disney review

Whatever happened to letting kids be kids?

I watched the Disney movie, Elemental a few nights ago. It was one of those rare evenings that my husband was gone, and rather than scrolling through endless garbage on our TV subscriptions, I just picked the first thing that came up.

The entire time I was watching it all I could think was: this is NOT a kids movie.

The whole premise of it (don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything) is that the main character wants to prove herself capable enough to take over the family store from her aging father. The sub story to that is forbidden love.

Does any of that sound like a good premise for a kids movie?

Kids care about three things. Their friends, their family, and their pets. And maybe their toys. That’s it. In that order. Okay not that order. With my kids it would be 1. toys. 2. friends. 3. pets. 4. family. Something along those lines. That’s why every Disney movie has at least one animal sidekick. Kids are obsessed with animals. Taking over family businesses from elderly parents in poor health, is not something a lot of kids worry about.

That’s an adult problem.

Just like you wouldn’t write a children’s book about filing your taxes.

The fantastic Disney movies I grew up with were about things that made sense to children, even if you never had to deal with those problems personally.

Belle has to save her Dad from a beast. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never dealt with that. But I could track the story. I could understand why that would matter. Parents were important, even if you didn’t get along with them. They were your backbone amongst schools and homes and so many other things in life that felt unstable. You definitely would need to save your dad from being locked up in a castle dungeon for the rest of his life. That’s a no brainer.

Simba needs to become King.

Ariel needs legs. And a brain…

Cinderella needs to get away from her evil step mother and sisters.

Woody needs Andy to choose him as the favorite toy.

I’m sure lots of kids didn’t mind Elemental as a movie. It had action to carry you through the premise, that was probably over a lot of their heads, but it is sad that this is what children’s entertainment is becoming. Pushing adult ideas on kids. Adult problems. Adult thoughts.

None of us had everything figured out when we were 12. And I definitely wasn’t worried about what I was going to do for income or how to solve building code violations. Pretty sure all I cared about was what my friends were doing and making sure they still thought I was cool enough to hang out with.

Our goal with kids’ entertainment, whether its books or movies or shows, should always be about them. That’s one of the first pieces of advice they give you in writing classes. Know your audience. Who is this story for?

Now before I criticize Disney too much, I need to point out that I also do this. When my kindergartener comes home and falls apart crying for no reason, my quick reaction is: “why are you being so irrational?” Can’t you get your emotions under control? I expect my kids to know better and act better, even though they are so young. I forget my kindergartener has only been alive for six years and that’s not a long time. The learning curve is steep.

We need more stories that make kids laugh and love and cry and go on an adventure without preaching adult agendas at them. They’re young for such a short time in life. Why not let them soak up the good parts. Soak up the fun. And leave worrying about adult problems for when they’re adults.

I’m in the process of trying to get a literary agent, so I spend a lot of time reading their wish lists for book proposals. Some of them make me shake my head. Others make me laugh out loud. They want kids books about socioeconomic issues, kids books about displaced people groups, about family’s living in the aftermath of a serious crime.

Maybe I’m living under a rock, but I just can’t imagine an eight year old walking into a library and saying: “You got any books on refugees? How about a book on poverty? I really want to read a story about dealing with poverty.”

Maybe Disney and I aren’t the only ones forgetting kids are not miniature adults. Maybe this is becoming a wider problem. Push kids to grow up as fast as possible. After all, they need to have everything figured out by the time they’re twelve.

Or, we could enjoy their brief years of childlike joy and wonder. We could let kids be kids, and give them entertainment that appeals to them. Stop being so serious and heavy handed with our kids’ messages.

Bring back the fun.

“When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” – Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind