I took the girls to see the movie, Charlotte's Web this morning. It worked out perfectly because we had just finished reading the book yesterday. This was only the second time the girls have ever been to a movie theatre. Morgan and I are really careful about exposing them to movies that seem innocent and G rated. Most of them carry adult themes, sarcastic tones, violence, and lots of innuendo.Our first experience at the movies was when I took them to see a Veggie Tales movie last year. It turned out to have many violent/fighting scenes (I should have known, it was a Pirate movie). The previews were horribly inappropriate and on top of all that, they nixed the best part of any Veggie Tales movie-- the end, where Bob & Larry share God's word, how it related to the story, and what they learned from it. Totally lame.
What's been a big help for us in deciding whether or not we're taking our kids to see a movie is the site http://www.pluggedin.com/. It was created by Focus on the Family and you can find reviews for movies, music, videos, TV, and games.
Although Charlotte's Web deals with the death of Charlotte, the spider, I felt as though death is a natural part of life and it would be a good opportunity to talk to the girls about it and why we look forward to heaven. Plus, I liked the fact that the movie was non-animated and contained no "commerical characters" (i.e. princesses or talking toy astronauts, a.k.a money pits for parents). The animals were "real" and they all talked. We laughed, giggled, ate popcorn, and even cried when Charlotte died. This was the first time the girls have ever shed a tear because of sadness over a death. Thankfully, by the end of the movie, they were giggling again but they were definitely moved by the loss of a "great and loyal friend."
The positives: Charlotte's Web is a story about friendship, loyalty, seeing the best in others, sacrifice, love, loss, humility, and ordinary miracles. We thought it was quite charming.
*This time, we skipped the previews and sat down, right as the movie started.
*We also took advantage of Regal Theatres FREE summer movies!
Lastly, I thought the movie was very true to the book. Except as we were leaving, Faith asked me why they didn't show one particular scene that we read about, in the movie. That's Faith for you... you just can't get anything
past her. :)
Just checked out that plugged in site, really awesome! Thanks for sharing. I think they did a good job with the Charlotte's web movie, very cute!
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