Editor’s Note – “Whiny Wednesdays” is a weekly series that focuses on giving caregivers fun ideas to do locally. The result being that Whiny Days are no more! We are always looking for guest posters for this series, please email us if you’re interested. talk@newburyport-today.com.
This is it! My kids are three and a half and I am in need of time to get something done. Even if its just one thing … put the clothes sitting in the laundry basket away, make a homemade dessert, read my emails (and respond). In this case, I need to pack. What can I set the kids up with while I do this? Rather than taking out dolls, blocks, crayons and more, I am going to let them watch a movie. Not just television … can’t have the kids mimicking Sponge Bob as they go off to preschool. Not just a video … no Baby Mozart, no Wiggles. I am going to have them watch a real movie! A full-length flick with the works … juice boxes, popcorn and licorice. How fun!!!!
Now the challenging part … trying to pick out the movie that they will like and they will watch. It’s not just the product, but also the delivery. If I can’t hit the target, I might as well give it up. The idea is that they will be mesmerized and engaged by the show itself and not want to hunt me down for dress-up adventures, a tea party or their idea of “helping me”. The selection has to be perfect. And it better be available at the video store!
I narrow down my choices by spinning my mental Rolodex of my childhood favorites. My parents used to rent real ‘reel’ films. They would set up the white screen; thread the projector, dim the lights and we would be in home theater heaven. My brother and I would be in our pajamas and in our sleeping bags on the floor — this is not so different from when our parents brought us to the drive-in movies (the outfits and sleeping bags would be the same anyway). My mom would make popcorn on the stovetop and we sometimes got to drink soda. Wahoo!
So will it be animated or a movie with actors? Should it be something fairy tale-ish or can it be something more updated? Of course it should be a movie I like since I may get roped into watching it again. I make my list:
The Jungle Book – This 1967 Disney classic was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney himself, who died before the film’s release. Loosely inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s writings, Book tells the tale of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves in the jungle.
Dr. Doolittle – Dr. Doolittle lives with a menagerie of animals, including Polynesia the parrot and Chee-Chee the chimpanzee. He has a gift for talking to animals and finding out what’s ailing them. When this talent is terribly misunderstood, he sets off for the South Seas in search of the Great Pink Sea Snail.
Finding Nemo – A father-son underwater adventure featuring Nemo, a boy clownfish, stolen from his coral reef home. His timid father must then travel to Sydney and search Sydney Harbor to find Nemo.
Babe - An orphaned piglet discovers his true calling as a sheep dog on a sleepy Australian farm. Raised by a border collie, Babe rises through the barnyard ranks, gathering up sheep, along with his courage and self-respect.
They are all available at the video store (I called ahead)! I can’t wait. I am pumping the kids up already. All I know is that this will be a fun event which I’m sure that I will get nothing done because I will be cuddled up on the couch watching the show with my kids.
Everybody needs a good movie to take them away!
Robin O’Malley is a Newburyport resident and a teacher at the Brown School.
