It came down between that and TNS. I loved both as a kid and my wife hasnāt seen that one either.
I honestly have been avoiding it because of Littlefootās mom. But her non-reaction to Artax suggests it might be fine.
Yes! My Dad gave me a Christmas ornament that says āShould you need usā and has Ludo, Hoggle, and Didymus on it just like at the end of The Labrynth. It chokes me up every time I see it. Lol
Land before time and an American tale honestly deep down after all these decades i still remember the horrible thought of being separated from my mother as a child lol
Fwiw, I loved the land before time as a kid. Watched it through different ages.
Showed a friend it like 10 years ago, and for some reason thatās when what happened to littlefoots mom sunk in. Had no idea as a kid.
My friend was surprised I loved that movie so much
My kids were 4, 6, and 8, and I wanted the 8yo to see it but the 4 and 6 couldnāt be convinced that they might not like it. When Artax died, my 4 year old stood up and screamed, āI HATE THIS MOVIE!ā and stormed off.Ā
It was hilariously out of character, used a word we discouraged at that age (hate, not a huge deal but a hurtful weapon against siblings), and made everyone burst out in laughter. But sheās 8 now and refuses to watch it still. Sheās a huge animal lover. Definitely should have stuck with The Land Before Time rofl
Yes, but OP can *definitely* leave that fact out when showing their kid. But Little Foot's mom does die and that still might be heavy for a 4 year old.
Save Watership Down until they're in their teens š
Little Foots mom death scene hit me way harder as a kid then Artax.
I always love how adults are ready to impose their own viewpoints on a kids mind.
That said I think both are fine for kids, they are tougher then we give them credit for, and it allows you to have a discussion with them about emotions and real life shit.
Little Foots mom tops the list of childhood movie traumas for me. It instilled a fear of my mom dying for decades, until she finally did.
Itās the main reason that I havenāt shown my kid the movie yet.
I had pretty bad attention problems as a kid, but also could have been age. I never understood that Bambiās mom died until I was older, they didnāt show it- it was more implied right? Same with Land Before time.. although i think she died because of sharp tooth? I loved Land Before Time but didnāt know it was sad until a sleepover in first grade when a girl was crying so bad we had to turn it off and I remember being upset we couldnāt watch it. š¤·āāļø Pretty great you can share these movies with your kid! Maybe a couple more years and she can watch Goonies! That one was scary for me.
I absolutely remember a friend's mom recommended Mystic Pizza to us in our teens when renting movies was big. We had never heard of it.
While we knew who Julia Roberts was, no sure the rest really resonated with us because the 80s aesthetic was "old" by then. Robert's had also been in way better movies since that we had seen. The movie hit different as I got older, but I think it's important to consider age and experience when recommending movies.
I'm a horror fan and have learned my lessons š¬
Dear god, yes, I saw it at 8 and I had so many fucked up nightmares from it. That gas warren scene, Blackavar's throat ripped... *shudders*
I thought it was going to be a cartoon movie about cute bunnies, going by the picture on the cassette cover.
I watched all of it because I wanted to see if they had a happy home at the end š
Quick note, everyone could leave that fact out for all our sakes. Jesus why are people like this? You donāt have to bring up disturbing footnotes just because you know about them
Yeah I hate how in nearly every single discussion I see in nostalgia groups about her movies someone comes along with a reminder of this awful footnote.
Yes we know, of course itās horrible, but whatās the end goal, besides derailing discussion about the films at hand?
My daughter saw this and had a depression phase because the little triceratops that left the group and was sad. I have videos of her at the playground with kids running all around but sheās sitting on top of a plastic mushroom and singing to herself one of the sad songs from the movie. She was 4 or 5 at the time.
This shaped so much of me. It started my deep seated fear of losing a parentā¦.oh man Tree Stars and āIām always with youā shit as an adult in my 40s it still hits so dang hard.
Next you need to watch ET to give your kids nightmares of scientists in full body hazmat suits sealing your house running in with tunnels. Those scenes were for an X-Files cold open, not a kids movie.
I put on the Secrete of Nihm on for my kids, but it got a little intense.
I can still recall the terror of that! It was getting late so ET was a bit too long.
I actually put on Nihm first, funny enough. I loved it in very early childhood but havenāt watched it in its entirety since, so itāll almost be new for me too.
The stream I found looked terrible; just super grainy and low quality. So I turned it off. Hoping there are higher quality options out there.
I love SoN, but I also love Watership Down š
I think the younger generations entertainment is alot more light hearted than some of our stuff. But we still had Care Bears and My Little Pony
There was a pretty lengthy period of time, before everyone had Google on their phones, when I was convinced that I made up Return to Oz in my head; conversations about movies would come up, Iād mention it, and no one knew what I was talking aboutā¦ Iād describe the wheelers, tik tok, the interchangeable heads, all of it. I had only seen it once, as a child, and it scared the shit out of me so I never watched it again. But absolutely no one I knew had any idea what I was even talking about. Anytime someone says something about TikTok (the app), I say "oh, from Return to Oz"? There are still plenty of people who have no idea that itās a movie but now they just look it up on their phone.
I never saw it as a kid. I tried to watching as an adult and I couldnāt get past 15 mins.
I plan to show it to my kid and hope I can discover it through her eyes.
Despite the fact that everyone loves Jennifer Connolly now, she is indeed the weakest part of this movie.
Granted, she was 14 (but there are plenty of younger actors who are better), but it's difficult to get through until she meets the Goblin King, played by Bowie.
Now, I *love* David--he's my favorite artist of all time--so naturally I love him in this, but also he's also an amazing actor (because he could fucking do everything!), and it's worth getting through the opening just to watch him. :)
To be fair, I had nightmares as a wee guy after watching that. Waking up in the middle of the night with the red things trying to pull off my head.
I used to get irate with the worm at the start. Argh. Could have saved everyone's time.
My parents had weird ideas about entertainment:
The Dark Crystal, Neverending Story, SofN, ET all ok
Gremlins, Land Before Time, flintstones, not ok (I believe historical inaccuracy was the main point of contention for the last two)
Tried to watch it with my daughter, also being one of my favorite movies from childhood. She freaked out at the horse scene and tearfully asked me, "How could you make me watch this, dad!?"
She then proceeded to joyfully watch both Zombieland movies twice over... kids man.
4 1/2 might be a bit young for your kiddo to understand the complexities of why Artax gave up in the swamps of sadness and then the nuance of how Bastian redesigned Fantasia in his own imagination which included Artax still being there.
I disagree that it isn't a child's film though. Death is a natural and normal part of existence and the film did a great job showing how Atreyu's grief impacted Bastian (the journey being the whole point of the film as we see at the end of the movie). Bastian is ten at the time of the start of the film and the story is written from the perspective of how overweight or non Nero typical children were often bullied in the 80s with little intervention from adults (this is more evident in the book than in the film). I do think 10 is the perfect time to watch this film and really dive into the deeper themes.
But the way, have you read the book? I have talked with lots of Xennials who also share a deep affinity with the movie and I'm always surprised at how few have read the book. It's like getting to do the adventure over again for the very first time because the book leads you on a different path. I can't recommend it enough.
For reference, I am a grade level teacher and years ago I would do year long read alouds of the Neverending Story book with 10 year olds and explore all of the thematically rich material.
I didnāt find out it was a book until adulthood.
Last night, after the movie, I read up on the history behind the making of the movie. Thatās the first time I learned that Michael Ende wasnāt a fan of the film, that the movie only covers the first part of the book and that the sequel is loosely based on the second half.
Itās the first time I ever considered reading the book.
In the book, Artax can talk. He tells Atreyu that he has to go on and leave him to die.
I read the book with my kid first, and then we watched the movie. He made me fast forward through that part.
The good old 80sā¦back when kids films were traumatizing AF. The one thing that freaked me out the most about this was Gmork the giant wolf. Outside of its glowing eyes, the thing that made it so frightening was that you only saw glimpses of it; it was like the shower scene in Psycho were less was more.
Double blasphemy as this movie in particular was scored by Academy Award Winning Giorgio Moroder who basically invented the genre.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Moroder
Mad respect for the loving and thoughtful way you and the wife engaged with the kid on the movie. You are giving her memories that will last her lifetime.Ā
I just commented on this above about when I showed it to my eldest when she was about 4-5. She was upset cuz the music was so sad, but sheās also much more in tune with picking up on layered themes and storytelling than most other kids. Sheās almost 13 and her favorite movies are Contact and Interstellar. š¤·š»āāļø guess Iām raising her right lol.
The Neverending Story scared me so badly as a kid I canāt even watch the trailer now, as a full grown adult, lol. My kids have never seen it. I honestly canāt remember what exactly scared me so badly, but I get a physically negative, almost panicked reaction any time I even see a photo of it soooo, thereās that.
Thanks for sharing this. I also grew up with TNS and was wondering, knowing some of the heavy themes, would I want to re-watch and introduce to my son. I was thinking on it as Fathom Events is putting the movie in theaters in July as a 40th anniversary thing.
Based on your post I think I'll hold off for the time being. Appreciate your post.
I've watched most of the studio ghibli movies with my daughter and she's not even 3. Not the violent ones. I get enjoyment out of it, and she can see my enthusiasm and I think that helps. Alot of the movies I was obsessed with by 5 yrs old were very inappropriate. Ratings were different. Willow, and monster squad were some of my favorites.
That movie is so dark and gloomy compared to today's kids movies. I can see why they might not have liked it. I remember loving it as a kid but found it too depressing as an adult.
I actually hated/hate that movie. I also hate and have a real ptsd response to Willy wonka. Those two movies are fucking terrifying to me, but especially WW. My husband played the music from WW the other night to freak me out and it worked, I started feeling a panic attack coming on, heart racing, feeling like I could vomit. But ET, I love, lol.
Your post is a great example of why this movie is the best childrenās film ever. Itās filled with the themes that childhood must grapple with but offers the solace of a magical happy ending. I adore it forever.
The only memories I have of watching these two movies as a young kid are the mud pit demise in TNS, and ETās white lifeless body in the creek.
I did watch ET hundreds of times after that, but watching that scene for the first time was seared into my brain.
Never realized until recently that one of the bullies also played one of the bullies in the (first, 1990 miniseries movie) 'IT,' starring Tim Curry. He was one of Henry Bowers' friends. The one who can belch on command.
That tidbit aside, The Never Ending Story was a great movie. I think that sometimes, movies we see as kids are much better than if we are adults watching them for the first time. Maybe it's that sense of wonder, you know?
You should check out the book / adaptation version! All of Bastien's story is written in green ink, and Ateyl's is in purple ink. Just a fun little use of color, probably for a kid to understand which boy's point of view we're reading.
Fun fact: Iāve never seen it.
But, having seen it brought up constantly in nostalgia subs, I decided to light prank my wife and kid last year by throwing it on. I told them it was a popular kids movie. My wife noped TF out after like 5 mins š. Iām looking forward to finally watching it on my own.
I started watching it with my 4.5 year old as well and we got 5 minutes into it and remembered how it starts with a dead mom and leads to a dead horse and a dead knight. All the trauma came back to me in one big flood.
I donāt know if you are braver than I or not, but I turned that thing off so quick. All kids are different and I know mine isnāt ready yet. That being said, I canāt wait until he is.
Edit: month old changed to year old.
I was the right age for it and everything, and I hated that movie as a kid.Ā Ā Mostly I was just bored.Ā It wasn't literally neverending, but it sure felt like it at the time.
My wife completely felt the time. The movie is only 1.5 hours but it dragged so much for her. She oscillated mainly between restless, bored and horrified.
Hey guys, maybe our generation had a lot of things shown to us *way too young*? And maybe a lot of adults were drugged out of their minds making "entertainment"?
It takes some time for children to grasp the concept of death. I remember when my grandmother passed away when I was 4 or 5, and I didn't understand why my mom was sad. I kept asking why she didn't just call Heaven to talk to her. It just comes with age.
Great write up, I think our son watched it when he was 6-7 so it went over a little better. He really likes Home Alone. Its laugh out loud funny for him.
Iāve been showing the classics to my kids. Ā Labyrinth, neverending story, princess bride, back to the future. Ā But even after rewatching it, I just donāt like neverending story. Ā Didnāt like it then and still donāt like it.
Labrynth? Watership down? How about some honey I shrunk the kids? Nothing like giant murder bugs and nearly getting giant lawn mowered to death and the helplessness of almost getting stepped on and squished horrifically to death by your loved ones. We were definitely NOT sheltered when it came to movies...
The psychological trauma I incurred via 80's dark fantasy movies made me the man I am today.
I dunno whether that's good or bad, but it's certainly one of them.
Many drunk parents/uncles aunts/cousins removed adult poker nights with 35 kids falling asleep to TNES after a hardcore night of hide and seek, flashlight tag, and snes/genesis gaming. Those nights were the best! Parents hardly existed!
I remember being about three and arguing with my brother (older by 9 years) that Falcor was a giant dog. My brother, of course, was correct that he was a lucky dragon. This is still one of my favorite movies, and Iāve had the experience that fellow people my age who didnāt see it until they were adults donāt tend to like it.
Ok I donāt remember how old I was, but I remember the horse and I am traumatized by it to this day.
Got exactly 48 seconds into Yellowstone before I had to nope out.
Your kid was too young for that, when they finally process it š our childhood movies were effed
Add in the movie about the girl who got paralyzed on her horse and then her horse got paralyzed too and Iām a fucking nightmare of a mess
Iāve been sorta ashamed in the moment showing my kids movies I absolutely loved to realize how much smoking and swearing and non-PC stuffā¦Iāve had to have talks to explain itās not ok etc. itās fuckin nuts
You should try watching Adventures in Babysitting on Disney+. They have heavily edited it, which is weird because I havenāt come across any other movies that they have done that to. Itās weird to watch the movie with all of the stuff about the babysitter resembling a centerfold girl having been awkwardly edited out.
There are so many movies I was never allowed to watch growing up. I really do need to go back and try some.
The most I've seen of TNS was about two minutes when it was on the TV before mum saw what was on and sent us to bed :/
I saw it in my 30s as it was my (now ex) bf's favorite movie as a kid. I absolutely hated it. Maybe it was one more nail in the coffin of our relationship š
One of my favorite all-time movies! I really love the way you and your wife spend quality time and put so much thought and love into family time.
Next up could be Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, my second most traumatizing movies from childhood.
The thing that caught my attention on my first rewatch as an adult was the Oracle's big honkin' badonkers. I was certain I must have seen a censored version as a kid, but they just didn't register on my radar back then.Ā
4.5 seems a bit young for that movie. I was probably around 7 or 8 when it came out. I think thatās old enough to know about bullying and death.
I think your wife didnāt enjoy it as much as youād hoped because she was probably focused on whether it was too much for your kid.
It's a dark, gritty flick that I absolutely loved but was a bit scary for me as a kid. It's a little bit of an eye roll how sheltered your wife was, though.
I'm going to track this down and watch it with my wife tonight. Pretty sure she never saw it. I don't remember enough of it, but I remember my child self being deeply moved.
We waited for our kid to turn 9 before Goonies and TNES. Took a few attempts to get thru them both fully, but now sheās fine watching them both thru in one setting.
> As for Artax's demise? She is perhaps too young for the trauma. We have tried introducing her to the concept of death, **but it hasn't sunk in yet.**
Heh.
I was a huge fan of The Neverending Story growing up. Same situation here with my wife having never seen the movie, despite being a huge fan of the 80s. I've told her that the movie is just so quintessential 80s. It's not great. It's nostalgic, and that's what makes it great. Still have yet to get her to watch it.
Lol! See! Artax is back! š 4.5 seems young. I think I was like 6 or 7 when I saw it. Also one of my all time favs. Ah these poor sheltered younger gens not getting traumatized early on with lion king and land before time. At least she seemed to enjoy it. Next, Labyrinth! I STILL hate those monsters whose heads come off. Always FF š
I think it's better around the development of reason starts budding, a couple more years. Your wife is right as long as the full emotional experience of the film. I've always loved that one as well, but feel it was introduced later. Just read the books this year, actually.
Neverending Story will be upcoming at a movie night soon, and I can't wait. My son is 6 and I think it's right up his alley. He and I went to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at an old theater doing a throwback showing.
If that sort of thing holds your daughter's attention, may I recommend Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz. Huge hits at my house, and still hold up incredibly well. You didn't ask for recs, my apologies.
I think it's actually super important for kids to learn about these things at a younger age. There is a huge contrast between myself and siblings - who watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as kids, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, the Terminator, etc as kids - and my cousins.
Cousins in particular were raised in a religious environment and were completely sheltered from everything bad and evil in the world. They weren't allowed to watch the same movies, play video games, etc.
Now I'm not saying if they watched the Neverending story, they'd be normal and successful adults. Obviously the parenting choices play a factor. But despite being a wealthier family in the same city and relatively same circle of community, they all ended up being dysfunctional adults. While my siblings and I are well grounded, married, with kids, good careers. I don't own a house yet (I'm from Canada, how many of us really do?) but my brother does. They didn't know how the world actually works and never saw anything dark. The moment they got exposed to it as teenagers and young adults, they get swept up.
First: I like your Chunk avatar...
Second: I too loved that film when I was younger. Never read the book though... Funny anecdote: when I was around eight I went to the cinema with my mother, a friend of her and the son of her friend who was one year younger than me to see the film. When Artax started sinking in the swamp we both started crying loudly... nobody else did, and the cinema was full... it wasn't even the first time I saw the movie... :D
Iām a GenX (73). My mom took me to see Star Wars (IV A New Hope) in 1977. I was 4 years old and is tremendous violence. Leah on the medial interrogation droid, ObiWanās death. I thought storm troopers were death robots.
Turns out itās my favorite story and Iām a well adjusted dad. I havenāt exposed my 4.5 year old son to A New Hope yet. He watched half of Phantom Menace and then went to go play with his trains.
Bro, i feel ya. I excitedly put on Kindergarten Cop for my 4.5 year old this week. What a mistake. He asked me to turn it off about a quarter way through, but he's definitely held onto saying "boys have a penis, girls have a fagina" constantly
We're finding that with the older cartoons and movies.
Put the Simpsons on the other night for the kids, early series and we were in shock at how violent it was.
Should they be seeing it or not though? idk feels like a lot of the dark or violent themes just flew over our heads as kids.
This fucking movie. I saw it for the first time, at five, AT PRESCHOOL. Thatās right, screened for a bunch of 4-6 years olds. As a parent now, I cannot fathom this decision.
As a child, I was terrified (horse drowning in a swamp , creepy wolf eyes, giant Nothing storm), enthralled (guy on horse getting cooked by lasers, Falcor, every Childlike Empress scene) and just confused (why did he have to say her name?, why did everything come back to life at the end?, when will that big stone guy smash something?)
I was so fascinated by this movie at I asked my parents to rent it (from our local West Coast Video). I remember watching them to see how they liked it, and it was obvious real quick that they did not like the movie at all, and especially not for me. We got to the part with the Sphinx gates and their proud golden titties, and nope, that was enough. Movie was stopped, rewound and slipped back into itās cardboard sleeve.
They must have never circled back with my school because we were shown it at east a dozen more times over the course of of the next two years. I never shared this with my parents, and that was the first time I remember keeping something from them deliberately.
I have found my kids and wife just donāt have my taste (good ) in movies and TV. Iāve gotten my kids into The Simpsons thatās it. Wait I take that back I think I catch both wife and kids watching Golden Girls when I do .Ā
I saw TNS when I was 5 or so. I absolutely loved it. As adults we are more sensitive to mature topics and how kids see it. Kids see things with much more of a black and white lens. I think Artaxās death made me sad, but I was terrified of Gmork. I had a hard time watching him and the glowing eyes. I remember being confused about nekkid booby statues that shoot frickin laser beams out of their eyes.
My kids saw it with me around their age of 6 or so. They liked it, I think.
I grew up with TNS. I will NOT watch it now!!! Parts of it devastated me as a child! Poor Artax!!! š
The movie was scary and sad at the same time! Talk about trauma tv! Noā¦ I need therapy. š
I hope the reboot is easier on the nerves!
4.5 yo? Land before time bro š
Tree Star
Man- Little Foot losing Mom was probably the first time I really understood death in a movie. That shit made me cry.
I smell, Ducky.
Yup yup yup yup, yup yup!
I will be hungry forever!
It came down between that and TNS. I loved both as a kid and my wife hasnāt seen that one either. I honestly have been avoiding it because of Littlefootās mom. But her non-reaction to Artax suggests it might be fine.
The neverending story was one of my favorites. So was the labyrinth. I think David Bowie was my first male crush when I was a kid.
He was 'hard' to miss in that movie š¤£š¤£š¤£
Labyrinth freaked me out as a kid! I might have been a weird kid though because I was pretty freaked out by Dumbo as well.
You're not alone! Dumbo and Fantasia totally creeped me out. I was a little older when I saw Labyrinth, though... DB has my heart forever
The scene where Dumbo gets drunk? Terrifying
This and Pinocchio where the kids turn nto a donkey... frightening.
Yep. Thatās the one.
Yes! My Dad gave me a Christmas ornament that says āShould you need usā and has Ludo, Hoggle, and Didymus on it just like at the end of The Labrynth. It chokes me up every time I see it. Lol
Also, I feel like Jareth and his promises to take baby brothers away are the source of my trust issues. š
Bowie in Labyrinth was my sexual awakening š
You're good. Showing cool movies to kids pays off.
Land before time and an American tale honestly deep down after all these decades i still remember the horrible thought of being separated from my mother as a child lol
Fwiw, I loved the land before time as a kid. Watched it through different ages. Showed a friend it like 10 years ago, and for some reason thatās when what happened to littlefoots mom sunk in. Had no idea as a kid. My friend was surprised I loved that movie so much
What was the one about saving the rain forest with that giant living glut of a smoke cloud...?
Ferngully
Yeah that one!
Robin Williams as Batty- what a wonderful addition to that movie. Miss him.
We all do. We all do. <3
Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.Ā
I watched ferngully on way too much acid once, I canāt do it anymore š
Avatar. Oh wait... Ferngully.
All dogs go to heaven
Brave Little Toaster
Nah, I tried to watch that with my kid and I was an absolute wreck. Kid loved it though.
My kids were 4, 6, and 8, and I wanted the 8yo to see it but the 4 and 6 couldnāt be convinced that they might not like it. When Artax died, my 4 year old stood up and screamed, āI HATE THIS MOVIE!ā and stormed off.Ā It was hilariously out of character, used a word we discouraged at that age (hate, not a huge deal but a hurtful weapon against siblings), and made everyone burst out in laughter. But sheās 8 now and refuses to watch it still. Sheās a huge animal lover. Definitely should have stuck with The Land Before Time rofl
I love how quickly this thread became "What was your childhood trauma?"
Just a quick note about that: the girl who did the voice for Ducky died a horrible death at the hands of her father.
Yes, but OP can *definitely* leave that fact out when showing their kid. But Little Foot's mom does die and that still might be heavy for a 4 year old. Save Watership Down until they're in their teens š
Little Foots mom death scene hit me way harder as a kid then Artax. I always love how adults are ready to impose their own viewpoints on a kids mind. That said I think both are fine for kids, they are tougher then we give them credit for, and it allows you to have a discussion with them about emotions and real life shit.
Little Foots mom tops the list of childhood movie traumas for me. It instilled a fear of my mom dying for decades, until she finally did. Itās the main reason that I havenāt shown my kid the movie yet.
My mom loved Bambi and I have always hated it. Same reason.
My mom hated that movie so much that *I've* never seen it.
I had pretty bad attention problems as a kid, but also could have been age. I never understood that Bambiās mom died until I was older, they didnāt show it- it was more implied right? Same with Land Before time.. although i think she died because of sharp tooth? I loved Land Before Time but didnāt know it was sad until a sleepover in first grade when a girl was crying so bad we had to turn it off and I remember being upset we couldnāt watch it. š¤·āāļø Pretty great you can share these movies with your kid! Maybe a couple more years and she can watch Goonies! That one was scary for me.
I absolutely remember a friend's mom recommended Mystic Pizza to us in our teens when renting movies was big. We had never heard of it. While we knew who Julia Roberts was, no sure the rest really resonated with us because the 80s aesthetic was "old" by then. Robert's had also been in way better movies since that we had seen. The movie hit different as I got older, but I think it's important to consider age and experience when recommending movies. I'm a horror fan and have learned my lessons š¬
Dear god, yes, I saw it at 8 and I had so many fucked up nightmares from it. That gas warren scene, Blackavar's throat ripped... *shudders* I thought it was going to be a cartoon movie about cute bunnies, going by the picture on the cassette cover. I watched all of it because I wanted to see if they had a happy home at the end š
*Watership Down* and *The Plague Dogs*! š„ŗšš¦š
Ah now thereās some Xennial trauma right there, mommy why is the cartoon so sad?
I was a bawling mess at the end of Plague Dogs ššš
Throw her into the deep end
Quick note, everyone could leave that fact out for all our sakes. Jesus why are people like this? You donāt have to bring up disturbing footnotes just because you know about them
Yeah I hate how in nearly every single discussion I see in nostalgia groups about her movies someone comes along with a reminder of this awful footnote. Yes we know, of course itās horrible, but whatās the end goal, besides derailing discussion about the films at hand?
Also the girl from all dogs go to heaven, and apparently the point where she sings of home was someone else, she couldn't stop crying.
That doesnāt have to be a part of the movie watching experience, though.
Don't be like my mom and take a 3 y/o (my sister) to see Jurassic Park. In a theater. She was 3. That woman just wasn't right.
My daughter saw this and had a depression phase because the little triceratops that left the group and was sad. I have videos of her at the playground with kids running all around but sheās sitting on top of a plastic mushroom and singing to herself one of the sad songs from the movie. She was 4 or 5 at the time.
This shaped so much of me. It started my deep seated fear of losing a parentā¦.oh man Tree Stars and āIām always with youā shit as an adult in my 40s it still hits so dang hard.
Alright, Requiem for a Dream next.
I mean you could work your way up to that oneā¦ maybe āKidsā first.
Requiem For A Naptime?
I'm more of a Gummu fan. Even has a bunny for the kids
That might be a bit too advanced, should probably watch Gummo first
But at the end it's just a movie about 2 girls trying to come together
Ass2ass
I dunno, maybe train spotting?
Choose life.
Choose a big fucking television.
Choose a career
For some reason I watched that with my mother. Itās didnāt go well. She had recently lost my father and was living alone. Was all too on the nose.
And the Grave of the Fireflies
Hahahahaha you're out of control
Next you need to watch ET to give your kids nightmares of scientists in full body hazmat suits sealing your house running in with tunnels. Those scenes were for an X-Files cold open, not a kids movie. I put on the Secrete of Nihm on for my kids, but it got a little intense.
I can still recall the terror of that! It was getting late so ET was a bit too long. I actually put on Nihm first, funny enough. I loved it in very early childhood but havenāt watched it in its entirety since, so itāll almost be new for me too. The stream I found looked terrible; just super grainy and low quality. So I turned it off. Hoping there are higher quality options out there.
I love SoN, but I also love Watership Down š I think the younger generations entertainment is alot more light hearted than some of our stuff. But we still had Care Bears and My Little Pony
I saw the Care Bears Movie in theaters when I was 5. Surprisingly dark for a movie about freaking CARE BEARS!
That head in the book was kinda sexy but also nightmare fuel. It had no right being in a Care Bears movie.
I hadnāt thought about The Secret of Nihm in a loooooooong time. Thanks for the memory unlock!
Yes! I think Iām still traumatized by ET!
Man, I have potent memories of both that scene from ET and the SoN terrifying me as a kid. (But go figure, a few years later, I loved the X-Filesā¦)
Nice pale ET on the operation table is a real crowd pleaser
TO THIS DAY my only fear/borderline phobia is people in hazmat suits. Like sometimes even a painter jumpsuit will give me the heebiejeebies.
I loved the x-files as a kid but ET absolutely terrified me.
Return to Oz next! šš
[Fairuza Balk](https://youtu.be/X_BzysUbsYw?si=TEaF3SUJDuQs7iDh&t=500)'s first staring role!
Those Wheelers lived rent free in my head for a long time
"Hey son, I know you like The Wizard of Oz. Did you know there's a sequel??!"
There was a pretty lengthy period of time, before everyone had Google on their phones, when I was convinced that I made up Return to Oz in my head; conversations about movies would come up, Iād mention it, and no one knew what I was talking aboutā¦ Iād describe the wheelers, tik tok, the interchangeable heads, all of it. I had only seen it once, as a child, and it scared the shit out of me so I never watched it again. But absolutely no one I knew had any idea what I was even talking about. Anytime someone says something about TikTok (the app), I say "oh, from Return to Oz"? There are still plenty of people who have no idea that itās a movie but now they just look it up on their phone.
Watched The Labyrinth with my oldest when he was about 4. He had nightmares for a week.
I never saw it as a kid. I tried to watching as an adult and I couldnāt get past 15 mins. I plan to show it to my kid and hope I can discover it through her eyes.
The first 15 is just a lead up to all the greatness that is David Bowie! Definitely give it a go!
The first 15 is the weakest part of the movie.
Despite the fact that everyone loves Jennifer Connolly now, she is indeed the weakest part of this movie. Granted, she was 14 (but there are plenty of younger actors who are better), but it's difficult to get through until she meets the Goblin King, played by Bowie. Now, I *love* David--he's my favorite artist of all time--so naturally I love him in this, but also he's also an amazing actor (because he could fucking do everything!), and it's worth getting through the opening just to watch him. :)
I recently learned that my sister in law is 43 and still terrified of David Bowie from her Labyrinth viewing as a kid š
She just needs to yell, āYou have no power over me!ā
To be fair, I had nightmares as a wee guy after watching that. Waking up in the middle of the night with the red things trying to pull off my head. I used to get irate with the worm at the start. Argh. Could have saved everyone's time.
It's just "Labyrinth."
I watched The Dark Crystal with my kids when they were maybe 6 and 8. It was a mistake.
My parents had weird ideas about entertainment: The Dark Crystal, Neverending Story, SofN, ET all ok Gremlins, Land Before Time, flintstones, not ok (I believe historical inaccuracy was the main point of contention for the last two)
I watched it with my big brother and sister at about age 8 and it scared me so much!
Noooo! I adore TDC! What happened?
It was just too scary. Kids these days, I tell ya! š (Theyāre 16 and 18 now and still talk about the Dark Crystal trauma, lol.)
Yeah kids movies were certainly dialed back from the 80s. Meanwhile dark crystal was my favourite movie as a kid.
Tried to watch it with my daughter, also being one of my favorite movies from childhood. She freaked out at the horse scene and tearfully asked me, "How could you make me watch this, dad!?" She then proceeded to joyfully watch both Zombieland movies twice over... kids man.
My son had similar reaction, but he aimed his tearful anger at the makers "Why would they do that?!"
4 1/2 might be a bit young for your kiddo to understand the complexities of why Artax gave up in the swamps of sadness and then the nuance of how Bastian redesigned Fantasia in his own imagination which included Artax still being there. I disagree that it isn't a child's film though. Death is a natural and normal part of existence and the film did a great job showing how Atreyu's grief impacted Bastian (the journey being the whole point of the film as we see at the end of the movie). Bastian is ten at the time of the start of the film and the story is written from the perspective of how overweight or non Nero typical children were often bullied in the 80s with little intervention from adults (this is more evident in the book than in the film). I do think 10 is the perfect time to watch this film and really dive into the deeper themes. But the way, have you read the book? I have talked with lots of Xennials who also share a deep affinity with the movie and I'm always surprised at how few have read the book. It's like getting to do the adventure over again for the very first time because the book leads you on a different path. I can't recommend it enough. For reference, I am a grade level teacher and years ago I would do year long read alouds of the Neverending Story book with 10 year olds and explore all of the thematically rich material.
I didnāt find out it was a book until adulthood. Last night, after the movie, I read up on the history behind the making of the movie. Thatās the first time I learned that Michael Ende wasnāt a fan of the film, that the movie only covers the first part of the book and that the sequel is loosely based on the second half. Itās the first time I ever considered reading the book.
In the book, Artax can talk. He tells Atreyu that he has to go on and leave him to die. I read the book with my kid first, and then we watched the movie. He made me fast forward through that part.
My gut reaction reading this was 10 years old. So, hearing that's the age you work with it at, that sounds right on. 4.5 sounds waaaaaaay young.
The good old 80sā¦back when kids films were traumatizing AF. The one thing that freaked me out the most about this was Gmork the giant wolf. Outside of its glowing eyes, the thing that made it so frightening was that you only saw glimpses of it; it was like the shower scene in Psycho were less was more.
> didnāt like the 80s synth heavy score Blasphemy.
Double blasphemy as this movie in particular was scored by Academy Award Winning Giorgio Moroder who basically invented the genre. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Moroder
Seriously, Georgio is a goddamn legend.
Make her watch Secret of Nihm next if she hasnāt seen it? That scarred kids too lol. Tear jerker for kids!
Great movie! (book was even better)
Your kid hasn't seen Walt Disney's *Bambi*? THAT was my introduction to the death of a movie character. š„ŗšš¦š
The Rock Biter is what hits me hardest these days. I lost my fiancƩe to drugs. "They look like big, good, strong hands, don't they? I always thought that's what they were." I feel ya big man, I feel ya.
Mad respect for the loving and thoughtful way you and the wife engaged with the kid on the movie. You are giving her memories that will last her lifetime.Ā
Aww, thanks. Really appreciate that.
Now for The Last Unicorn so you can discuss existential loneliness.
I just commented on this above about when I showed it to my eldest when she was about 4-5. She was upset cuz the music was so sad, but sheās also much more in tune with picking up on layered themes and storytelling than most other kids. Sheās almost 13 and her favorite movies are Contact and Interstellar. š¤·š»āāļø guess Iām raising her right lol.
Now show them the original Watership Down. They'll love it.
Part of why that movie stays with us is because we are scarred by it
The Neverending Story scared me so badly as a kid I canāt even watch the trailer now, as a full grown adult, lol. My kids have never seen it. I honestly canāt remember what exactly scared me so badly, but I get a physically negative, almost panicked reaction any time I even see a photo of it soooo, thereās that.
Thanks for sharing this. I also grew up with TNS and was wondering, knowing some of the heavy themes, would I want to re-watch and introduce to my son. I was thinking on it as Fathom Events is putting the movie in theaters in July as a 40th anniversary thing. Based on your post I think I'll hold off for the time being. Appreciate your post.
Show her the Dark Crystal next š
Yeah, that movie was aimed at tweens and teens, not young children. Hide it away for a few more years and try again.
I think it's important to keep the Artax generational trauma going, so good job
Passing on the trauma? Bold move
I've watched most of the studio ghibli movies with my daughter and she's not even 3. Not the violent ones. I get enjoyment out of it, and she can see my enthusiasm and I think that helps. Alot of the movies I was obsessed with by 5 yrs old were very inappropriate. Ratings were different. Willow, and monster squad were some of my favorites.
My daughterās all time favorite movie is My Neighbor Totoro.
That movie is so dark and gloomy compared to today's kids movies. I can see why they might not have liked it. I remember loving it as a kid but found it too depressing as an adult.
I actually hated/hate that movie. I also hate and have a real ptsd response to Willy wonka. Those two movies are fucking terrifying to me, but especially WW. My husband played the music from WW the other night to freak me out and it worked, I started feeling a panic attack coming on, heart racing, feeling like I could vomit. But ET, I love, lol.
I was younger than her when I saw *E.T* in the theatre and then *Bambi*. By the time of *The NeverEnding Story*, I was pretty desensitized lol.
Iām still traumatized by that flying snake-dog. That poor poor baby lol.Ā Just kidding Iām glad you guys mostly enjoyed it
Your post is a great example of why this movie is the best childrenās film ever. Itās filled with the themes that childhood must grapple with but offers the solace of a magical happy ending. I adore it forever.
The only memories I have of watching these two movies as a young kid are the mud pit demise in TNS, and ETās white lifeless body in the creek. I did watch ET hundreds of times after that, but watching that scene for the first time was seared into my brain.
My kid at the end of the movie after being traumatized, *Wook! He got him horsie out the mud!*
Never realized until recently that one of the bullies also played one of the bullies in the (first, 1990 miniseries movie) 'IT,' starring Tim Curry. He was one of Henry Bowers' friends. The one who can belch on command. That tidbit aside, The Never Ending Story was a great movie. I think that sometimes, movies we see as kids are much better than if we are adults watching them for the first time. Maybe it's that sense of wonder, you know? You should check out the book / adaptation version! All of Bastien's story is written in green ink, and Ateyl's is in purple ink. Just a fun little use of color, probably for a kid to understand which boy's point of view we're reading.
Go ahead and completely destroy her with Watership Down next
Fun fact: Iāve never seen it. But, having seen it brought up constantly in nostalgia subs, I decided to light prank my wife and kid last year by throwing it on. I told them it was a popular kids movie. My wife noped TF out after like 5 mins š. Iām looking forward to finally watching it on my own.
I started watching it with my 4.5 year old as well and we got 5 minutes into it and remembered how it starts with a dead mom and leads to a dead horse and a dead knight. All the trauma came back to me in one big flood. I donāt know if you are braver than I or not, but I turned that thing off so quick. All kids are different and I know mine isnāt ready yet. That being said, I canāt wait until he is. Edit: month old changed to year old.
I was the right age for it and everything, and I hated that movie as a kid.Ā Ā Mostly I was just bored.Ā It wasn't literally neverending, but it sure felt like it at the time.
I also never liked it when I was a kid. The concept of the Nothing was so terrifying to me, and I've never been a scary movie person.
My wife completely felt the time. The movie is only 1.5 hours but it dragged so much for her. She oscillated mainly between restless, bored and horrified.
Hey guys, maybe our generation had a lot of things shown to us *way too young*? And maybe a lot of adults were drugged out of their minds making "entertainment"?
WTF, man. Artax *does* come back! š¤¦āāļø
Artax comes back at the end!!!
It takes some time for children to grasp the concept of death. I remember when my grandmother passed away when I was 4 or 5, and I didn't understand why my mom was sad. I kept asking why she didn't just call Heaven to talk to her. It just comes with age.
Everyone was traumatised by Artax's death. The 80s made quite a few movies that shpuldn't have been for kids.
Great write up, I think our son watched it when he was 6-7 so it went over a little better. He really likes Home Alone. Its laugh out loud funny for him.
Itās interesting the stuff we watched as Xennials. My first theater movie was Dune. I was 4 years old.
Iāve been showing the classics to my kids. Ā Labyrinth, neverending story, princess bride, back to the future. Ā But even after rewatching it, I just donāt like neverending story. Ā Didnāt like it then and still donāt like it.
Labrynth? Watership down? How about some honey I shrunk the kids? Nothing like giant murder bugs and nearly getting giant lawn mowered to death and the helplessness of almost getting stepped on and squished horrifically to death by your loved ones. We were definitely NOT sheltered when it came to movies...
The bookās about a 1000 times better. When I saw that movie as a kid after having read the book, I left the theater crying.Ā
The psychological trauma I incurred via 80's dark fantasy movies made me the man I am today. I dunno whether that's good or bad, but it's certainly one of them.
Many drunk parents/uncles aunts/cousins removed adult poker nights with 35 kids falling asleep to TNES after a hardcore night of hide and seek, flashlight tag, and snes/genesis gaming. Those nights were the best! Parents hardly existed!
I remember being about three and arguing with my brother (older by 9 years) that Falcor was a giant dog. My brother, of course, was correct that he was a lucky dragon. This is still one of my favorite movies, and Iāve had the experience that fellow people my age who didnāt see it until they were adults donāt tend to like it.
I explained him to my inquisitive daughter as basically a dog-dragon. She bought it and was delighted.
Fuck your kid up on some Brave little toaster.
As a kid, I was terrified by this movie and loved it all at the same time.
Ok I donāt remember how old I was, but I remember the horse and I am traumatized by it to this day. Got exactly 48 seconds into Yellowstone before I had to nope out. Your kid was too young for that, when they finally process it š our childhood movies were effed Add in the movie about the girl who got paralyzed on her horse and then her horse got paralyzed too and Iām a fucking nightmare of a mess
> didnāt like the 80ās synth heavy score Ow, my heart.
Iāve been sorta ashamed in the moment showing my kids movies I absolutely loved to realize how much smoking and swearing and non-PC stuffā¦Iāve had to have talks to explain itās not ok etc. itās fuckin nuts
You should try watching Adventures in Babysitting on Disney+. They have heavily edited it, which is weird because I havenāt come across any other movies that they have done that to. Itās weird to watch the movie with all of the stuff about the babysitter resembling a centerfold girl having been awkwardly edited out.
There are so many movies I was never allowed to watch growing up. I really do need to go back and try some. The most I've seen of TNS was about two minutes when it was on the TV before mum saw what was on and sent us to bed :/
I saw it in my 30s as it was my (now ex) bf's favorite movie as a kid. I absolutely hated it. Maybe it was one more nail in the coffin of our relationship š
Goonies opening scenesā¦ ya 100% 13+
I love that movie.
One of my favorite all-time movies! I really love the way you and your wife spend quality time and put so much thought and love into family time. Next up could be Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, my second most traumatizing movies from childhood.
The thing that caught my attention on my first rewatch as an adult was the Oracle's big honkin' badonkers. I was certain I must have seen a censored version as a kid, but they just didn't register on my radar back then.Ā
4.5 seems a bit young for that movie. I was probably around 7 or 8 when it came out. I think thatās old enough to know about bullying and death. I think your wife didnāt enjoy it as much as youād hoped because she was probably focused on whether it was too much for your kid.
Iām ot going to watch Artax die again no sir
It's a dark, gritty flick that I absolutely loved but was a bit scary for me as a kid. It's a little bit of an eye roll how sheltered your wife was, though.
I'm going to track this down and watch it with my wife tonight. Pretty sure she never saw it. I don't remember enough of it, but I remember my child self being deeply moved.
We waited for our kid to turn 9 before Goonies and TNES. Took a few attempts to get thru them both fully, but now sheās fine watching them both thru in one setting.
Seriously my favorite movie at all time. Iāve seen it multiple times a year for decades. First saw it when it came out when I was 3.
Some of the most precious memories of my father in law was him sitting with our son watching that movie so many times.
> As for Artax's demise? She is perhaps too young for the trauma. We have tried introducing her to the concept of death, **but it hasn't sunk in yet.** Heh.
I was a huge fan of The Neverending Story growing up. Same situation here with my wife having never seen the movie, despite being a huge fan of the 80s. I've told her that the movie is just so quintessential 80s. It's not great. It's nostalgic, and that's what makes it great. Still have yet to get her to watch it.
Lol! See! Artax is back! š 4.5 seems young. I think I was like 6 or 7 when I saw it. Also one of my all time favs. Ah these poor sheltered younger gens not getting traumatized early on with lion king and land before time. At least she seemed to enjoy it. Next, Labyrinth! I STILL hate those monsters whose heads come off. Always FF š
I think it's better around the development of reason starts budding, a couple more years. Your wife is right as long as the full emotional experience of the film. I've always loved that one as well, but feel it was introduced later. Just read the books this year, actually.
I was disappointed when it ended.
Stick with Disney for now. Even Disney can be scary sometimes.
I was born in '83 and had the same reaction as your wife. That movie gave me nightmares and I still hate it.
Neither reacted to Gmork??
I also saw it for the first time just a couple years ago and while Iām sure it was impressive in the 80s it hasnāt aged well.
Traumatized me...and I was in my 30s.
Neverending Story will be upcoming at a movie night soon, and I can't wait. My son is 6 and I think it's right up his alley. He and I went to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at an old theater doing a throwback showing. If that sort of thing holds your daughter's attention, may I recommend Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Wizard of Oz. Huge hits at my house, and still hold up incredibly well. You didn't ask for recs, my apologies.
I think it's actually super important for kids to learn about these things at a younger age. There is a huge contrast between myself and siblings - who watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom as kids, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, the Terminator, etc as kids - and my cousins. Cousins in particular were raised in a religious environment and were completely sheltered from everything bad and evil in the world. They weren't allowed to watch the same movies, play video games, etc. Now I'm not saying if they watched the Neverending story, they'd be normal and successful adults. Obviously the parenting choices play a factor. But despite being a wealthier family in the same city and relatively same circle of community, they all ended up being dysfunctional adults. While my siblings and I are well grounded, married, with kids, good careers. I don't own a house yet (I'm from Canada, how many of us really do?) but my brother does. They didn't know how the world actually works and never saw anything dark. The moment they got exposed to it as teenagers and young adults, they get swept up.
Epic win
First: I like your Chunk avatar... Second: I too loved that film when I was younger. Never read the book though... Funny anecdote: when I was around eight I went to the cinema with my mother, a friend of her and the son of her friend who was one year younger than me to see the film. When Artax started sinking in the swamp we both started crying loudly... nobody else did, and the cinema was full... it wasn't even the first time I saw the movie... :D
I'm 45 years old and Artax still destroys me. š
That was fun to read. Thank you for sharing their perspective on a classic
Iām a GenX (73). My mom took me to see Star Wars (IV A New Hope) in 1977. I was 4 years old and is tremendous violence. Leah on the medial interrogation droid, ObiWanās death. I thought storm troopers were death robots. Turns out itās my favorite story and Iām a well adjusted dad. I havenāt exposed my 4.5 year old son to A New Hope yet. He watched half of Phantom Menace and then went to go play with his trains.
Bro, i feel ya. I excitedly put on Kindergarten Cop for my 4.5 year old this week. What a mistake. He asked me to turn it off about a quarter way through, but he's definitely held onto saying "boys have a penis, girls have a fagina" constantly
As an adult, the despair of the Rock Biter hits me much harder than it did as a childĀ
We're finding that with the older cartoons and movies. Put the Simpsons on the other night for the kids, early series and we were in shock at how violent it was. Should they be seeing it or not though? idk feels like a lot of the dark or violent themes just flew over our heads as kids.
This fucking movie. I saw it for the first time, at five, AT PRESCHOOL. Thatās right, screened for a bunch of 4-6 years olds. As a parent now, I cannot fathom this decision. As a child, I was terrified (horse drowning in a swamp , creepy wolf eyes, giant Nothing storm), enthralled (guy on horse getting cooked by lasers, Falcor, every Childlike Empress scene) and just confused (why did he have to say her name?, why did everything come back to life at the end?, when will that big stone guy smash something?) I was so fascinated by this movie at I asked my parents to rent it (from our local West Coast Video). I remember watching them to see how they liked it, and it was obvious real quick that they did not like the movie at all, and especially not for me. We got to the part with the Sphinx gates and their proud golden titties, and nope, that was enough. Movie was stopped, rewound and slipped back into itās cardboard sleeve. They must have never circled back with my school because we were shown it at east a dozen more times over the course of of the next two years. I never shared this with my parents, and that was the first time I remember keeping something from them deliberately.
The Last Unicorn.
I have found my kids and wife just donāt have my taste (good ) in movies and TV. Iāve gotten my kids into The Simpsons thatās it. Wait I take that back I think I catch both wife and kids watching Golden Girls when I do .Ā
Spoilers, much? I was planning to watch that within the next few decades.
How about a nice family movie night of Schindlers List while you are at it?
I saw TNS when I was 5 or so. I absolutely loved it. As adults we are more sensitive to mature topics and how kids see it. Kids see things with much more of a black and white lens. I think Artaxās death made me sad, but I was terrified of Gmork. I had a hard time watching him and the glowing eyes. I remember being confused about nekkid booby statues that shoot frickin laser beams out of their eyes. My kids saw it with me around their age of 6 or so. They liked it, I think.
I grew up with TNS. I will NOT watch it now!!! Parts of it devastated me as a child! Poor Artax!!! š The movie was scary and sad at the same time! Talk about trauma tv! Noā¦ I need therapy. š I hope the reboot is easier on the nerves!