This past weekend, I took a little trip down to my local movie theater to see the film Inside Out. Did I go see it just once? Absolutely not. Did I feel ashamed when I started to tear up at another one of Pixar’s animated masterpieces? Not until my seven-year-old cousin, who definitely has her life together far more than I should ever hope to, asked me if I was doing okay.
As a college student on the cusp of adulthood, it might sound strange to be obsessed with a film meant for a younger audience. But then again, the Harry Potter books were written for children, so why can’t I have this?
Animated films, in my opinion, are like a fine wine: they only get better with age. The Lego Movie is so much better as an adult, as we are able to understand many of the references that make this children’s flick Oscar-worthy. The adult jokes that we missed in our favorite films as children are so much better now that we can actually understand them! So in light of my recent animated film viewings and the nostalgic feeling I have for the films of my childhood, here are the top five reasons why I think that children’s movies are so much better when you watch them as a “grown-up.”
1) Like I said, we finally get all of the jokes.
If you’ve seen the original Madagascar, Marty the zebra occasionally exclaims “sugar honey iced tea!” As children, this means nothing to us. As adults, we know that the first letter of each word spells out a not-so-kid-friendly term. And that knowledge alone is sheer awesomeness.
2) Now that we’re older, we have our own money to spend on all of the film merchandise we could possibly desire! Plus, our big adult brains can quote the film’s lines so much better in everyday scenarios.
I’ve seen many adults wear shirts or drink out of cups covered in minions from Despicable Me. Hot Topic has sections of their store dedicated to various Disney products. And thanks to that fancy grown-up paycheck of yours, you can swim in How to Train Your Dragon stuffed animals. Life is good, my friends.
And lets not even start with the quotes! Want to be nice to your roommates and cook them breakfast? Feel free to shout out, “In the morning, I’m making waffles!” Running late to a family event and your mom threatens to leave you at home? Remind her that “Ohana means family. Family means that no one gets left behind, or forgotten."
3) They remind us of our childhood, AKA the good old days.
Nap time was required, bills and loans non-existent, and being excited to see these films made you a "normal kid" instead of a "creep" or a "person who should start acting their own age and watch boring things instead like documentaries about the aging process of cheeses blah blah blah." Who doesn’t like reminiscing on the glory days of adolesence after watching these great movies?
Instead of forcing your parents to watch Pocahontas with you everyday for a year (of which I was guilty), we've now seen more movies in our lifetime than we can probably count. Some have been a cinematic masterpiece while others have been Sharknado. With a plethora of films under our belt, we can finally learn to appreciate The Hunchback of Notre Dame for its deep theological viewpoints or Up for their brilliant depiction of a romantic relationship via a touching montage and a heartbreaking score.
Finally,
5) The morals hit far closer to home now than they did have as children.
Need I remind you of the time that Andy had to move away to college and decided to give away his beloved toys? Or what about being able to identify with Nemo’s need for independence as he grows up (and possibly even understanding Marlin’s difficultly with accepting his son’s growth, as our own parents have had to learn to accept) in Finding Nemo?
There’s no denying that animated children’s movies are awesome. They give us adults (by society’s standards, not necessarily our own) a taste of our youth while simultaneously warming our cold and bitter grown-up hearts. As we get older, we don’t have to let go of the films that taught us how to be the people we are today. Wreck-It-Ralph reminds us that “there’s no one I’d rather be than me.” And the me I’d much rather be is the one who loves animated movies just as much (if not more so) than when I was a kid.
