I’m a bit of a comic book geek. Okay, fine, a big one. Yes, I had a Captain America ice sculpture at my wedding and I’m not afraid to admit it.
So as you can guess, I’ve been anticipating The Avengers movie for awhile now. It’s all I’ve been talking about at home and after seeing a few of the recent movie trailers, both my kids started saying they want to see it. Now my little guy actually watched the recent Captain America movie with me on DVD a few months ago. I was afraid the violence might be too much for him but he was fine with it.
Actually, after seeing Star Wars: Episode III with the gruesome “Here’s how Anakin Skywalker loses his limbs and need a Darth Vader suit to live” scene, I’m pretty sure my kids can stomach almost anything. Ryan was definitely no surprise. But Jason’s never been a fan of the superhero movies. He likes reading the comics and books, but for some reason the movies either scared him or who knows what. So I was real surprised after watching an Avengers trailer with him and asking if he wants to see it, that he responded with, “Kind of.” A few questions more and he was suddenly pumped to see it.
Now I was in a dilemma and needed to channel my inner Captain Americato make the right call. Are my kids (7 and 9) too young to see The Avengers movie? My wife and I got the babysitters lined up and I bought tickets for the 9:10 p.m. showing last Saturday. Once I told the boys that it was just “me and mommy” going, they were none too pleased to say the least.
I quickly spun it that we needed to see it first and see if it’s too violent for them or not. And after viewing it (side note: it was awesome!), we decided that there really were only one or two scenes that may be a little much for them. So I’m seeing the Avengers again, next week. This time with my boys. I plan to take them early, because if I know Ryan, he’ll be asking about 500 questions, and that’s before the initial credits start to roll.
Anyone bring their kids to see it? What’d they think?
My son Keegan showed an interest in Super Heroes (the Hulk) when he was two. I think ever since then we brought him to every Super Hero movie that came out. Sometimes it was just my husband and him, while I stayed home with the youngest. But we proudly brought my second son (Lochlan, 4) AND my oldest (Keegan, just turned 6) to Avengers. It was AWESOME. They probably were the youngest ones in the theater. But they were so good. And I explained (as we always do) about pretend and this is not real and that one day they will make movies just like this (I can dream, right).
Keegan has a good head on his shoulder for a young age. And Lochlan is getting there. So I think that letting them see the movie was just fine. (I did freak out at the Prometheus preview, trying to cover the boys eyes/ears.) But each child is an individual and you have to gauge whether it will freak them out too much, do they understand “movie magic”, and will they try to emulate violence in unacceptable ways or can they handle re-enacting scenes (which my boys always do) in a safe way.
Hey there, Erin! Thanks so much for your comments. And you nailed it 100%. Every parent has to know their child. My oldest (9) wouldn’t even watch Captain America with me on DVD. He didn’t even want to hear the TV he was so freaked out. That was a year ago. Now after seeing commercials for Avengers, he “kind of” wanted to see that, which we did. He loved it and now we’re backtracking through all the old ones and both my kids are loving ’em.
Sounds like you’ve got a great family there! I’m proud of you for starting your little fanboys off bright and early! 🙂
So my son loved the movie! The only thing that scared him? The previews for Law & Order TV shows on TNT that came even before the previews. Man, that pissed me off. But the movie – awesome. And Captain America he liked a lot, too – though shame on Tommy Lee Jones’s character for being such a potty mouth.
My 14 year old wants to see it. I left the free movie tickets with him and his dad when I was away this weekend but they never got around to see it. Maybe I will let his brother and him walk over to the movie theater across the street this weekend and see it themselves. I’m more interested in seeing Chimpanzee LOL. I would love to know what your boys think of it. I LOVED the X-Men series but I think I would prefer to see this one when it comes out on DVD. I’m still trying to get to the Hunger Games LOL.
Also LOVE that you started a personal blog!
Hey Colleen! Thanks for the comment! I loved the X-Men series too (well, except for the 3rd one and that lame Wolverine solo movie), but Avengers is just done soooo well. It’s fantastic, exciting, full of tons of great fights, and there are actually a lot of funny parts in it. If you liked X-Men, you should dig Avengers.
I’m real curious what my boys will think too. I know a few specific parts they’re going to love, just hope they don’t get too bored at the beginning (during the setup) or scared at any parts.
I’m in the same boat! I’m going on Friday with my 9-year-old son – and he’s definitely not good with violence. We’re going to watch Captain America this week and as preview of the movie … we’ll see how it goes.
Hey, Dave! Well the difference is that I’ve already seen Avengers so I know what to expect and know when to cover his eyes. (There’s one scene fairly early on with Loki in Germany at a speech…) Most of the violence is pretty standard fare, what you’ve seen in the trailers. Hope you guys have a blast!
You’re not going to believe this, but I saw it this weekend too! I’m not as obsessed as some (read: you two), but I thought it was really good. Good action, but still not a stretch for that age group. In a couple of weeks, I need you guys to go see this one and let me know what you think (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0v2Q8Yxkvs)