Family Movie Night

Last Fall Ben and I started a new tradition with the kids, Family Movie Night. It's as simple as it sounds. On a weekend night we would have dinner a bit earlier, then we would make sure the kids had finished their chores, get them ready for bed, and put on a movie. We usually would watch the movie on Friday since we used to have early church meetings on Sunday, and sometimes, depending on the meal, we would eat during the movie. Of course, it's more fun if you turn off all the lights and pop some pop-corn.

Our first movie was The Adventures of Tintin. We all enjoyed it very much, though there were some parts that were scary for the little guy, and even the girls at times, a theme that would continue throughout many of our movies. After we watched Tintin we decided to start watching movies that Ben and I loved as children, so we started with The Princess Bride.

One of the best parts of this whole thing is that if Ben says to the kids, "No more rhymes now I mean it!" one of them replies in a deep voice, "Anybody want a peanut?"

Next up was Jumanji. That night we were limited to what was on Netflix. I didn't remember that it had some pretty scary parts and a lot of parts that startle. Ben had never seen it. It was okay, I think it was the least favorite of the movies we've watched thus far. We haven't bought many DVDs for a long time, but when Ben's brother replaces one of his DVDs with a Blu-ray, we often inherit the old copy. Thanks to Uncle Dan, the kids were able to watch Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. They have seen the original trilogy and they love it, but we had never had the new trilogy. The kids liked the movie quite a bit. Why not? It had light sabers, Yoda, and Ben Kenobi. Ben got bored and missed the original trilogy.

The next movie we watched was also an 80's classic, The Never-Ending Story. The kids were genuinely worried that The Nothing was going to eat up Fantasia. The line they keep repeating from that one is from Bastian  when he tells the bookstore owner, "They wanted to throw me in the garbage." Ben was surprised to learn that the movie was directed by Wolfgang Peterson, who has done many well known and respected films. He remembered that as a boy he loved the song used in the end credits.

For Christmas the kids got The Wizard of Oz in a gift that read "To: The Cluff Kids, From: The Wizard." Evelyn figured out what it was, though we never confirmed it to her. We watched it after Ben's family left town. The kids liked it; they were pretty nervous about the Wicked Witch and Jilly thought the flying monkeys were "Weird." She uses that word a lot these days.  This was the first time that Ben and I had seen The Wizard of Oz as adults and it was interesting to see how the pacing and editing was so different. It is very much a product of its time. As a kid Ben thought that the Wizard actually gave the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man the things they asked for. But if you watch closely, he tells them all they already have what the are seeking, and he says all that they are lacking is official recognition, such as a diploma or medal.

Tonight we are watching James and the Giant Peach, one of Ben's favorite childhood books (do you see a theme here?) Ben likes the book much better than the movie, but the story is a great one.

Over the Christmas holiday we also watched Grandpa Chickens' favorite Christmas movies, The Santa Clause 1, 2, and 3, White Christmas, and Ben and I saw "A Christmas Story" for the first time. I now understand what a leg-lamp is, but I wasn't a big fan of the movie. We've very much enjoyed our new tradition with the kids, it's neat to see some of our favorite stories/movies through the eyes of a kid again. Also, when the movies get scary, we get some really good snuggles from the kids. There are many more movies to see.  ~ Dad