Kids Movies, Now vs. Then

   A couple of weeks ago, the sweltering heat of the summer subsided for a day. The heavens opened and the rain fell to the ground. It was a perfect day for a movie.

   I decided to see Despicable Me. The trailers were pretty funny and those minions are adorable. They’re like the anti-Oompa Loompas. For the next hour and a half, the film gave me a couple laughs and kept my attention, but that was it. They should’ve called it, Dismissible Me, because it was just…okay. Not good, not bad, just average. I left asking myself, What happened to kids movies?

   Every generation claims that theirs is the best, but when it comes to kids movies and TV shows, I can firmly state, as an 18 year old, that my childhood was spoiled with great showings. I grew up during the golden era of Disney and witnessed Nickelodeon at its finest. These films and cartoons were funny and beautiful and most of all, memorable. I have not seen The Lion King for years, but I can recall the plot play-by-play, I can recite dozens of quotes from the film on command, and I can sing almost every song from start to finish, right down to the chilling African yells of the “Circle of Life.” I watched Despicable Me two weeks ago and I can’t even tell you the names of the orphan girls.

   You are probably thinking, But you’re not a kid. Of course you won’t like it. Perhaps so, but watch Beauty and the Beast followed by G-Force, or Planet 51, or really any kids movie not made by Pixar in the last 7+ years. You’ll notice the difference.

   I feel that children today just have to sit there and the movie will tell them what to do. They will laugh when the joke is obvious, but fail to notice the wit in the subtle, but far more hilarious humor. With 3D, they don’t even have to imagine themselves in the movie, the movie comes to them. They don’t feel anymore, they only absorb. I can still recall the agony I felt as Simba nudged his father, trying to wake him as Mufasa lay there, lifeless. It was if it were my own father. It’s hard to feel those same emotions when there is debris flying out at you.

   Yes, there is definitely a lack of creativity in today’s movies for children. Where there was once laughter, there is silence; where there was once emotion, there is now indifference. All I can do is hope that the problem will rectify itself and all will be well. Because you know what they say, “Hakuna Matata.”