Zathura

[Beth1231]

For a fun date, hubby and I went to go see the movie last night. Rated PG, fun adventure sort of movie. Anyway....two little boys star in it (ages 6 and 10). To my total shock, the six year old called his older brother a d*** and his older brother referred to a robot as a b**ch. And after the shock of surprise rippled through the audience, some of the parents started laughing! And what's worse, some of the kids immediately gleefully repeated the new words. Yikes. Is this really necessary in a kid's film? Have any of you parents ever threatened to wash your child's mouth out with soap? I was threatened but I also shaped up so it never happened. By the way, the dad did mildy reprimand his six year old for his choice of words. Thoughts?

 

[andiesmama]

That shocks & saddens me....

I had my mouth washed out with soap one time & the occasion never happened again, let me tell you! I won't hesitate to use that practice with Andie if it comes down to it, either....

 

[snarfywarning]

I would be so embarressed for my kid to walk out of that movie saying the b word!

I heard that movie is just a Jumanji rip-off anyways?

 

[Beth1231]

What bothered me the most was the sound of the parents laughter instead of stunned silence and whispered demands to their children to never repeat the crude words. I was so infuriated by this, that I nearly turned around and yelled at the mother behind me with three school-age boys. That wouldn't have helped anything, of course.
My husband had his mouth washed out with soap once. He said it's bordering on "cruel and unusual" because he remembers feeling quite nauseous. I would resort to this if my child was deliberately using bad language against our wishes to do otherwise. Sigh. I think that lady probabaly would have decked me or thrown her popcorn at me or something if I had questioned her example as a mother last night

 

[Leanna]

Wow that shocks me for a rated PG movie, thanks for sharing. My husband and I watched a Disney movie once that was crude and had a lot of the characters having sex and sexual references.... what was it... like Eldorado, I think. It was terrible. But we like "The Emperor's New Groove"

 

[New Creation]

What bothered me the most was the sound of the parents laughter instead of stunned silence and whispered demands to their children to never repeat the crude words. I was so infuriated by this, that I nearly turned around and yelled at the mother behind me with three school-age boys. That wouldn't have helped anything, of course.
My husband had his mouth washed out with soap once. He said it's bordering on "cruel and unusual" because he remembers feeling quite nauseous. I would resort to this if my child was deliberately using bad language against our wishes to do otherwise. Sigh. I think that lady probabaly would have decked me or thrown her popcorn at me or something if I had questioned her example as a mother last night

Thanks for letting us know about this- I was planning on taking my nephew!

My mom put hot mustard on my tongue when I was 7 or 8. Never forgot it! I ended up with a potty mouth anyway. At least until Jesus got a hold of me.

 

[HeatherJay]

Not condoning it or anything, but it IS rated PG, not G. PG usually indicates some bad language. Yes, it's shocking, but that's what the ratings are there for.

We'll probably see the movie when it comes out on video...maybe...my girls said, "Mom, that's a boy movie."

 

[HeatherJay]

Wow that shocks me for a rated PG movie, thanks for sharing. My husband and I watched a Disney movie once that was crude and had a lot of the characters having sex and sexual references.... what was it... like Eldorado, I think. It was terrible. But we like "The Emperor's New Groove"

El Dorado isn't Disney...it's Dreamworks (the same as Shrek). We have El Dorado and I think it's a pretty funny movie...but my hubby and I are more entertained by it than the girls are...there's too much of the story that they just don't get, I think.

 

[HeyHomie]

Is this really necessary in a kid's film?

Who said it was a kids' film?

 

[shainamsu]

i think regardless of whether a movie is disney, directed towards children or no, or even ratings, if it's a movie that my children want to see, i don't plan on letting them see it before my husband or i see it first. that way, you avoid the situation in the theatre like the OP, being surprised by language that they might hear or questionable situations in which the main characters find themselves.

and, actually, growing up, i never cussed or swore. my parents did, but oddly enough, i was always embarrassed by it, and vowed that i never would. not to say that as i've gotten older, that i haven't cussed or sworn, b/c i have, but it was never an issue for me growing up. *here's hoping that my daughter is the same way.*

 

[Leanna]

El Dorado isn't Disney...it's Dreamworks (the same as Shrek). We have El Dorado and I think it's a pretty funny movie...but my hubby and I are more entertained by it than the girls are...there's too much of the story that they just don't get, I think.

What really bothered us about it was that it was animated and the advertisements were AIMED for a child audience. If its going to be an adult movie, it should not look like and act like its going to be a child's movie and then have a lot of sexual humor.

 

[HeatherJay]

What really bothered us about it was that it was animated and the advertisements were AIMED for a child audience. If its going to be an adult movie, it should not look like and act like its going to be a child's movie and then have a lot of sexual humor.

I wouldn't call it an "adult" movie...I mean, El Dorado, like Zathura, is also rated PG. It's not like they're marketing adult themes/language in a G rated movie. And there's certainly nothing sexually explicit in the movie. Inuendos, yes, kissy stuff, yes, but nothing that I would call raunchy.

There are enough vulgar cartoons on network television alone (Family Guy, American Dad) to prove that animation does not necessarily equal kid friendly anymore. So, I think El Dorado is what it is...a kid's movie in which parental guidance is suggested which just happens to use animation as its' medium.

PG should indicate that there's something in the movie that might not be appropriate for all audiences. Parents should let their children view PG programs at their descretion. That's what the ratings are there for...to help parents make an informed decision about what is or is not appropriate for their children. My opinion only, lol...nothing more.

 

[Leanna]

I haven't seen the movie in years, and when I saw it, we were in the middle of ministry-training.... which made us extra sensitive because of the standards we were under.... so it may not be as bad as I remember. I hope that makes sense. I don't really know.

 

[HeatherJay]

I haven't seen the movie in years, and when I saw it, we were in the middle of ministry-training.... which made us extra sensitive because of the standards we were under.... so it may not be as bad as I remember. I hope that makes sense. I don't really know.

Yeah, I gotcha...don't worry, you make perfect sense.

LOL, and you not the first parent I've heard that wasn't impressed with it. When I was buying the movie in Target just after it came out on video, a random lady at the movie rack tried to talk me out of buying it...she said I should get The King and I cartoon instead because she didn't approve of some of the content in El Dorado. Not laughing at her or her opinion...it was just a little shocking and unexpected that she had such a strong reaction against the movie that she stood around trying to talk random strangers out of buying it. But, God bless her...and more power to her.

 

[Leanna]

You should try watching The Emperor's New Groove... it has some jokes that kids wouldn't get, only adults, but it also is appropriate for children. Its really funny to my husband and I anyway

 

[HeatherJay]

You should try watching The Emperor's New Groove... it has some jokes that kids wouldn't get, only adults, but it also is appropriate for children. Its really funny to my husband and I anyway

LOL, we have that movie, too. My hubby has called me a "llama face" more times than I can count...of course he means it in the most affectionate way possible. Plus, he LOVES David Spade anyway, so we got that one the first day it was out. Are we movie-holics? Possibly, lol.