MovieChat Forums > Brother Bear (2003) Discussion > No death scenes in kid's movies please

No death scenes in kid's movies please

posted 16 years ago by birdseed-11
63 replies | jump to latest

I think one of the big problems with this movie is that there are two deaths. Parents, like me, who don't want to have to explain death to my 5 year old (yet) wouldn't take their kids to this movie, or rent the DVD at this point.

I mean what has Disney been thinking lately? Let's entertain kids by showing them their families can be destroyed? Who is the sadist that comes up with this stuff?

First we get that obnoxious Lilo 'n Stitch. Awful! "Let's put a felon, no a most-wanted felon, no a galactic most wanted felon, with a little girl whose family might be broken up at any time. He has claws and could dice her up at any time because he's an irresponsible criminal. And let's portray government as bad people who want to destroy a family's happiness. And let's portray the peacemakers as vindictive assassins who want to kill innocent Stitch for no good reason. What family wouldn't want to see that?"

Then Lion King: "Let's have a lion cub who sees his father get killed and thinks it's his fault. Better yet, he finds his father's lifeless body. Wow! What a great way to entertain a family."

I actually caught my daughter crying in front of the Lion King at that scene. I had to stop and explain to her that it was all make believe. Thanks Disney!

Then we get Brother Bear: "Let's have three brothers. One gets killed. Right away so the kids can cry early. So the other brother kills the bear responsible who is also a mom to a cub who we meet and come to sympathize with. So the kids, who also have a mommy, will cry again when they think that maybe they could lose their mommy too. What family doesn't want to go home from the movies and discuss death and loss with their kids?" Brilliant!

[–] JasLoves 16 years ago

uh.. that's not the point of any of the stories. All of the characters that dealt with death gained something out of and grew. I've been watching The Lion King since I can remember and Mufasa dying is sad, but I'm not traumatized because of it, and The Lion King(94) came long before Lilo and Stitch(02).

But, the solution to your problem is simple. Don't let your kids watch Disney movies. While your at it keep your kid away from anythingthe TV and internet too. Just to be safe don't let your children get close to anyone because they can die at any moment and you wouldn't want to have to talk to them about death and loss.

If you're out for revenge- dress with gusto.

[–] the_steve 12 years ago

All right, I know this thread is about a thousand years old, but to anybody still reading it and maybe even agreeing with the OP, have you actually thought about what sheltering does to kids? You lie to them, you make them believe that the world is this beautiful place made of rainbows and sunshine, and then they get older and suddenly they realize that it was all a fantasy, that the world is a harsh and cruel place, full of violence and suffering. What do you think that does to a child?

And it doesn't even make sense. You can't protect your kids forever, so why tell them this amazing fairytale and then tell them they can't live there? How is "Haha, it was all a joke, welcome to hell!" any better? And even worse, kids don't know what's "good" and "bad" until someone tells them, so if you tell them about reality without making them feel horrible about it, it's just reality to them. It's normal. Make the fairytale their "normal" and they will suffer when they learn the truth.

So please, if you wanna do your kids a favor, don't lie to them, don't shelter them, tell them the *beep* truth and show them how to be happy regardless and that there's still beauty in the midst of all that tragedy. Or, to put it more bluntly, do your job and prepare them, keeping them away from it all and then throwing them in the deep end isn't making it easier for anyone but yourself.

[–] miloshninp 9 years ago

Very good points!

Keeping a child, or any person in fact, in a delusional shelter will do so much more harm than good. It will close that person's mind, and minds are meant to be open, curious, expanding...

If you're lying to your child with some delusions, you might as well indoctrinate him\her with some religious faeces while you're at it!

Here's a beautiful example of explaining without dropping anything heavy: https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/07/27/dropping-ashes-on-the-buddha-death/

Also, someone very smart said that if you can't explain something to a 4-year-old, you don't understand it yourself. And it is very true.
I mean, you could never fully explain why something happens (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36GT2zI8lVA ), but you can to some point and it is infinitely better than shoving some made-up lies.

[–] Abby_Absinthe 16 years ago

Dude(ette)- Chill out! Your kid's not going to be messed up for life because of cartoon deaths. I had to deal with 3 deaths and my little sister's near-death (and a couple of my own near-death experiences) experience before age 5. You can't shield kids from death, it's kind of a part of life.

Having pride doesn't count for much if you're dead, you know?

[–] Malcontent74 16 years ago

"What has Disney been thinking lately?"

Um, have you seen Bambi (1942)? I don't even want to go down the list of orphaned characters or characters who are swept into the great journeys/rites of passage in their lives by the loss of a loved one, not only in Disney films, but in fairy tales and folklore, generally.

Death is as natural as, well, life. It's amazing what kids have the capacity to understand; we shouldn't underestimate them.

[–] cjd-16 16 years ago

Well, actually... if you want to talk about trauma...

Snow White: Wicked queen spends whole movie trying to kill Snow White, and succeeds for a little while.

Pinocchio: An island-full of boys are turned into donkeys and sold to salt mines while desperately crying out for their parents.

Fantasia: A carnival of the dead where a giant horned demon manipulates thousands of lost souls.

Dumbo: Mother chained up and kept separated from her newborn baby just for trying to protect him.

Bambi: Mother shot by hunters while Bambi is still a fawn.

Cinderella: Girl held hostage and made a slave.

Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent puts a death curse on a newborn baby just for not being invited to a party, and then leads her through a greenlit fireplace in a trance helplessly toward her fate.

101 Dalmatians: Ninety-nine adorable puppies are kidnapped so they can be killed, skinned, and turned into coats

The Rescuers: A crazy woman holds a crying orphan girl hostage, and nearly lets her drown in a tidal cave just to find a diamond.

As you can see, it's kind of a Disney tradition. Either deal with it, and *gasp* let your children learn that, in fact, not everyone has a perfect life, or cut the movies out and shield them from the horrors of the real world.

[–] Malcontent74 16 years ago

Thanks for breaking that down, CJD. I was too lazy to pick 'em all out!

[–] yuna_lee 16 years ago

well think of the fairy tales that some of the disney movies are based off of. they are ment for kids yet they're much more gursome than the disney versions.

like Cinderella.
the grim brothers version the step sisters are cutting off a toes or a part of there heel to try and get there foot into the shoe.

and in another version, cinderalla's bird friends feel that they should punish the sisters, so the fly up to them and peck out there eyes.
now what would you think if disney showed that in there movies?

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Daniellala 16 years ago

Kids are going to need to learn about it someday.
Shut up about disney and stop bitching.
Oh, and who DOESN'T cry at any point during the Lion King? I still do.

[–] Sandol70 11 years ago

Lion King didn't make me cry, it isn't the best animation in my book... overrated, but still very nice. I have other Disney favorites where I'm crying. The Fox and the Hound (first movie of course!) and Dumbo, for example (I hope there won't be a Dumbo 2 sequel ;)

[–] TR_Wolf 16 years ago

Oh come on, look at Snow White... 1940, the witch died, Snow White's own step mother tried to repeatedly murder her etc.

Death happens.

[–] SokarisEmDuat 16 years ago

I agree with the posts above me. I think it is much more beneficial for kids to learn life lessons rather than having their brains turn to mush from watching Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and the endless sequels Disney is crapping out. What has Disney been thinking lately? Nothing. Modern entertainment has essentially received a lobotomy.

Nothing is wrong with a kid crying because of a film. Films are supposed to evoke emotion. I'd rather bawl because of an animated kids film than just sit in front of a screen feeling nothing.

[–] Nekrophagia 15 years ago

"Modern entertainment has essentially received a lobotomy"

"Nothing is wrong with a kid crying because of a film. Films are supposed to evoke emotion. I'd rather bawl because of an animated kids film than just sit in front of a screen feeling nothing"

Exactly. Well put!

The OP would probably let her 5 year old watch something incredibly stupid, which is just as bad.

"Now she won't have to learn about death or how to deal with it until it happens to someone close to her"

Homer Simpson

[–] Johanesse (503) a month ago

I think it is much more beneficial for kids to learn life lessons rather than having their brains turn to mush from watching Hannah Montana, High School Musical

Yeah and especially due to how hypocritical and contradictory the Hannah Montana Movie was with it`s message.

[–] lise_lotte 16 years ago

LATELY? WTF?
I hardly could name only ONE Disney movie without a death!

Seriously, why are you messing your daughter up that much?

Don't you want her to be more mature than you?

I`m not talking to myself- myself just won`t stop talking to I!

[–] amelia957 16 years ago

well, thing is, your kids gonna find out sooner or later
it's better to find out watching a cartoon charactor dying and having you there to explain it to them then suddenly loosing a parent and not understanding what has happened!
not everything has to have a happy ending!!
i remember being very young - like 6 or 7 - when i saw the movie Dantes Peak, my Dad had a real hard time expaining to me why the grandma jumped out of the boat and killed herself so that her family could live, i cried but it was good that he told me that sort of thing
where would kids be if they were protected from that stuff all their life?
its much better to let them know the reality of it at a young age while watching a favourite movie then not know whats happening until it realy happens!!!!!!!
Bambii is another one that took me a very long time to understand as a child
i could never really get my head around why Bambiis mum was shot, i cried every time i saw that movie
what im saying is that your children need to see these G-rated deaths
they need to find out some how!

Avoid Suspicion
Manipulate your Friends
Eliminate your Enemies

[–] profilplus 16 years ago

Stop feeding the troll, damnit!

She has no post history

[–] amelia957 16 years ago

really? that was her first post
god now im really worried

Avoid Suspicion
Manipulate your Friends
Eliminate your Enemies

[–] blondiebear_17 16 years ago

Then friggin put on some brain dead telletubby crap. Kids aren't as stupid or sheltered as some people would like to believe they are. They deserve quality entertainment as well.

Your no bunny till some bunny loves you