This is topic Narnia the movie--6 Year Old friendly? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
 
Momma wants to take 2.25 hours and watch Narnia to see if its OK for Sasha. Then we would find another 2.25 hours to watch it with Sasha.

We borrowed it from a friend who is waiting for us to give it back, and we just haven't found the time.

So I come to a group of people I almost trust, who happen to be Narnia experts, and ask--is it OK for a sensitive (Scared of Witches) 6 year old boy, and more importantly, his non-voilence or I'll kill you, mother.
 

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Posted by airmanfour (Member # 6111) on :
 
I thought it was pretty pansy....y, so I guess it's good for the youguns. But I'm nowhere near parental.
 

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Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
 
Our girls didn't have a problem with it, but they're not that sensitive. I think the witch is pretty scary, specifically because she's so believable in her bitchiness. And the guilt theme on the younger boy is pretty intense. In a lot of ways, despite the fantastic setting, the intensity of this movie comes, IMO, from it's realism. The interactions, the motivations, feel real and intense to me.
 

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Posted by Sharpie (Member # 482) on :
 
My six-year-old niece says:

"It got boring, but I liked it. A five-year-old would be scared of the huge huge lion or the beaver that talked or they might be really scared of the wolves. The wardrobe scared me because it looked like a monster, it always looked like a monster inside. But no. It is not too scary for a six-year-old."

(It seems like she remembers a lot of scary things, if one were hypothetically the kind of person to be afraid of that kind of thing.)
 

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Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
I think it is truly frightening. I would not take certain six year-olds to it.

When I read the book to my daughter, she was seven, I think, and it freaked her out more than any traditional scary book or movie ever has since.

I remember when I read it as a child. I was in third or fourth grade. The scene where Aslan is sacrificed was nightmarish for me. I was and continue to be a very visual learner, and I still have pictures in my head of that book, as I read it back then.

So, I would say, if you know your child tends to have a visual, imaginative mind, steer clear for a few years.(or wait for the video) In fact, my daughter would probably have ben OK at that age if she had seen the movie, but the read-aloud was tough.

My son, on the other hand, has only recently been cleared for Harry Potter, and usually we watch it at home instead of the theater, which is more of a "trapped" place to watch a frightening film.
 

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Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
 
Depends on the six-year-old, naturally, but I thought it was pretty tame. But then, when I was six my mother sat up with me at midnight on Saturday to watch "Creature Features". It's a little hard to be scared of Christopher Lee as Dracula when your mother is on the couch next to you snoring.

If it was my 6-year-old, I would be prepared to discuss inevitable comparisons to other mythologies viz. the death-and-resurrection thing, but otherwise it seems like a pretty cool youngsters' movie. I would have enjoyed it at 6.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I think my dad took me to see Star Trek VI when I was around 6.

I don't think Narnia is too scary though, and I used to get nightmares from Fern Gully.

-pH
 

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Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Palliard:
But then, when I was six my mother sat up with me at midnight on Saturday to watch "Creature Features". It's a little hard to be scared of Christopher Lee as Dracula when your mother is on the couch next to you snoring.

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I beg to differ. I used to watch Big Wilson's Night Owl Theater with my mom, starting at midnight. They used to show all the classic horror movies, and after each, I would creep, terrified, to bed, making crucifixes with my fingers at every shadow.
 

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Posted by Palliard (Member # 8109) on :
 
Hehe... you sound like my little brother. For a whole entire year, back when Bigfoot was on all the television networks about once every two months, he was convinced most nights that bigfoot was lurking outside his window and the very minute he was asleep would crash through the glass and eat him.

The apricot tree casting shadows on his window while blowing around in the breeze didn't help. Given our living arrangements, I more often than not had to scare the apricot tree away.

Anyway, in no wise is Narnia like a Christopher Lee Dracula movie. I was simply trying to use that as a relative guage.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
Dan, my six year old twins had no problems with it, even seeing it on the big screen in the theater. They've watched it many times on DVD with no trouble at all.
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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and more importantly, his non-voilence or I'll kill you, mother.

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There are battles and scenes of serious injury. I don't know if that counts.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
Yeah, there are some fairly intense battle scenes, and plenty of violence, so perhaps your wife may want to veto it.
 

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Posted by Silent E (Member # 8840) on :
 
My kids watched it several times when they were respectively six and four. If anything, the four-year-old (now five) liked it even better than the six-year-old (now seven). They watched the battle scene over and over again.
 

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Posted by whiskysunrise (Member # 6819) on :
 
My 4 year old likes it.
 

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Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
 
I'm going to agree with airmanfour on this one. The battle scenes are a far cry from anything close to LOTR. I was very disappointed with it, but I should've expected actionless action scenes; it is after all made by Disney.

So yeah, aside from being a really boring movie, I doubt most exposed six year olds would have a problem with the Chronicles of Narnia.
 

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Posted by mimsies (Member # 7418) on :
 
My six year old loved it, but he'd already had the book read to him, listened to the audio play, and seen the BBC movie, so pretty much knew what to expect. Had it come out a year and a half earlier, when he was more sensitive, it would not have been good for him.

There is violence in it.

I might suggest waiting awhile, if there is concern.
 

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Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
 
For me, as an adult, the scariest part was Tumnus! OK, weird, right? Think about it. Goatman.
Little girl alone in the woods.
Little girl lured to goatman's cave.
Little girl drugged.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!

When I was little, I would never have thought anything of that.
 

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Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
 
I was going to suggest what mimsies suggested- wait, and read the book to Sasha first. There are also audiobook recordings which are quite good for car trips, which is how my family experienced Narnia when I was a little kid. I highly recommend them.
 

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Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
 
You could start watching it with him, and then if it got too scary, turn it off.
 

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Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
 
Doesn't matter too much now. The DVD player is on the fritz.
 

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Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
 
Heehee, problem solved, then.

Could use the computer as a DVD player, if yours does that sort of thing.
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Elizabeth:
For me, as an adult, the scariest part was Tumnus! OK, weird, right? Think about it. Goatman.
Little girl alone in the woods.
Little girl lured to goatman's cave.
Little girl drugged.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!!!

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quote:

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If what you see happening on the TV or big screen is not what you would be comfortable with seeing happening for real in your living room, then it's probably not a something you want to see.

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I, personally think anyone under 10 too young for the movie. That being said, I liked it very well -- precisely because the battle scenes were NOT full of gratuitous violence and icky stuff flying ( a la LOTR -- and don't go getting all incensed on me people -- I cheer every time Aragorn lops off that Uruk head -- but that's me -- a fully formed adult ), so I was okay with my son being there. He, however, WAS disturbed by the movie -- even though he enjoyed it, it also very much emotionally affected him. We did a lot of de-briefing, walking and talking and snuggling, afterwards.

Just my .02.
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 

quote:

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If what you see happening on the TV or big screen is not what you would be comfortable with seeing happening for real in your living room, then it's probably not a something you want to see.

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