseMedia.org said things like:
“Too scary for young children!!!” (Yes, with THREE exclamation points.)
“Brave requires bravery to watch with younger children…”
“Too scary.”
“Great message – but scary for little ones.”
“Why would you take your sweet, innocent 4 year old daughter to this SUPER SCARY movie?”
That last one was me. Sorry.
Now, I’m all about Annabel seeing a strong-willed princess on the big screen. But I just couldn’t chance her crying and wanting to leave. This would be her first experience at the fancy movie theatre. I imagined her in the sweet little Brave T-shirt I bought her from the Disney store. She would be munching on popcorn and then, all of a sudden, the big scary bears would jump on screen and she would run for the exit. And she might not want to go back to that scary movie theatre place ever, ever again.
So, we decided to wait and take her to see Ice Age 4 when it opens next month. She’s seen 1, 2, and 3 at home and she loves all the characters. I’m not worried about that one. And to cushion the blow after telling Annabel on Sunday afternoon that we had to change plans because Brave was only for “older kids,” I bought her the book and the Merida baby doll. (I’m a sucker. Yes. I know.)
Speaking of new Disney princesses, here’s a just released sneak peek of Disney Junior’s new princes series called Sofia the First. (And this one does not look scary at all. Phew!) Sofia the First debuts this fall as a primetime television movie on the Disney Channel, followed by the series premiere on Disney Junior in early 2013. Modern Family star Ariel Winter voices Sofia.
Good going mom! It takes bravery to know when to say no. I applaud you. Four years old really does narrow the choices but that’s okay. She has plenty of time to grow up. So take it slowly because once the reigns are let out, you CAN bring them back in however, the exposure you were trying to prevent has made its mark. Innocence is a good thing at any age. I don’t buy in to the “to naive to survive” excuse for our kids to make it in this world. Oh yeah, and spoiling is most economical and effective in the younger years so keep the surprises flowing!