Mommy Movie Review: Horton Hears a Who

Our drawing for the devotional The Confident Woman is closed.  And the giveaway goes to........ Kathy- Braselton.  Shoot me a quick email (godlyrose at yahoo dot com) with your address and I will send out your devotonal this week.  Congratulations!!!

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Today's review features Horton Hears a Who and Shiloh over on Kristi's blog.

This is one movie that I really enjoy.  Whether or not the creator realized it, there are amazing spiritual and social parallels. 

Horton the elephant is a sweet playful elephant who hears a noise as a speck flies past him.  He is able to save  it from hitting the ground and finds out that there is a another world in the speck.  The world of the Whos who live in Whoville.  He then begins a journey to take this little speck to a safe place where it and its inhabitants will no longer be in any danger.  However, no one else can hear the Whos.  The Kangaroo (the leader of the animals in the Jungle of Nool) gets everyone to agree with her that Horton needs to get rid of the speck. Despite the peer pressure from the entire jungle community, Horton stays steadfast in his mission and eventually the Whos are saved.

Suzette's Positives

This movie has some wonderful quotes which are all meant to teach a lesson. Here are a few examples:

I said what I meant and I meant what I said and an elephant's faithful one hundred per cent. (Horton)

If you can't see hear or feel it, it isn't there. And.... He's teaching the children to use their imaginations. (The Kangaroo after her initial meeting with Horton and the speck)

My favorite quote in the whole movie:

Horton to the Mayor of Whoville: Two vastly different worlds miraculously crossing paths.  Mine is awesome! Yours is minuscule, but somehow we have managed to make contact.  When you think of it, it's pretty amazing.  Is everything okay down there?  The Mayor replies: You tell me. You're the one holding the speck. 

Regardless of the pressures put on him and being ganged up on by the entire population of Nool, Horton never gives in.  He is even caged at one point for not going along with the others. 

I love the parallel of how we as Christians believe by faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross even though many around us do not believe and even view us as being different, odd, or narrow-minded.  The Mayor of Whoville was the only one who could hear Horton and was viewed as being crazy because no one else heard Horton.  The Mayor tried to warn the citizens of Whoville of the impending doom coming to them, but the other members of the city council ridiculed him publicly.  When a temporary disaster happens, everyone finally believes the Mayor and suddenly believes that Horton is trying to protect them.

Similarly, Horton is the only one who can hear the small sounds coming from the speck.  Because he is believing something that no one else can fathom, the citizens of the Jungle of Nool make it their mission to destroy the object he holds on to so tightly.  However, it takes the Kangaroo's own son to also hear the Whos and save them from being boiled in Beezulnut Oil.

I love the musical arrangement where the Whos all join together and sing "We are here!" while trying to get the citizens of Nool to hear them.

There are so many more lessons in this one movie.  I have only highlighted a small few.

Suzette's Negatives

There are two scenes that I fast forward through, not because they are bad but because they are a little scary for small viewers.  The first one is just a preference on my part.  The movie goes from digital animation to Japanese styled cartooning as Horton is imagining himself to be a ninja.  I personally don't care for that part so I zip through it (and Addie covers her eyes- her new thing lately). 

The second scene is when the Kangaroo goes to the vulture, Vlad, to hire him to take the speck away from Horton and destroy it.  The scene itself  is a bit scary, so again, I zip through it (and again, Addie covers her eyes and asks when she can open them). 

There is a little character who is not Dr. Seuss-like at all and is just a little odd.  If they had left this character out (her part really is not significant at all), her character would not be missed and nothing in the movie would change at all.

Suzette's Rating: 9

Mommy Movie Review: Tarzan

It is funny how you see things through different eyes when you become a parent.  Things that didn't bother you or that you didn't think twice about suddenly jump out and make their presence known. So was the case when we borrowed Disney's Tarzan from the library.

As you can see, Tarzan is our movie up for review, and Kristi is reviewing The Jungle Book over on her blog today.

The story of Tarzan (as told by Disney) takes place on the coast of Africa and in the tropical jungle.  A young family, consisting of a father, mother, and baby boy, is shipwrecked and makes their home in a tree on the coast.  In the jungle itself, there is a family of gorillas.  The silver back and, I guess, his "head wife" have a baby gorilla.  During the night a leopard kills the baby gorilla.  While in  her grieving, the mother gorilla hears a baby cry, and goes to investigate.  She comes across the baby boy whose parents have been killed by the same leopard.  The mother gorilla takes the baby with her and raises him as her own.

Suzette's Positives

• Friendship despite differences is definitely a theme that runs through this movie.  Tarzan's best friends  are Turk (gorilla) and Tantor (elephant).  Jane accepts Tarzan's friendship despite his being completely different in every social way possible.
• The musical montages are very well done.  The story is fit into the songs very well, and they help keep the story moving along.

Suzette's Negatives

• Tarzan wants desperately to fit in and basically be a gorilla.  Even Kerchak (the silver back) says, "He can never be one of us!"  How funny that people are always trying to find ways to equate themselves to animals, but animals never try to be equal with humans.
• There are a few references to evolution that are very subtly done.  At one point, the professor (Jane's father) says that Tarzan might be the missing link. However, we saw that Tarzan was born to two human parents, shipwrecked, orphaned, and then raised by gorillas.  Nothing there qualifies him to be a missing link. In fact, he just suffered a string of bad luck! Towards the end, when Jane and her father get ready to board the ship to England, her father starts telling Tarzan about all of the people who will want to meet him, "...Darwin and Kipling!"  As we all know, Darwin is the one who is credited for coming up with the theory of evolution.  By throwing Darwin's name into this children's movie, the seed is already being planted.   (Rudyard Kipling happens to be the author if the Jungle Book which Kristi is blogging about today.)
• As a personal note, after seeing this movie, Addie will occasionally coming running into the room yelling, "Oh no!  Gorilla!"  Although the gorillas in the movie were not portrayed as being bad (in fact, the humans were the bad guys), she somehow developed a fear of gorillas.
• Clayton, a poacher acting as a guide to Jane and her father, shoots and wounds Tarzan, points his gun at Tarzan, hits Tarzan with the gun, and in the end dies by an accidental hanging while he was trying to kill Tarzan.  Rather violent for a children's movie.

Suzette's Rating: 5

Mommy Movie Review: Babe

Addie is quite the animal lover, and one of her first favorite movies was Babe.  So this week I am going to look at Babe for the Mommy Movie Review.  Don't forget to check over at Kristi's blog to see her review on Beauty and the Beast.

Babe is the story of a runty pig who is used in a fair guessing booth and is won by Farmer Hoggit.  The farmer notices that Babe is not just any other pig, but has certain organizational qualities that make him quite useful.  The Farmer has the idea to enter Babe in a Sheep Herding Contest where he surprises the world with his talents.

Suzette's Positives

• From a clearly child-friendly perspective, the animals are wonderful for children to see.  Addie loved this movie from the very beginning because of all of the farm animals and because she could show off that she knew what sound each one made.
• I love how kind the animals are with Babe when he first comes to live on the farm and how kind Babe is towards the other animals.  He is even kind to the sheep in spite of the fact that Fly, the sheepdog and his adoptive mother, tells him that sheep are stupid animals.
• I love that Babe isn't satisfied being in the mold that "farm" society sets for him.  He knows what he is capable of and pursues his dream.
• Pride and humility are compared beautifully.  Babe has a sweet humility about him that endears him to the other animals.  Fly and         are the proud sheepdogs who see themselves as being above the rest of the farm animals, yet they both have to swallow their pride in order to help Babe when it matters the most.
• "Silence is golden" is a virtue that is shown through the life of the farmer, while the opposite is displayed through the farmer's wife. 

Suzette's negatives

• The sheepdogs call several of the animal groups "stupid animals".  Stupid is not a good word around here. 
• The dairy cow has a voice where you can't tell if it is a man or a woman, throwing an unnecessary  message into the mix.

Suzette's Rating: 9.5

Mommy Movie Review: Joseph: King of Dreams

This week we will be looking at Joseph: King of Dreams in our Mommy Movie Review.  Don't forget to check out Kristi's review of Alice in Wonderland.

Before I go into my review of Joseph, I wanted to look back at The Prince of Egypt quickly.  Addie and I were watching it this week, and I realized that there was one scene that I never addressed that we have never let Addie see (and that I never allowed my students to watch in class).  It is the scene where the priests of Ra sing their song after Moses turns his staff into a snake.  Yes, the Bible says that the priests turned their staffs into snakes, too, but I don't need Addie to be exposed to a song and dance that glorifies the false gods in Egypt.  Because our version of the movie is a VHS, as I am fast forwarding, I can see that it is not made obvious that Moses' staff/snake swallows the staffs/snakes of the priests.

Joseph: King of Dreams is not on my list of favorites, but it is one that comes out once in a while.  Although it is based on the account from Genesis, there is a lot of liscence taken (as in The Prince of Egypt).  Some dreams are added in that the Bible never mentions. Jacobs wife is never named, but she is implied to be Rachel. And although this movie was supposed to be done in the syle of The Prince of Egypt, it just doesn't hit the mark as being as well done.

As a sweet movie, it is a great one to watch with children and is clean and wholesome.  But as a Bible account, it definitely needs parental guidance so that our children do not learn the account incorrectly based on what they see portrayed.  Children (and even adults) sometimes think that what they see on TV is fact and true, so it is important for us as parents to know what the Bible says happened in the account so we can point out the inacuarcies to our children.

Suzette's rating: 8

Alice in Wonderland is a sweet movie about a girl who falls asleep and finds herself in Wonderland.  I loved that movie as a young girl and once I can find it in the libary, I can't wait to share it with Addie.  I think she will love the White Rabbit.   

Mommy Movie Review: The Prince of Egypt

This week's movie review covers The Prince of Egypt and An American Tail over on Kristi's blog.  Both are cartoons and can be used to teach our children biblical and historical lessons.

When I taught 4th grade, during our first four weeks we learned the account of Moses in Bible class.  As a fun activity, I would plan for my students to watch the Prince of Egypt to end our time with Moses.  However, we didn't just watch the movie, we followed a worksheet which I made up which paralleled the movie with the Bible account.  I wanted my students who now knew what God's Word said about the account to recognize the creative licences that were taken in the making of the movie.  As we followed along, it was wonderful hearing my students call out the answers to the fill in the blanks on their worksheets as they recognized truth from error.

Suzette's Positives

• I like the fact that before the movie even begins, the disclaimer is given that creative licence has been taken.. The creators of the movie are acknowledging that they have added or changed some things in the account.  However, for those who do not know the account, they can easily take Hollywood's version as being truth. And honestly, God's Word needs no changes made to it for dramatic affect.  I think it is pretty awesome as is.
• The animation and songs are beautifully done.  I remember when the animation just looked so real! Technology has come a long way!
• I love the actual cartoon quality.  Because of the digital age we live in and the computer generated animation, cartoons are becoming a lost treasure.  I love that Addie gets to see real cartoons through this movie.
• I get pretty emotional while watching this movie.  While watching God speak to Moses through the burning bush, I get goosebumps. When the Israelites are walking through the Red Sea, I get chills.  I love being able to give Addie a visual picture of what we have learned during our Bible time.

Suzette's Negatives

• The fact that things have been changed.  Although many of the changes are subtle, they are still changes. Rather than Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses, it is Pharaoh's wife.  Instead of being raised by his real mother, he is raised in the palace.  Instead of killing the Egyptian in secret, he kills him in front of the other slaves and Egyptians.  Rather than running for his life, Moses leaves because he can't deal with the thought of what he had done to the Egyptian.  Instead of putting his staff into the air and letting God part the sea, Moses raises his staff and then stabs the water causing it to dramatically separate.  These are just a few of the subtle changes in the movie.
• I do not care for the way Moses and Ramsey's relationship with each other is portrayed.  They are shown as being close to each other, best friends and brothers, who are broken because of the strain put on their relationship because they are two different sides. Even at the end after the Egyptian army is destroyed, Pharaoh is portrayed as calling for Moses and Moses is seen as being emotionally torn.  

Suzette's Rating: 9

I have always loved An American Tail.  It is the story of a little mouse with a Russian-Jewish heritage whose family moves to the United States.  This was another movie that I used with my students and had them follow along with a worksheet.  It covers pogroms, immigration, Castle Gardens, the Statue of Liberty, and more. It is a great movie. 

Mommy Movie Review: Finding Nemo

There are so many lessons that can be learned from different movies.  Finding Nemo is one movie that we use to reinforce obedience.  Kristi is reviewing Bambi over on her blog today, so be sure to stop by over there to see her review of that movie.

Finding Nemo is one of those movies where the lessons are abounding, but we make sure she does not watch this one on her own.  She has gotten to the point where she is starting to shout out the lessons as the different scenes come up. 

Suzette's Positives

• As I have mentioned, obedience is the greatest lesson that we teach with this movie. If Nemo had obeyed his father and not gone near the boat, he would not have been taken away by the dentist.  If Coral (the mommy fish) had listened to Marlin (the daddy fish), she and the hundreds of eggs would not have been killed- or hurt when talking to a two year old.
• The idea of persistence and not giving up regardless of how hard something seems is also a strong lesson.  Despite the difficulty that Marlin went through in order to find Nemo, he never gave up.
• Marlin learns to go outside of his comfort zone.  Marlin is an overly cautious parent (ahem... I am not nearly that bad) who leaves his comfort zone in order to bring his son back home. 
• Children also learn that friendship means sacrifice.  Dory leaves everything to help Marlin go on his search for Nemo.  Marlin rushes back into the school of jellyfish to save Dory.  The aquarium fish band together to help Nemo from being given to Darla (the dentist's niece) as her birthday gift.

Suzette's Negatives

• Nemo is disrespectful to his father and even says that he hates him under his breath.  I usually either mute the TV at this point or talk over him by telling Addie that Nemo is being disobedient.
• I am not a big fan of the ending where when Nemo says he is sorry, Marlin apologizes for being too hard on him. Children are given the idea that they are equals to their parents in authority which is an unbiblical view point.
• There is a brief comment which references evolution.  When Dory and Marlin are racing through the jellyfish, Dory says, "You can't defy evolution. I was built for speed."  We are a Creation believing family, so this is a comment that I always just say, "God made the fish so fast!"  when it comes up. 

Addie has learned quite a bit about obedience from this movie.  I'm sure the original intent of this movie was not to teach children obedience, but it has served us well in this area.  In reality, I love the older Disney movies over the newer ones.  In the older ones, there was a different level of morality, respect for parents and adults, and children and their characters were children not mini-adults.  Needless to say, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and The Fox and the Hound are my preferred movies.

Suzette's Rating: 8

Kristi is review the movie Bambi. I haven't shown this one to Addie yet, but I have ordered it for her as a Christmas present.  It is a darling movie that deals tactfully and tastefully with real issues without stealing childhood innocence. I can't wait to show it to Addie.  I know she will love the animals, and Bambi is such a sweetheart, I know she will have a new favorite animal very soon.

Mommy Movie Review: The Fox and the Hound

Today's Mommy Movie Review features two well loved Disney animal movies: 101 Dalmations (Kristi's blog) and The Fox and the Hound.

I don't remember ever seeing this movie before borrowing it from the library. It really is a sweet movie... another Addie gift for Christmas (ooh, I am getting so excited over here!).

Tod is an orphaned fox and Copper is a puppy who was bought to be trained to be a hunting dog.  They discover a friendship and then as they are taught the ways things are supposed to be, their friendship is torn and tested.

Suzette's positives

• The theme of friendship is the main idea throughout the movie. The friendship of two innocent youngsters who are supposed to grow up to be enemies.  A fox (Tod) and a hound (Copper) find friendship before prejudices are put into them by outside sources. Children generally can strike up a friendship with just about anyone regardless of race or creed, social status or health (which leads to sniffles and colds.....).  They just see another friend to cherish for however long they are in each other's presence.
• The movie is absolutely sweet, darling, and very child appropriate.  I appreciate the child appropriate scale from when I was a child as opposed to the child-appropriate nowadays.  Certain realities of life are tastefully dealt with.
• I love that this movie was made before the animals-have-equal-rights-to-humans era.  Animals are animals in this movie.  Copper is a hunting dog and his owner is a hunter.  Todd is a fox and his mother, unfortunately, is killed at the beginning of the movie in a fox hunt. 
• Honor and justice is beautifully portrayed.  Although through the second half of the movie, Copper has a vendetta against Todd. However, when Todd saves Copper's life during the bear attack, Copper returns the favor and saves Todd's life from the hunter.

Suzette's negatives

• The bear at the end of the movie is a bit scary.  Disney likes to use the eyes of the animals to show which have personalities and which don't. The bear's eyes are very different from Copper and Todd's, and they are red to show that he is wild.
• Guns are used (not a problem since the human male is a hunter) but one time they are used a bit recklessly.
• There are two birds who are trying to catch a little caterpillar (no problem with that- birds eat caterpillars).  However, the little caterpillar goes into the little cup that protects electrical wires.  The birds begin picking at the cup and they all get electrocuted.  A child can easily view electrocution as harmless and funny.

Suzette's Rating: 9

Kristi is reviewing 101 Dalmations today.  Although we haven't gotten around to this movie yet (Addie likes to watch her movies in phases), I like the fact that the "bad guy" is very obvious (so many times in movies today, the bad guy is hard to spot because they have a good side and the bad that they do is supposedly good under the circumstances- very confusing to children).  There are also lots of dogs and other animals which small children will enjoy pointing out.

Mommy Movie Review: Dumbo

This is the second installment of the Mommy Movie Review.  This week we are visiting the movies Dumbo (here) and Mary Poppins (on Kristi's blog).  As always, these are our opinions and you are free to take them or leave them. 

Dumbo

I remember seeing the movie Dumbo as a little girl and just thinking it was a cute movie about a baby elephant, but after watching it again as an adult a mother, I saw this movie in a completely different light.  I saw a mother who loved her baby despite what "society" thought- that her baby was not "normal".  I saw a mother who didn't care about the consequences to herself, she was going to do whatever was necessary to protect her baby from the cruelty of others.  And at the end, I cried (totally serious here!) as I saw this mother sit in a private train car as her now star baby flew above her, no longer despised and looked down on, but esteemed and given celebrity status.

Suzette's Positives

• This movie shows the unconditional love of a mother for her child.
• Although it is not accurate, I like how the stork is used to show the arrival of the babies. Children really do not need to know the facts about child birth as young as preschool... but that is a topic for another day.
• The value of a true friend who will stand beside you when everyone else turns away is a major thread throughout the story. Timothy (small as he is) stands beside Dumbo and is always a voice of encouragement. 
• I really cannot stand malicious gossips!  So I am so totally thrilled that at the end the gossipy elephants are pelted with peanuts!  I know, God is still working on me in that area.....
• The movie is only about an hour long.  It makes for a nice short movie time.

Suzette's Negatives

• After one of the circus performances, the clowns celebrate with champagne.  One of the bottles falls into a bucket of water that Dumbo takes a drink from (completely unaware that the water has been mixed with champagne).  Because of this, Dumbo gets drunk and has an hallucination (which is how he flies up into a tree).  As children get older, we can use this part to teach them that drunkenness hurts our bodies, can lead us to do things that we are unaware of until after the fact, and makes us see things that are not really there.  (Use everything as a learning lesson.)
• When the mother elephant goes on her rampage to protect Dumbo, Addie got a bit confused and started saying that she was a bad elephant.  It took a while to explain to her that the mommy was only trying to protect her baby, she was not being bad.  I'm still not sure she totally understands.  Children are very black and white (which is a good thing!).  She saw the elephant throwing a tantrum and called it bad (after all, it is bad when she tries to throw one) not understanding that the mother was only responding to the bad boys who were picking on Dumbo.

Rating: 9!  I think it is a sweet movie, and there are many teachable moments held within this movie. 

Because we have only viewed Dumbo through our library rental, I decided to go ahead and order a copy for Addie for Christmas.  But, shhh, don't tell her! 

Mary Poppins is another Disney classic about a nanny and the lessons she teaches her two young charges.  It has been a while since I have seen it, but the songs are still in my memory. Be sure to check out Kristi's post on her views of this movie, and remember, "Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down..."

Mommy Movie Review: Pinocchio

Today's movie review will be covering Pinocchio here and Charlotte's Web over at Kristi's blog.

As you remember from this post, Pinocchio is one of Addie's favorite movies(its pronunciation has changed to Nocchi.).  I hadn't seen it since I was a little girl and didn't realize how many valuable lessons there were in this one movie. **Please remember that we have the TVG box hooked up to our television so one particular word listed later in this post is hidden from us.**  (Look here, here, or here for links to TVG sites)

I believe in sitting with or being in the room with your child (and being mentally present) while they watch TV or a movie.  It keeps you aware of what they are being exposed to and gives you the power to change the video if something comes up or to teach a valuable lesson as they come up.

The first lesson that stands out to us in this movie is obedience (a very commonly used word around here).  Pinocchio was told by his father to go to school.  Instead, he disobeyed (regardless of it being intentional or not) and went with two complete strangers (the next lesson) to the theater.  As Pinocchio is trotting away with the fox and cat, I tell Addie, "See, he did not obey. Oh no!"  To which she usually repeats, "Oh no!"  (Because we have done this so much, she says it now without my prompting). After he sings his little song about not having strings and is then thrown into the birdcage, I tell Addie, "See what happened because he didn't obey?  The bad man won't let him see his daddy."  It is important to point out to our children the consequences that arise with the choices that we make.

Another lesson that can be shown is that our children are never to go off with someone they don't know.  The fox and cat were complete strangers to Pinocchio, yet he went off with them and as a result was kidnapped by Stromboli.  Children need to learn early on not to go with strangers.

The lesson of "Laying down your life for a friend" is very clear.  Pinocchio dies (got hurt- Addie is too young to understand the concept of dying) while saving his father's life.  It should also be pointed out that they never would have been in that situation if it wasn't for Pinocchio's disobedience in the first place.

Smoking, drinking and playing pool are shown in the movie, but they are viewed very negatively.  I also like the fact that destructive behavior and disobedience is shown to be bad behavior.  When the "bad man" says that he is looking for boys to take to Pleasure Island, he says that he is looking for "Bad boys. You know, the disobedient ones".    When Lampwick strikes a match by swiping it across the Mona Lisa, Addie usually shouts, "Bad boy!"  Modern movies have blurred the lines of good and bad behavior so much that it is hard to use them to show our children specific behaviors.  Many times, bad behavior is shown to have a good end.  A very confusing message to send to our children.

Pinocchio is most known for his growing nose, so I was surprised that it only happens one time throughout the entire movie.  But one time is sufficient enough, and the lesson taught stays with with you. "A lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face."  Children are shown that "little white lies" are wrong. A lie is a lie. 

One word is used several times to describe what a bad boy is equivalent to.  Because of our TVG, the word "jack as*" is muted out and a replacement phrase is put up on the screen.  When I fill in the blanks for Addie, I usually replace that word with "donkey".  It is important to keep the word donkey in their because of the consequences the boys face after enjoying their willful, wrong, and destructive behavior- they turn into donkeys.  A great lesson to be learned- your actions reveal what you really are.

There is a part in the movie (when the fox, cat, and the "bad man" are in a tavern talking about their plan to take bad boys to Pleasure Island) where the bad man makes a scary face. It takes half a second, but it is enough to be a bit scary. (I usually fast forward that because I know Addie was scared the first time we saw it.)

There is a Blue Fairy who makes three appearances (actually two, her voice is all you hear at the end).  I am not one for fairies or other magical things, but because she does not use any spells of any kind (in my opinion) she doesn't bother me.  She reminds me more of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan (I don't know what she has been like in any other movie she's been in recently),

Rating: This Mommy rates Pinocchio as a 9, because it is one that I do need to sit or be aware while it's on, and I cannot just turn it on and walk away (for myself).

As for my rating on Charlotte's Web, I give it a 9 as well.  The animals are a huge plus to small children, and the story pretty much stays in track with the classic it is taken from.  Because of the issues of dying or the pig being killed, small children may not understand that aspect of the movie (hence the 9).  But Julia Roberts does an amazing job as the voice of Charlotte and had Faye and me in tears at the end when Charlotte dies (goes away for small children).  Wilbur the pig is the sweetest little pig you have ever seen, and the rest of the cast of characters from the barn are quite endearing.

Mommy Movie Review

Beginning next week, Kristi and I are going to begin a weekly series called Mommy Movie Review.  As of right now, we have a list of ten movies each of us plan on reviewing and rating which makes a total of twenty movies.  We are looking forward to sharing with you our takes and opinions on different movies that we will or will not allow our children to view. 

Each week there will be two movies, one from me and one from Kristi, that we will review and give you the pros and cons for.  Please understand that these are our opinions. You can take them or leave them.  We are not telling you what is right or wrong for you to watch with your children.  God speaks to each person differently and some things may bother me but not you.  That's fine.  We are just sharing with you what we see in these movies from the view point of mothers that are careful about what our children watch. 

We will also be sharing with you the lessons that we see in the movie which you can use to teach your child(ren) practical, everyday lessons.  This was something my my parents did with us and I find myself doing the same with Addie (especially since I sit with her to watch her movies).

Another thing that I need to preface my reviews with is that we have a TVGaurdian (TVG- thank you, Dad!) installed on our television.  TVG has a list of words preprogrammed into it that are commonly known as swear words, curse words, or words that have more than one meaning but one meaning has a bad use.  When these words come up, the TVG mutes the television and puts a substitute phrase on the screen.  Because the word "God" is sadly used in association with swear words, anytime the TVG recognizes the word coming up, it mutes the TV regardless of the context.  The TVG recognizes words not context.  Because of the TVGaurdian, we do not hear words that you may hear when watching a video if you do not have the TVG. 

As parents, we need to be careful of what we put into the minds of our children.  Once something is imprinted in their minds, it is there forever.  We need to be sure that what we allow our children to view matches up to what God's Word says.  I also think that it is important that we watch the movies along with our children and constantly remind them of the lessons in each movie.  They learn through repetition, and it is unfair to them for us to expect them to learn these lessons in one sitting.

I am really looking forward to this new series.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.