Cult kids things you just don't "get" - Frozen, Where The Wild Things Are

[MrsMarigold]

Frozen, sorry folks I just don't understand why it is so popular and why do lots of small girls want to be Elsa, Anna is much more heroic.

Where the Wild Things Are - I understand it, well I think I do, but I don't rate it as one of the great books, good illustrations but hey.

Also I struggle a bit with some Oliver Jeffers stuff - Stuck - my DS loves it.

Shame that Eastenders still don't have a carbonite freezer.
It would make burying alive stories much more interesting.

Star Wars is a powerful saga of a young man discovering who he is, what his history is, what he can do.
And of a less young hunk discovering true love, altruism and working towards a greater good rather than his selfish needs.

And a marginal note about how with the best of intentions, and some misplaced anger, you can become one of the most feared people/android in the galaxy.

And droids. Light sabre fights. Weird aliens. Light sabre fights. Space fights. Light sabre fights. Planets exploding. And light sabre fights.

As for Harry Potter, Frozen, Where the Wild Things Are they could disappear from the face of the Earth.

Love the Gruffalo, though. And the little mouse.

W.a.l.l.e. - how boring!

So glad I'm not the only one to find Where the Wild Things Are completely overrated!

Surprise egg videos on YouTube. DD is mad for them.

I never got Cars either (as in the Lightening McQueen film) I thought it was really dull, and then Planes was essentially the same film, but in the air.

Agree about Hello Kitty too.

My daughter wants to be Elsa because a she has the magic powers. Nothing to do with with hair colour or dress. I will never understand why We're Going On. Bear Hunt is so popular with kids

I used to collect Garbage Pail Kids cards. I'm in no position to judge anyone

DS2 is 4 and loves Frozen. We have the karaoke cd in my car and have to duet love is an open door. Sometimes it's 57 times in one journey. We're going on holiday tomorrow and I've hidden the disc. I concede that makes me a dreadful parent. I'll happily burn in hell for it.

Love Harry Potter books and films, though. And Frozen, actually.

I never understood Where the Wild Things Are, book or film, fortunately neither of the DCs cared much for it.

DS1 loved 'Love You Forever' though, when he was little, and I used to have to read it every night for about 3 years. It bothered me, the Mum creeping into the grown man's house to look at him whilst he slept. And the whole ownership thing.

Lweji I'm not sure but do you sort of like Star Wars?

I hate we're going on a bear hunt, which is a display of the most dangerous feckin parenting ever. Come to a deep dark river - you turn around, you don't get your three cc to potentially drown. A snowstorm? Turn the fuck around. It's a snowstorm. Mountain rescue don't want to be digging up your corpses.

WTWTA shows children that they can control fearful things and that they can gain control of their own wildness. It shows that however naughty they might be they are loved and that after the 'wild rumpus' they can still be safe at home and supper will be still hot...they will always be forgiven by 'mother'.
It is a bit like The Gruffalo which helps small children see that you can face up to something big and scary (a bully) and come out on top.
These books speak to the psychology of children and help them to externalise their emotions and so to control them. They are wonderful books.
Frozen etc is just little girl/princess rubbish which most little girls will love harmlessly at a stage in their lives. Chick Lit for infants if you will, wallpaper for the brain, pretty, harmless and thankfully temporary.

WTWTA - borrowed from the library - terrified my son (not sure we got tot the end), looked at in library with both DD's, they were also scared. Really really not going to get house room there. (They liked Shhh don't wake the giant, for gentle frightening).

Frozen - too late for us, our favourite bit was the fact that "love at first sight" seemed to be a mistake. Liked Elsa not getting paired off at the end.

Minecraft- more creative than most games. You can play, when that gets a bit boring you can create; lots of interaction with other people (even if over the net).

Lego you can make different things. I kind of liked the Lego movie, except some people do only want to play with it "properly" which is okay as long as they don't limit how others play with it.

I liked Can't you sleep little bear - lots of chances for hugging.

None of us liked WTWTA either. Frozen is a huge yawn, luckily the DCs aren't that bothered by it either. They loved the Thomas books when younger though and I quite liked them too.

The Gruffalo was the first book DS took a real shine to so I love it for that, we also loved Room on a Broom. The TV and stage adaptations leave me absolutely cold though, the TV get switched off when they come on at Christmas.

Star Wars is another one I could happily live without.

Finally, Eurovision. DH and the DCs love it, I find it excruciatingly awful.

Fireman Frickin Sam
Do I really want my boys watching that walking ASBO Norman Price get off with causing mayhem with not so much as a a time out. Hell bloody no.
No more and they can stick their overpriced plastic tat up Sam's overinflated ego's rear end.

I am grateful that my DCs are too old for some of the things on here. Although DS is into Minecraft, and DD is onto some of the Youtube stuff, they do both have other interests and I'm glad of that.

However, I did put my foot down on the kids having their music CDs in the car. No way was I having the Barbie songs in place of my heavy metal .

Star Wars is a powerful saga of a young man discovering who he is, what his history is, what he can do.

Hmm yes and I do like it but it basically follows a standard structure which is hardly original, though it does it very well.

Young man (sometimes a young woman) living in obscurity, unappreciated, disaffected with his lot, discovers he is special and had a mission to fight evil/save mankind. Is the only one who can do this. Has wise older man to guide him. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Buffy, Sarah Connor from the Terminator, all much the same. There are loads of others, once you see the structure you can spot it all over the place.

A Christian like myself would say that they are following the structure of the story of Jesus, because it is a narrative structure that resonates deep within us. An atheist would have a more cynical view of course.

Wtwta is a beautiful book, I think it also shows parents that the way you treat your kids (sent to bed without any dinner) is the way they will treat other people (the little boy sends the monsters to bed without dinner when he's king.)

I hate lightning mc fucking queen. My ds is obsessed with him, he saw about 20 minutes if the film at a friends house and since then he wants lightning McQueen everything, toothbrush/pants/birthday cake he's getting the film for Easter which I imagine will fuel the obsession.

I have to say I like the sound of the WTWTA book.

But has anyone watched the film with their dc? Interesting to hear what other people made of it.

Just asked dd why she wants to be Elsa not Anna and she said it's because Elsa has magical ice powers. I don't think girls of that age are remotely interested in hair colour.

Another one here who just doesn't get we're going on a bear hunt! Don't understand the attraction of Lego either

Balloon, I am 'cynical' as you put it. I genuinely cannot see Star Wars being about Space Jesus, or Jesus the Vampire Slayer. That's quite a strange analogy to be honest. I could be wrong, it just never came up in Sunday school....'and on the third day, He rose, and his Father did say "you're a wizard Jesus"'.

Collective unconscious and archetypes..

BalloonSlayer

You clearly missed the tongue in cheek part about the "powerful saga" and the last paragraph about light sabre fights.

Of course most stories follow similar scripts and Star Wars is not particularly original story wise, apart from the sabre fights.

Never got Disney princesses - even when I was a kid. All the hype about 'Frozen' has made me so happy I don't have daughters so will never have to sit through it.

My kids are all adults/teenagers now, and am so happy I no longer have to sit through CBeebies. Balamory was particularly loathsome, I thought - with the hatchet faced one, and the PE obsessed one with the unfortunate manner, and all the rest of them. Also, what was that thing where these creepy people in foam outfits pretended to be in a nursery that had the well dodgy old man always hanging round?

One of my grown up sons pointed out last night that UKIP's success might be put down to Thomas the Tank Engine at a formative age. All the black and camp or 'new' (ie: diesel) engines are baddies...

yeah I saw that bit afterwards, Lweji As I say I do like Star Wars anyway