I hit the movie theater hard this summer to see family-friendly films like Freakier Friday and Lilo & Stitch. (Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela for Yahoo News; photos: DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection (3), Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection (3), Glen Wilson/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection (2), Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection (4))
In between camp, pool days, playdates, bike rides and ice cream runs, I made time for seven movie outings with my daughter this summer — and two new releases at home.
By the numbers, I viewed the nine movies with 13 children and 15 adults, including three grandmas and four visiting family members from overseas. There were at least two dads who napped during films, three mid-movie bathroom trips (all involving kids and urgent whispers), one crying child upset to get a different movie-themed toy than the older kids (my fault!) and countless food mix-ups during the dine-in experience.
If it sounds a little chaotic, you’re right — it absolutely was. Making sure every kid had their popcorn just the way they liked it (“I asked for extra butter!”), fitting four kids in my tiny Honda (squeeze!), people running late, kids who were too cold/hot/tired, remembering to carry out all the blankets and stuffies that got carried into the auditorium and Icee stains I’m still trying to get out in the wash.
But somewhere between the chaos and the credits, a few things stuck with me. Here’s what I learned from this summer’s kids’ movie lineup with my favorite little plus-one.
Hollywood (and kids) are obsessed with space and aliens
Glordon and Elio in Elio. (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Elio struggled to fit in on Earth but loved space — and he got his wish to be among the stars and make friends with aliens. Year after year, intergalactic adventures are marketed to kids — who love space outside of movies too — but this theme showed up again and again this summer.
The Bad Guys 2 saw the gang trekking through space and exposed Professor Marmalade as an alien, while Stitch (aka Experiment 626) was visited by the Grand Councilwoman and had his exile commuted to Earth.
Supernatural is a super-fave
KPop Demon Hunters is about Zoey, Rumi and Mira, who use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat. (KPop Demon Hunters via Netflix)
A K-pop group just being hitmakers? Not in KPop Demon Hunters. Rumi, Mira and Zoey also slayed monsters between sets — and Rumi turned out to be a secret hybrid. Dragons? Still huge. How to Train Your Dragon delivered on that fantasy front (Toothless forever!). Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires gave us not one but two vampire crews amid their monster mash. We’d argue that Smurfs count as magical beings, with their potions, enchanted forests and wicked sorcerers.
The morals are timeless. The tropes? Still going strong.
Under the grand plots — car chases and dragon battles — are very simple ideas: Family is important. So is friendship. Be yourself. Be open to people who are different. Even the most together people feel out of touch with the world around them.
Also, yes, the usual tropes are alive and well: At least one dead parent per movie, there’s a chosen child with hidden potential, there’s a ragtag group that somehow saves the world and tidy, happy endings always.
Lowbrow humor gets the laughs
Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha and Ms. Tarantula in The Bad Guys 2. (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection)
Fart jokes? They are still undefeated with the 10-and-under crowd. In The Bad Guys 2, Piranha’s flatulence in a space suit nearly ended a friendship. The kids laughed at anything fart-, burp- or diarrhea-related in Lilo & Stitch. And parents chuckled too: My mom laughed out loud at the toot joke in Freakier Friday — as well as every other old person observation from Jamie Lee Curtis.
It doesn’t matter what’s playing
The movie is almost secondary to the snacks, the company and the joy of being in a big, dark room — phone off — where talking is discouraged. Two hours of “me time” hits the spot for both kids and adults. And for the record: Kids don’t care what movie you’re taking them to. My daughter saw The Bad Guys 2 and How to Train Your Dragon three times apiece in the theater — we’re going five for KPop Demon Hunters at home — and loved each film with every single viewing.
Nostalgia is the business model — and the writers know we’re watching
Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio in Karate Kid: Legends. (Jonathan Wenk/Columbia Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection)
Besides KPop Demon Hunters and Elio, these movies were all sequels or remakes, many dating back to my childhood. Hollywood banks on nostalgia and throws in plenty for the grown-ups. There were so many one-liners and references to older movies that soared over the kids’ heads but hit us adults squarely. The writers know we’re there with our kids, and they reward us for it.
Lastly: Parents, you don’t have to overdo it
At the beginning of my summer movie madness, I bought themed swag for the kids for each trip to the movies. I made sure we ordered the collectible popcorn, light-up drink cup or a stuffed plushie. And for what? Beyond a small snack and a water, kids just need the movie and someone they like to watch it with. I learned this the hard way when I made one kid cry because I gave the girls one kind of treat and their little brothers a different one that apparently didn’t pass muster.
Lesson learned: Enthusiasm is great, but it doesn’t have to be red carpet level each time — and I don’t have to be an Instagram mom with everything perfect.
To quote Lilo & Stitch: “Ohana means family. Family” — real or chosen — “means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” And family time in all its messy, imperfect glory is everything.
Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.
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