Innuendo in kids movies

[TuneMyHeart]

does sexual innuendo stop you from letting your kids see a movie? I was talking to a friend about Cars. I know there's some innuendo in that movie, and that annoys me, but it doesn't stop me from letting the kids watch it. It's actually one of E's favorites. So how do you decide what to let them watch, and what not to?

[Starfox]

It bothers me a bit, but with Cars I think it's waaaay less bad than any of the Dreamworks movies. We let DS watch Madigascar, but that's it as far as Dreamworks goes. The rest are just too much.

I don't get why they have to put that stuff in anyway. It's a KIDS movie! I think it's a little sick.

[MamaPepper]

It wouldn't stop me. At this point my child does not understand them and things like that in children's movies are what actually makes them tolerable for me to watch along with them :shifty

[chasingbutterflies]

It wouldn't stop me. At this point my child does not understand them and things like that in children's movies are what actually makes them tolerable for me to watch along with them :shifty

same :lol at least with Cars.

[saturnfire16]

I let her watch them. It goes right over her head and I figure by the time she catches on, she'll be old enough that we can discuss what's appropriate and what's not.

[ShiriChayim]

At this point I let my kids watch them because like others have said, it's not anything that the kids would catch onto (actually dh had to point some of them out to me...went straight over my head too). However, the fact that they are in there is bothering enough to me that I might end up not buying them anymore because I wouldn't want to put my money towards and thus encourage that kind of thing. There's a moment in Happy Feet that just absolutely disgusts me that they put it in there, and I have to wonder about the adults making these children's movies thinking, "Hey you know what we could do here? Let's have the penguins (blah blah blah)" and then someone ELSE says, "Hey yeah!" and then they DO it! :doh :no2

[BHope]

I judge it on a case by case basis. Cars, I'm okay with. Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs. :no

[3PeasInAPod]

I don't like Madagascar b/c of the hippo scene "I like em big" thing. Ds has watched that with his cousins & I haven't let him see it again, nor will I buy any..
But I do let him watch Cars & the first 2 Ice Ages.. IDK some are worse than others...there are some that will go right over their heads & some that I think will not.

[MaybeGracie]

It wouldn't stop me. At this point my child does not understand them and things like that in children's movies are what actually makes them tolerable for me to watch along with them :shifty

Heh heh, yep. None of it is anything he would notice (most of it I don't even notice until the 3rd or 4th round of watching it). But it is something I determine on a movie-by-movie basis.

[Charlie U]

It depends. I don't screen movies often, but we always watch a new movie together.

[missythemom]

My dh gets frustrated with me because he thinks I sometimes go overboard screening things,but yes I do get a little weirded out by some of the inuendo on some movies but like has been said it is a case by case basis.if it is something they wont "get" then I don't worry about it too much.

[Little Forest]

I hate the innuendo in modern "children's" movies and I won't have it. I believe in protecting my children innocence. Of course this is completely contrary to our modern society's way of life but I choose to opt out.

When they are older teenagers (I am thinking 15 or 16+), I feel that we can start critically evaluation content together, but this goes way beyond the sophistication of younger children.

My MIL had sent us Happy Feet a year or two ago and I started watching it with them. I did not get too far into it before I realized that this was just not something they should be watching. In fact, the thought running through my head was that if you wanted to end up with a pregnant teenager, this would be a good way to get them started as a 3 year old. My spirit felt quite pricked, I guess you could say.

I wish I had done more reading before we started with tv for the children because I would have never started it. There are plenty of reasons why tv itself is not beneficial to children regardless of content. But, we have opened that Pandora's box. We now use it on a very limited basis and only use from a selection of videos we have.

Just my 2 cents!

[Dana Joy]

It wouldn't stop me. At this point my child does not understand them and things like that in children's movies are what actually makes them tolerable for me to watch along with them :shifty
Exactly! Why do they do it? Because it sells. (To me at least)

[purplerose]

What innuendo in Cars? I just remember Lightning making a comment about her "pinstripped tatto" but that's all Iremember? I too think the DreamWorks movies are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse! :(

[HEmomma]

The only thing I remember is the pinstripe tatoo.. :shrug3

I was a little :jawdrop at Happy Feet with their version of "Let's talk about s_x" song at the beginning of the movie. The rest was alright imo, so we just start the movie at the next scene. :shifty

[Dana Joy]

from plugged in

But alert adults will notice some double entendres and suggestive allusions. Mater says jokingly of Sally, "She just likes me for my body." Sally offers Lightning one of her rooms at the Cozy Cone, but makes it clear she's not inviting him to spend the night with her. Finally, when Lightning's romance with Sally warms up, Mater sings (twice), "McQueen and Sally parking next to a tree, K-I-S-S-" and then forgets the rest of the song. A bumper sticker on one of the cars reads, "Nice Butte."

[Firebird Rising]

I remember one of the first times I saw a "cartoon" movie with innuendo. It was Shrek and while it was hilarious, I couldn't believe some of the sexual overtones. It honestly takes a lot for me to sit and watch a movie. I hate watching them. But even before kids, it bothered me to see that stuff in an animated "for kids" movie. So we finally let Cameron watch Cars two weeks ago. He liked it, but wasn't THAT into it. I really was actually kind of relieved. He much prefers Dirty Jobs and... :think SNAP! What's the Discovery show where they're always doing experiments, based out of San Francisco area with the two guys that used to do stunts?

Anyway, Cameron, until recently, spent most of his evenings with DH watching Discovery. I'm not a fan of the frequent use of the word, "Crap" on Dirty Jobs but otherwise, it's not a bad show and I'd prefer non-animated things so I've not made a fuss about it.

But the TV is not getting turned on while C is awake as long as I'm home. And once a week, we can watch a movie, usually an older non-freaky Disney one, on Saturday night.

Jen D.

[saturnfire16]

I remember one of the first times I saw a "cartoon" movie with innuendo. It was Shrek and while it was hilarious, I couldn't believe some of the sexual overtones. It honestly takes a lot for me to sit and watch a movie. I hate watching them. But even before kids, it bothered me to see that stuff in an animated "for kids" movie. So we finally let Cameron watch Cars two weeks ago. He liked it, but wasn't THAT into it. I really was actually kind of relieved. He much prefers Dirty Jobs and... :think SNAP! What's the Discovery show where they're always doing experiments, based out of San Francisco area with the two guys that used to do stunts?

Anyway, Cameron, until recently, spent most of his evenings with DH watching Discovery. I'm not a fan of the frequent use of the word, "Crap" on Dirty Jobs but otherwise, it's not a bad show and I'd prefer non-animated things so I've not made a fuss about it.

But the TV is not getting turned on while C is awake as long as I'm home. And once a week, we can watch a movie, usually an older non-freaky Disney one, on Saturday night.

Jen D.

Mythbusters! We love that show! Dirty Jobs has quite a few innuendos too though. That guy turns everything into something about sex, but with a nod and a wink, not overtly.

[Firebird Rising]

Yes, Mythbusters.

Dirty Jobs has the innuendo, but you're right, it's not so much a phrase, more of a wink-wink.

[Rabbit]

We have a real problem with Dreamworks, and for more than just the innuendo.

Subtle or otherwise tastefully done (ie not the hippo scene) innuendo I enjoy and never worry about my kids. Because I remember in middle school and high school seeing old favorites again, and my jaw just dropping, because I had no idea what jokes I'd missed. And my ability to understand them developed right along with my maturity. The references came across to me completely innocently, and never threatened my innocence, until I understood more.

I would worry if my children had been inappropriately exposed to explanations or situations that would clue them in to the jokes while too young.

Badly done innuendo does come across as something uncomfortable. I see it in Sam's face when we've rented something inappropriate. Those movies disappear quickly.

[yellowheart]

IMHO...."Shrek" is the all time worst offender. I guess that's a Dreamworks movie? Absolutely, no way, will I let my kids watch that. That's totally an adult movie. I was single when it came out. Did they even market it as a kids movie??

"Cars".....DS all time favorite. I've watched it too many times to count. I had to stop and think about the innuendos b/c at first I was like....what??? But, there are more than what has been pointed out in this thread. Next time you watch the movie pay particular attention to each time there's interaction with the "underside" of a vehicle.

[MomtoJGJ]

I honestly never really thought Shrek or the like was a children's movie? I thought it was an adult movie that was safe for kids to watch. And all the Dreamworks movies that people have been talking about.

And they put innuendos in those movies so that they are funny for both adults and children. It sells more... the adults will buy them because they can stand to watch them... it makes them more enjoyable for adults to sit through.

Now, if that's not your kind of humor that's a different story, but I don't like most comedies, and that's the kind of stuff that has me rolling.

[Little Forest]

Shrek was absolutely marketed as a children's movie, that and Shrek toys and cereal. Shocking that children actually are allowed to watch it.

[yellowheart]

I honestly never really thought Shrek or the like was a children's movie? I thought it was an adult movie that was safe for kids to watch. And all the Dreamworks movies that people have been talking about.

And they put innuendos in those movies so that they are funny for both adults and children. It sells more... the adults will buy them because they can stand to watch them... it makes them more enjoyable for adults to sit through.

Now, if that's not your kind of humor that's a different story, but I don't like most comedies, and that's the kind of stuff that has me rolling.

That's why I made the comment I did about Shrek. I didn't know for sure if it was meant to be an adult movie or a kids. Personally, I find the movie hilarious. I don't like a lot of comedies either. OTOH, I view Cars as a kids movie. Its soooo much tamer than many others.

Shrek was absolutely marketed as a children's movie, that and Shrek toys and cereal. Shocking that children actually are allowed to watch it.

Thanks. I really didn't know. I am FULLY aware of Cars marketing b/c DS is a walking advertisement....right down to his undies. :shifty They really aided in his potty training!!

[Heather Micaela]

Shrek was absolutely marketed as a children's movie, that and Shrek toys and cereal. Shocking that children actually are allowed to watch it.
There are reasons parents decide it is ok. I am one of them that is OK with Shrek.

I am ok with some innuendo though I don't LIKE it. And a lot if it goes over my head. I just don't have a "dirty" mind :shrug3

AFA the hippo in Madagascar 2, though the male hippo was obviously coming on to Gloria, I did not read anything into the "big" comments other than irony. Usually the popular culture does not see plus size as beautiful or sexy and here was that the thing that was most vauled. I saw it more as just 1)a joke because they are hippos 2) a jab at our thin-consciousness.

[Dana Joy]

Shrek was absolutely marketed as a children's movie, that and Shrek toys and cereal. Shocking that children actually are allowed to watch it.
Absolutely shocking! I'm sure parents that allow their children to watch Shrek are also the horrible parents who buy their kids McDonalds and let them roll down large hills.

[Rabbit]

I think we are again dealing with a different age reference when using the word "children."

[MomtoJGJ]

Absolutely shocking! I'm sure parents that allow their children to watch Shrek are also the horrible parents who buy their kids McDonalds and let them roll down large hills.

our kids watch shrek.... I was just saying that I don't think it's a kids movie.... but I don't really look at marketing

[Dana Joy]

I think we are again dealing with a different age reference when using the word "children."
To be fair and above board, we have been watching the Shrek movies since they came out, what year was that? 2001, my children were 10, 4, 2 and -3 at that time.

[Raspberries]

We have a real problem with Dreamworks, and for more than just the innuendo.

Subtle or otherwise tastefully done (ie not the hippo scene) innuendo I enjoy and never worry about my kids. Because I remember in middle school and high school seeing old favorites again, and my jaw just dropping, because I had no idea what jokes I'd missed. And my ability to understand them developed right along with my maturity. The references came across to me completely innocently, and never threatened my innocence, until I understood more.

I would worry if my children had been inappropriately exposed to explanations or situations that would clue them in to the jokes while too young.

Badly done innuendo does come across as something uncomfortable. I see it in Sam's face when we've rented something inappropriate. Those movies disappear quickly.
The same happened to me. I remember me and my friends used to watch the movie Grease all the time around ages 10-11-ish. All.the.time. It seriously wasn't until just a few years ago when I watched it again that I went :jawdrop:jawdrop:jawdrop:jawdrop. I did NOT get the sexual jokes in it at all. I've found a lot of things like that as I go back and re-watch now.

As for my kids, I don't mind them watching Cars, we evaluate on a case by case basis.

[MamaPepper]

Another Shrek watcher here :grin I think those movies are AWESOME and hilarious, and all my 2 and 4 y.o. sees is a fun fairy tale with princes, ogres and swords. I think perhaps when theyre older (6,7,8) then I might be more reluctant to let them see these things, but for now, eh.

But I'm generally a horrible parent anyway, so I don't worry about it :mrgreen

[Heather Micaela]

To be fair and above board, we have been watching the Shrek movies since they came out, what year was that? 2001, my children were 10, 4, 2 and -3 at that time.
ditto. except I had only a baby in 2001. I only own Shrek 1 though

---------- Post added at 07:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:31 AM ----------

Another Shrek watcher here :grin I think those movies are AWESOME and hilarious, and all my 2 and 4 y.o. sees is a fun fairy tale with princes, ogres and swords. I think perhaps when theyre older (6,7,8) then I might be more reluctant to let them see these things, but for now, eh.

But I'm generally a horrible parent anyway, so I don't worry about it :mrgreen
My 8 year old sees "a fun fairy tale with princes, ogres and swords" only as well.

despite the innuendo I think they have a good message actually

[TuneMyHeart]

another horrible parent here. :raise

I officially became a bad parent when I was pregnant and so tired I could barely move. When AK was born and never stopped screaming, we watched anything entertaining, and it all goes right over E's head. We've watched Shrek a couple of times and Cars about 100 times.

One of E's favorite movies is Hairspray (the new one with John Travolta). If she actually understood all the stuff in it, maybe I wouldn't let her watch it. I don't know.

[Firebird Rising]

before the label of "bad parent" gets flung around some more, please let me say that it's all about your comfort level with your kids. I personally could care less if you let your kids watch it.

It's above MY comfort level for me as an adult. That level was a combination of how I was raised, my interests, my studies (I read Michael Medved's book Saving Childhood (http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Childhood-Protecting-Children-Innocence/dp/0060932244/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260895844&sr=8-7) before I was married and it greatly affected my views on this topic) and my entertainment/media convictions.

Because it's above my comfort level, it'd obviously be above my level for my kids. I don't like multimedia entertainment and this falls into that realm.

This is not about how horrible people are for what they show their kids or how naive they want their kids to be for what they DON'T show their kids. It's a personal thing for each person in their parenting journey.

[TuneMyHeart]

ITA, Jen. :hug

[brandi]

I remember watching Shrek my freshman year in college, and remeber the adult themes and jokes in the movie.

We don't watch Shrek because the content of the movie goes against our family values. (we don't do movies with magic or witches)

AFA Cars, DS loves it, and I never picked up on any of the inuendo :O Same

I guess we take it on a case by case basis, but if we are watching a movie and *I or DH* start to get uncomfortable, then we turn it off. I don't think that DS catches on to the adult humor.

[Wonder Woman]

did all of you miss the part where the twin cars scream 'we love you lightning' and flash their headlights at him? :shifty

And yeah, there are some things we won't watch here :shrug Personal preference :yes Madagascar 2 embarrassed my son, and he asked me to please not let him watch it ever again 'because they shook their butts at the camera and it made me uncomfortable and Jesus told me He didn't like it' :shrug I'm not going to make him ignore his convictions :heart but neither will I tell him that people who do watch M2 are bad :giggle

[TuneMyHeart]

that's the part in Cars that really annoys me, Reb.

[TenderLovingWillow]

I am very concerned with the sublimal messages.. I know that kids dont understand it, but they are still being conditioned to hear those type of things, and they sound normal, so that when they do get it, and hear it when they get older, its no big deal.

I dont plan on letting my kids watch movies with obvious innuendo.. I just dont feel that that is the kind of conditioning God has called me to subject my kids to.. Part of the reason we dont have a TV.

I thought that Ice Age 3 was really bad... But then I really dont like potty humor.. So that could be a big part of it..

I dont even watch Shrek, for the potty humor, but also the innuendo.. DH didnt think that movie was a kids movie, but marketed to teens and college kids.. :shrug

We have Cars, and all the Ice Ages and Monsters Inc.. All of them have things I am not comfortable with for my kids.. But DH really likes them.. And I have to admit, I think Hoodwinked is kinda funny.. I just think that sex is being marketed to kids younger and younger to where a lot of first graders feel the need to be "cool" and have a bf or gf. I think that some, but not all the blame goes back to all the overtones that they dont understand at the time, but are conditioning their thinking..

Just my :twocents

This is a stand I have come to personally, and would never make this into a legalistic standard for all homes. But its a huge issue to me..

[MamaPepper]

did all of you miss the part where the twin cars scream 'we love you lightning' and flash their headlights at him?

I have a total warped sense of humor and didn't 'get' that part until it was brought up here (and now I think it's :haha) :shifty

[LadybugSam]

yeaht he headlights bother me, that and the pot reference.

"I dont need headlights because the track is always lit"
"so's my brother but he still needs headlights"

we're starting to be more careful about movies now that DS has shown us how much he likes to repeat things. He watched a spongebob episode at his friends house this weekend and now he won't stop saying things are stupid and quoting the show to himself quietly when he doesn't think we're listening.

[brandi]

yeaht he headlights bother me, that and the pot reference.

"I dont need headlights because the track is always lit"
"so's my brother but he still needs headlights"

we're starting to be more careful about movies now that DS has shown us how much he likes to repeat things. He watched a spongebob episode at his friends house this weekend and now he won't stop saying things are stupid and quoting the show to himself quietly when he doesn't think we're listening.

I totally missed those :O

[LadybugSam]

i missed it the first 5 or 10 times i saw it too, but DS got in this thing where he had to watch it over and over and over and over and i kept picking up on more things as i watched it.

[ShiriChayim]

Those things bother me too :yes I also dislike the "bump and grind" in Happy Feet, and when he smacks her bottom. The list that Dana posted on the first page with "K-I-S-S..." and etc...those things don't bother me so much. I'm ok with flirting types of things, dh and I get all flirty and kissy in front of the kids all the time, what I'm not ok with is when it becomes blatantly sexual.

[TenderLovingWillow]

Those things bother me too :yes I also dislike the "bump and grind" in Happy Feet, and when he smacks her bottom. The list that Dana posted on the first page with "K-I-S-S..." and etc...those things don't bother me so much. I'm ok with flirting types of things, dh and I get all flirty and kissy in front of the kids all the time, what I'm not ok with is when it becomes blatantly sexual.

Not directed at you at all.. :heart

I guess I want Judah to learn about Sex and relationships by watching DH and I.. I think that healthy.. :heart but not from movies.. kwim? So, I dont want to sexy flirty and jokes to be watched on TV, I would rather him see his daddy hit on me.. (which he does quite well.. )

But I for sure agree with things when they become blatantly sexual.

[Dana Joy]

FWIW~ I have read tons of stuff and have prayed and have my own personal comfort level, and would in no way shape or form ever tell anyone else what to allow their children to watch or not watch. I do not feel judged when people say "this is something I am not comfortable showing my children." but I do when I read stuff about how surprised people are that anyone would allow their child to watch something that I allow my children to watch. We are all at different points in our parenting journey, we are all making conscious prayer filled choices, or else we wouldn't be a part of this board. Just keep that in mind before you express yourself in a way that may be judgemental.

[Rabbit]

Shrek is too crass for me, but that is a separate issue for me than sex or religion. I'm not amused by potty humor, and since it irritates me, it's not something I want my children irritating me with, either. It is a sweet story, but the delivery makes me miserable.

[TuneMyHeart]

Shrek is one of my favorite movies. :lol

[Bonnie]

See, I moved Shrek and Shrek 2 from our "kid-ok" shelf to the "grown-ups only" shelf for very different reasons, but ones which I think are relevant to a theme of this discussion - namely, the idea of children growing into understanding of things they're exposed to but don't yet apprehend.

The below is a quote from this article (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1619573,00.html), which I highly recommend reading.

But those parodies had a dominant fairy-tale tradition to rebel against. The strange side effect of today's meta-stories is that kids get exposed to the parodies before, or instead of, the originals. My two sons (ages 2 and 5) love The Three Pigs, a storybook by David Wiesner in which the pigs escape the big bad wolf by physically fleeing their story (they fold a page into a paper airplane to fly off in). It's a gorgeous, fanciful book. It's also a kind of recursive meta-fiction that I didn't encounter before reading John Barth in college. Someday the kids will read the original tale and wonder why the stupid straw-house pig doesn't just hop onto the next bookshelf. Likewise, Shrek reimagines Puss in Boots as a Latin tomcat--but what kid today even reads Puss in Boots in the original?

When I realized that I did not want my children to miss the humor and satire because they weren't first familiar with the story being tweaked first, I removed Shrek from the allowable rotation - among others - and ramped up my efforts to expose them to the classic fairy tales in their other forms.

[MamaPepper]

"I dont need headlights because the track is always lit"
"so's my brother but he still needs headlights"


:haha I thought that part was great!!! Especially if you listen to Click and Clack on NPR :haha

[Little Forest]

I just wanted to say that I did not mean to offend. You would probably be shocked by half of the things that I do. From now on I will try to keep what I find shocking to myself.

[TuneMyHeart]

I just wanted to say that I did not mean to offend. You would probably be shocked by half of the things that I do. From now on I will try to keep what I find shocking to myself.

:hug I wouldn't have started this thread if I didn't want to know people's opinions. ;)

[Little Forest]

See, I moved Shrek and Shrek 2 from our "kid-ok" shelf to the "grown-ups only" shelf for very different reasons, but ones which I think are relevant to a theme of this discussion - namely, the idea of children growing into understanding of things they're exposed to but don't yet apprehend.

The below is a quote from this article (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1619573,00.html), which I highly recommend reading.



When I realized that I did not want my children to miss the humor and satire because they weren't first familiar with the story being tweaked first, I removed Shrek from the allowable rotation - among others - and ramped up my efforts to expose them to the classic fairy tales in their other forms.



Thank you for sharing this line of reasoning.

In Steiner schooling philosophy, young children are told classic fairy tales (e.g. Grimm brothers) for the lessons and wisdom they contain, and that develops their oral literacy skills too.

---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 PM ----------

:hug I wouldn't have started this thread if I didn't want to know people's opinions. ;)

I forgot that you were the one who started this thread in the first place. :)