unsuitable films for a 'just' 3 year old

[tryingtobemarypoppins2]

really not sure about the following:

Matilda
The Incredables
Nanny Mcfee
The Borrowers
Chalie and the Chocolate Factory (the one with Jonny Depp)

Oh and Shaun the Sheep worries me too!

What do you think?

My 3 year old DD watched a film the whole way through for the first time the other week. It was Free Willy. She cried at the end and I felt like a really bad mum for letting her watch beacuse it upset her. (I was secretly pleased that I created a sensitive little being who is caring and compasionate). The next day she asked to watch it again! She begged me and when I asked if she would cry again she said 'no'. I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking 'well she knows what happens now so it shouldn't upset her this time and she cried her eyes out again!

Felt really bad but I still can't decide if I was BU to let her watch it...twice!

Monsters Inc was the first full length film my DD 'watched' - I think when she was just turned 2.

She's just 3 now and loves most of the Pixar films, Annie, Labyrinth and Harry Potter 1, 2 and 3.

She watched the three Harry Potter films when they showed them on ITV on Saturday afternoons while she was at my Mom and Dads. I was a bit about them, but she loved them - especially the scary bits - so I got the box set. She won't be watching 4, 5, 6 or 7 until she is older though.

She seems to prefer films that have scary bits and she doesn't get nightmares - she knows they are all pretend. If anything she has become less scared generally.

Weirdly, she also liked Back to the Future 3 when she caught the last 20 minutes of it the other day - Don't think I will be adding it to her permanent film choices just yet though.

It definitely depends on the child though.

surfandturf I cry everytime I watch or read Time Travelers Wife - doesn't mean I don't enjoy it .

I think we can sometimes be too protective of our DC's. Sad films can sometimes help them understand that life is sometimes sad.

I won't be encouraging DD to watch Watership Down though - she might make me watch it with her and that film still traumatizes me!

Definitely depends on the child

DS (2.7) would sit for hours and watch animated films if I let him, but does not have much interest at all in live action. It's a shame as I love Mary Poppins and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

His favourites are

Toy Story (he is obsessed with this and even sat through Toy Story 3 at the cinema)
Shrek
Surf's Up

If a child is interested in watching a film like Mastilda that might have some scary bits, I would let them watch it (as long as I had seen it first) - I think they are more likely to be affected by scary films if they don't see anything at all, and then watch something that completely freaks them out when they are older because they are not used to it. I think there was an episode of Friends where Phoebe had never seen the end of Bambi, etc and couldn't watch to the end of It's a wonderful Life as she couldn't bare to watch past the bits where his life all goes wrong, even though it's one of the most uplifting films ever.

The only one I've seen of those is Charlie and the Chocolate factory, I'd have thought probably not suitable quite for a three year old (bit odd and scarey?)

My DD is age 3 and I am fairly picky on what I allow her to watch and none of the ones in your original post would I allow her to watch. I watched Princess and the Frog and was She can't watch that either.

She does enjoy The Polar Express very much and loves Mary Poppins actually.

I'd never allow my 3 yr old to watch anything other than a U as well.

Clearly I'm anally retentive

At almost 4, DS watched his first film last month - Wall.E - highly recommend. We've tried Finding Nemo, but that opening scene is too much, and if you skip past it you've got the bunch of sharks to deal with too. I was thinking about the Incredibles too. And Monsters Inc based on the posts here.

I agree with the general consensus that it absolutely depends on the child.

My 2.7yr old LOVES The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, Little Shop Of Horrors, Ghostbusters, Spirited Away (+ most of the Ghibli films), Something Wicked This Way Comes, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and many more.

We have to keep our shamefully large horror collection on the top shelves - alongside a few ahem 'questionable' foreign titles - as he is always asking to watch "the spooky ones"...and I don't think he is quite ready to take on the twisted minds of Argento, Cronenberg, Fulci, Bava, Miike et al just yet.

I personally see scary movies as being a massive part of my childhood and probably the main reason as to why I'm such a huge film aficionado as an adult. I often recite the rather hackneyed defense of "oh well it never did me any harm..." but I would be a liar if I said anything different. I love that I am into obscure, extreme and challenging cinema now and that's all down to my parents and the fact that they didn't wrap me up in cotton wool and shield me from all the scary stuff out there in the big wide world. I intend on doing the same with my own kid...when I feel he is mature enough to deal with certain topics and themes of course (a good few years from now!)

Anyway good luck with your decision...oh and Shaun the sheep is a treat!

lenak, my little one is a huge fan of Labyrinth too. He has also been asking to watch The Dark Crystal as he saw the trailer a few days ago.

lenak - I'm about 3 quarters of the way through reading the time travelers wife and I'm really enjoying it. I love stuff that amkes me cry so maybe she just takes after me!!!!

*makes

bad completely agree with you on this one. I think as long as you watch the films with your LO's and are prepared to discuss them then is so much fantastic family cinema out there that isn't just ultra fluffy, cutesy crap

My 3 year old has been to cinema twice now - for toy story and despicable me. Loved them both, transfixed she was.

Have a selection of u films at home ( older dd too u see) and of all of themm, she is obsessed with The Wizard of Oz. even I find those flying monkeys scary, and the wicked witch. But she loves the film so much.

Puppy I think the bit where they meet the wizard for the first time in Wizard of Oz is really scary.

Doesn't bother DD though 'cause she loves the bit where the lion jumps through the window.

Oooh, I forgot about labyrinth! My DD (2.10) loves Monsters Inc, Lilo & Stich and the piggy bits of Nanny McPhee. And the Muppet Show, oddly enough. She likes seeing the monsters, but firmly tells them "Not allowed in my house!".