your thoughts... innappropriate songs in kids movies

[ctrbabe1]

I'm slightly peeved about this right now, but I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it besides just throwing the movies out...

Recently I've noticed that there are some pretty innappropriate songs in some kids movies that Maya watches. (She will be 4 next month.) The two that stand out to me are in Chicken Little and Shrek 2.

(I don't want this to turn into a debate about the movies themselves, I just want to mention the songs...)

First of all, in Chicken Little there is a scene where Abby and Runt are doing karaoke to "If you wanna be my lover" by the Spice girls. Ok, sure it's funny in the movie, sort of, but it's not funny when your 3 year old goes around the house singing, 'If you wanna be my lover..."

Second, at the end of shrek 2, Donkey and Puss in Boots are singing "Living la vida loca". The whole song is really innappropriate, but the line that really stands out to me is "it will take away your pain, like a bullet to the brain". Ok, sure, a 3 year old doesn't understand what that means, but it's still not appropriate for them to hear, right?

So I guess I am asking if this sort of thing bothers anyone else? Should I just throw out the movies? I know Maya would miss them if I did, but the thought of these song lyrics getting stuck in her head and her singing them over and over is really bothering me. She hasn't really caught on to the Shrek one, but she's always singing the one from chicken little....

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[carang]

really, it seems to me that a lot of the cartoon movies that are coming out are actually geared towards the parents, rather than the child...

i was just watching a segment on jay leno about violence on tv and how there is a call to reduce the amount shown in prime time...his point is that there is WAYYYYYY more violence on the bugs bunny road runner show than there is in prime time...

as for the songs...not much you can do about them...you need to decide if it is something she will catch onto when she goes to school anyway or if it is really important to you that she not be exposed to that kind of thing so young.

good luck with your decision!

 

[miaka]

i think if parents make a big deal out of it, then the kids will too. the songs in movies tend to be what's 'hot' at that time, which also translates to short lived. and even you yourself mentioned that when they're so young, they don't understand. if they ask, it's your choice if you want to explain or 'wait til their older'.

my cousins watched anything w/ their parents while growing up (if it was too scary they jsut didn't watch) and they're both (now 19 and 16) very good teenagers. i think you as a parent would have a greater influence on your child than any movie.

another way of looking at it, if you didn't let your child to see these types of movies in the future, would they feel left out cuz their friends saw it but they didn't? what IS an appropriate age to watch shrek 2? i had a friend in h.s. whose parents didn't allow tv during the week. very intelligent woman, got into a great college, all around nice, but while everyone was discussing that episode of friends last night, she didn't have much to say.

just thoughts i could think of off the top of my head. a very difficult decision. best of luck to you.

 

[capital]

I understand what you are saying. I would tend to pull the movie, maybe get a new one geared towards toddlers and she will forget about the other one? I agree she won;e know what the song means, but I would be so embarrased if at the grocery store my 3 year old suddenly started singing if you wanna be my lover! Kids sing so loud and sing the line over and over and over! At least my son does.

I don't think it is much different than swearing, sure he won't know the meaning, but just repeating it I think, reflects badly on me as the parent. I would be really embarrased!

 

[loupou]

I would suggest putting away the movies for a while & have her watch ones that you feel more comfortable with. A lot of older videos might be better for her. Also 3 year-olds can still enjoy things like Teletubbies.

There's a website that used to have free reviews of movies from a parents point of view to help you assess approriateness, it's called "Screenit.com" http://www.screenit.com/ - but now they want you to
pay US$ 7 per year, so I haven't visited it for a while.

There are some kids TV series that I would really recommend that my kids liked when they were 3-6 years old.

1) Rosie & Jim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_and_Jim
http://www.ragdoll.co.uk/mailorder/...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

2) Bannanas in Pajamas
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n:169919&page=1

3) Dragon Tales
http://www.shopinhk.com/home.php?cat=14880

and many different things from PBS Kids
http://www.shoppbs.org/category/index.jsp?categoryId=1429976&clickid=mainnav_kids_img

4) Veggie Tales - most of them very funny - has a Christian perspective, so if that bothers you, then many of the videos would not suit. but the "Silly Song Countdown" is very silly and funny and great for kids of all beliefs (or none)
http://www.bigidea.com/videos/veggietales/vt016/default.htm

More VeggieTales
http://www.shopinhk.com/home.php?cat=14932

For me, I also try not to get into the "kids movie= latest cartoon" trap. Many films from the 1930s-1960s can be OK for kids. For example, my kids enjoyed the silliness of Charlie Chaplin, "screw ball comedies" like "Bringing up Baby". When they were a bit older (over 6 years old) we watched things like Captain's Courageous, and The African Queen.
and so forth.

I also have problems/difficulties w/ some of the older movies and cartoons because of racism and sexism - but I try to explain about it (e.g. that real Native Americans are offended by the depiction of the
"Indians" in Peter Pan).

Documentaries about animals can also be fun for kids - just look out for violence and gore.

I don't worry about whether my kids feel left out because they haven't seen a movie. For example, I didn't take my kids to see "Night in the Museum" because I read that it was mediocre, same thing w/ "Cars" that came out a while ago. I also have to admit that I've never watched a whole episode of "Friends" or many other TV shows and still managed to find friends.

What age would be appropriate for something like Shrek 2? YMMV. I think my kids saw Shrek 1 when they were 7 and 5 in a movie theater. I think they saw Shrek 2 on an airplane a few years later.

 

[Sleuth]

really, it seems to me that a lot of the cartoon movies that are coming out are actually geared towards the parents, rather than the child...

The animation and general story line is for the kids, then they throw in a bunch of adult gags and lines. That way they can market to people who don't have kids.

Stick to the old Disney movies. Or old movies in general. Seems that Hollywood pushes the sex/language/violence envelope a little further every year. That way this year's push seems like nothing compared to last year but is major compared to a decade ago.
There is this thing called "imagination" all kids have it and it is the reason books are better than movies. Hollywood would like to get rid of it by making sure you never have to use it.

Also not a big TV watcher. No Friends, Survivor, Idol, etc.... But we weren't banned from TV as children. Just grew out of it.