Scary Spirits and Dark Voodoo Magic
We took the cousins and the girls to go see this movie over the Holidays. I have to be honest and say that I wish I had not taken my girls, 4 and 6, to see this movie. If I could do it over again I would take it back.
I think sometimes we forget that just because something is a “cartoon” or labeled “Disney” or rated “G” that it’s going to be ok for little people. In my honest opinion I do not believe this movie is ok for little people. It was not good for my girls. They had nightmares due in part to the shady character, the villian, the dark and evil guy of the story.
There was dark voodoo magic in the story along with dark evil spirits that had white pointy teeth that float around in the movie during the dark and scary parts. Yes, the movie is dark people! The villain summons up these spirits and has voodoo dolls and it shows him inserting pins into them.
Now I don’t have a problem with the story line. I don’t have a problem with magic either. I think sometimes Christians go over board when they start banning this or that. I happen to enjoy the Harry Potter movies and don’t take issue with the dark scenes BUT… even with Harry Potter I would not let little people see it. It’s too much! They are not old enough. They scare quite easily and nightmares in their little brains are very real.
Fiona and Kinsley did not sleep all that well after taking them to see this movie. During the movie Kinsley got up out of her chair and hopped into her Dad’s lap to snuggle a bit closer because she was AFRAID. I don’t blame her! It can be a very scary thing to watch dark evil voodoo spirits chasing people around the town at night.
I am racking my brain trying to figure out how this movie was rated G? I could kick myself! I know that there are scary parts to other Disney movies marketed for kids. Lion King was one of them. There is a lot of death, and dying in that movie. I think you kind of have to take it on a case-by-case basis because with Snow White the evil witch bothered the girls but not like the evil spirits and the dark voodoo magic villain on The Princess and The Frog.
Personally, if your little people have issues with scary parts in movies then do not take them to see this movie. Wait until they are older. If I could go back and do it over again I would have waited until the girls were 7 or 8 before I took them to see this one.
On a good note the story itself was a good one. The moral issues of the day in that time are good. The lesson is clear! You have to work hard to get what you want and never give up. Too much work and no play can be hard on a person. Too little work and too much play can be hard on a person. Finding the right balance is key. My own personal lesson that I get out of this movie is an old lesson I think all of us have heard at one time or another: Sometimes you have to kiss a bunch of frogs before you find your prince! That’s my own personal favorite even though there is only one frog in this movie.
Disney’s First Black Princess
Princess Tiana is Beautiful! It’s about time we had a Black Disney Princess. What took Disney so long anyway? I do want to mention that we the people living in this great big huge diverse world do not need a Disney endorsement to convince us that Black People are Beautiful. I had planned on writing more about this but decided not to because I think people that choose to carry the ethnic cross their entire lives have to work this issue out for themselves. All I’m going to say is: Shame on Disney for taking so long to bring us a Beautiful Black Princess!
04/01/2010 at 8:17 PM Permalink
Hi Angela,
Great post. Just wanted to tell you my favorite movie review site is http://www.kids-in-mind.com. They have VERY strict guidelines on how they rate so the ratings stay the same from movie to movie. They rate on Sex & Nudity, Violence/Gore, and Profanity. I looked at the review for this movie and it’s pretty mild at a 3.3.1, but when I read the reasons for the rankings, I see how it could scare small children.
Some think I’m over the top for going to this site all the time, but it saved my young boy from seeing “Cat in the Hat” movie with all the sexual innuendo that he didn’t need to see!
Happy New Year! Robyn
04/01/2010 at 9:18 PM Permalink
HI Angela,
We were going to take our girls to see this movie on Christmas Day and I’m VERY thankful we did not. We had heard there were some scary scenes, but I thought that since it was rated G, it wouldn’t be too bad, right? I didn’t know it involved scary magic and voo-doo. Now that I hear more people talking about the Princess and the Frog, I don’t think we will be seeing it for a long time or even buying books/ other items related to the movie.
04/01/2010 at 9:29 PM Permalink
Robyn – I am going to add that “Kids In Mind” link to my resources at the top of the blog. Thank you so much for sharing it w/me! I could just kick myself for even thinking that my girls would be OK with the scary parts. While I was watching the scary parts I kept thinking to myself, “Oh No. Here we go w/the nightmares.” I had to look down the isle to see what Kinsley and Don were doing. I felt so bad about it. Fiona has a harder time than Kinsley and she is older.
Charla – Seeing this movie on Christmas Day would have put a damper on Christmas for sure. The girls are getting into Alvin and the Chipmunks. We bought the first movie because good friends of ours gave us wonderful reviews about it. Now that we have seen that I think we will give the new Chipmunk Movie a try. Now that I have that link Robyn just shared w/us I can just look it up and go from there.
In our house we are all about The Disney Princesses. I just don’t think this movie is appropriate for some Little People. I think the Voodoo Magic was Way over the top. I don’t understand why they chose that path with the story line. But then again… I’m not Disney.
Maybe when the girls are older they can watch it if they want to but you can bet there will be a lot of discussion about the parts that they are not comfortable with or unsure about.
06/01/2010 at 8:52 AM Permalink
We did see Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas Day instead of Princess and the Frog- it was probably way more appropriate and the girls thought it was cute! They still sing some of the songs from the movie.
Megan does get very scared at moves. I have also found that she is very compassionate when it comes to movie characters- she watches movies and will even cry if it is too emotional for her. I have to be very careful with her, and yes, she would be full of questions! (But I see those as learning experiences, but how far is too far?). Courtney also gets scared at movies, but not as much as Megan- I just don’t think she understands them as well. I am definitely waiting awhile for Princess and the Frog, if ever! I have heard from many people that it is scary and not for little girls.
06/01/2010 at 7:20 PM Permalink
I forgot to check on this movie before we went too and was not too happy about all the voodoo stuff. The kids don’t seem to be too upset by it but I did make sure to tell them that I disapproved of all that. Can’t believe that I forgot to check it out….
07/01/2010 at 7:54 PM Permalink
I had heard that too from a family member. I regularly run my movies by http://www.pluggedinonline.com and I was disappointed that it did not review it as well as you did.
07/01/2010 at 11:42 PM Permalink
Really Karla? WOW! Thank You! I will take that as a compliment. I tried to find their review to see what they said but I couldn’t figure out where it was on the site. It’s probably because my head hurts. I should go to bed. That was a Good Game tonight but it sure did put me, my brain, and my heart on a roller coaster! lol So glad you stopped by my blog.