I saw the Cat in the Hat when it first came out and on the cusp of entering my teen years. The only reason I saw it was because I liked Seuss' work and was an influence on my behalf. My mother had big concerns from the negative criticism it received. But no, my sis and I wanted to see it....I later regretted it. I felt like they were trying to make another "Grinch" and it failed for those reasons. At least Ron Howard's Grinch had effort even when it did resort to appeal for older viewers and feeling bloated at times.
Now, I can't talk about my thoughts without explaining how this film went through hell in the development stage. Original Tim Allen was supposed to play the feline but he had The Santa Clause 2. They could have just easily found an equal or possibly re-wrote the entire script to fit another available actor. Instead, they hired on Mike Meyers and tried to literally work with after his canned Dieter movie. The result....train wreck.
I felt the reliance on making things adult to appeal for older viewers ruins the original integrity of the source. There was a simple story but the film kept adding things in for the running time. Not to mention thinking adding in gross-out humor (while more in the mature range) would appeal to kids. This would only for work for maybe 90s Nickelodeon but for a bright and cheery movie about a mischievous feline? You can just tell they are going for low-common denominators here. They think its hard to adapt a simple tale when they have many possible directions to go in and yet they make it more difficult for themselves.
I saw UP at the tail end of my teen years and I was in tears at the end. It was a representation of childhood dreams and how much we want to make them true. I saw that film with my grandfather in the theaters and to this day I've never felt an emotional chord that big and personal to me. Now, to many, people have a different view of films. Either for passionate views or just entertainment. Kids see films to be entertained. When they feel enlightened, you can tell they are. But if they just want some basic fun, they will go for what they feel is basic fun. And keep in mind, when we saw a bad film as a child, we didn't know better. We just sat back and just appreciated what we saw or simply forgot about it later.
I think one question that should be asked is how the old holds up to the new generation. I saw "Something Wicked This Way Comes" a while back and was surprised to see how well done and emotional it was in the theme of fatherhood, the price of our deepest desires being granted, and learning to move on with our faults and fears. With the growing age of today's movies, many look to the new while few get exposed to the good times of the past. Its our job to preserve these classics or else they will find themselves on the bargain bin. But like I said, most kids don't know better. But in time, they will start to see things from a different angle or just appreciate it with nostalgic goggles more.
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