Smurfs 2 - anyone seen it, because I'm hearing it makes fun of allergies...?

[Likeaninjanow]

I'm hearing from friend's who've seen this film, that it makes fun of parents of allergic children. I'm also hearing that a nut allergic child is given a hot dog containing nuts. When I've said I don't find that funny, they've assured me 'no... You need to see it. It's not like that. It's really funny!'.

I don't want to pay to see it, if it does make fun if allergies. Have any of you seen it? Is it poking 'fun'? What did you think of it?

Yes there's a child given food that is fried in peanut oil, I don't think it was poking fun at the allergy though, the person supplying the food is asked if it comtains peanuts, he says no, the child takes a bite, the the supplier asks that there aren't peanuts in it as they are cooked in peanut oil.

It does follow on from a stint of where there's lots of comments about things being 'free' of things, including the plates etc. So it might feel derisory, however it's not funny in the slightest.

The whole film isn't funny.

I've seen it. I didn't take it as making fun at all (have a serious allergy myself) - I think the scene was there to show how hard the hosts had tried to make sure everything was fine, then another character comes along and ruins it - not to give too many spoilers, that's the theme for this character.

My children loved the film and I found it one of the easier ones to sit through with them! I do really like Neil Patrick Harris and Jayne Mays though.

Hmmmm. Thanks for the info. I think my 5 year old might be terrified by a scene where an allergic child is given nuts. He's been anaphylactic a few times. Still not sure about it.

Yeah, since his reaction my ds is scared to eat loads of foods in case they inadvertently contain nuts. Watching a film showing how easily it can happen if the person cooking is ignorant would be a nightmare for us. He already has issues with food due to fear of eating and we're trying to reassure him that he can eat safely if he is careful and checks. By the sounds of it this film would make his fears so much worse. He wouldn't trust anyone. We won't be going!

Thank you for pointing this out. This would upset dd. We had problems getting her to eat anything after she was diagnosed with being allergic to hazlenuts but has just become confident around food again.

Yep, we're the same. He hears us asking, asking again, double checking food when we're out (multiple allergies). Then he always asks 'are you sure this is safe' when it arrives. This could set us back big time.

Haven't seen the Smurfs films so can't really comment on that one specifically but I think how kids react to portrayal of allergies depends on a number of factors as well as what the film is doing with the allergy. I can't remember the exact details but part of the plot of Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs centres around a character with an allergy and they have a reaction - my son was maybe 5 when he saw it and although it scared him a bit in terms of it was the first time he'd really understood what anaphylaxis meant it was a good portrayal in that they showed the epi-pen being used and the character with the allergy was a key role - he was delighted there was 'someone like me' in the film.

Similarly there is a Tracey Beaker where a girl goes into anaphylactic shock at a party - DS was 7 when he saw it and it shocked him but it was actually a good thing for him to see as it was about the right 'timing' for him to understand it can happen that easily and this is why we bang on about food at parties and checking etc.