The Minions "I Swear"

We took the kids to see "Despicable Me 2" at the movie theater last night.

I started thinking about what a different experience going to the movies is for our kids, compared to how it was when my wife and I were the same age.

When we were young, there were no DVDs or VHS.  When we were their age, if you wanted to see a movie, you had to go to a movie theater.

My kids, at ages 3 and 5, have seen dozens of movies.  And they've seen some of those movies, dozens of times.  Such is the way of the DVD era.

I can't think of ANY movie that I saw more than once, before the age of 10, except for the very rare movie that segued to television.

On the flip side, my kids have only been to a movie theater a couple of times.  And their experience of watching a movie in a theater is shaped by how they are used to watching a movie at home.  

Getting them to sit still for 90 minutes is a challenge, as "watching a movie" for them usually includes bouncing on the couch, moving around, perhaps acting out scenes . . .

Getting them to stay quiet for 90 minutes is also a challenge, because in your living room, there's no expectation of quiet like there is in a movie theater.

That said, last night the kids were pretty darn well-behaved, and in a theater filled with other kids their age, so the expectation of quiet wasn't quite the same as if we'd taken them to "Schindler's List" or anything.

They had a blast watching the film's abundant physical humor courtesy of the "Minions," but I imagine there were more than a few parts that sailed right over their heads.

I guess adding in references to 90s Boy Band videos and The Village People (which came at the end of the movie), were the filmmakers attempt at a nod to those parents who'd spent the last hour and a half holding their kids in their laps, and quietly answering the question "Why is he doing that?" every 2 minutes.


Hear "I Swear" on Youtube.


Hear "YMCA" on Youtube.