Staff Reports
So, picture this: you’re all excited to take your grandson to the movies, imagining a wholesome adventure with Buzz Lightyear zooming through space, and then—bam!—you’re hit with a plot twist that’s more shocking than a cold shower in December. Your grandson, who’s just trying to figure out if Buzz can defeat Zurg or not, suddenly has to process how a woman had a baby with another woman. Now, that’s not exactly on the menu for a Saturday morning cartoon, is it?
As our friendly neighborhood grandparent pointed out, sitting through a Pixar movie should be a chance to sit back, enjoy some popcorn, and maybe even admire how the animated toys can get away with a lot more than your average Saturday afternoon. But then, like an unsolicited avocado on your omelet, in comes a heavy topic that leaves you scratching your head. And what kind of answer does a grandparent have for such a deep question? “Uh, well, kiddo, let’s just focus on the shiny spaceship.” Yeah, that’s not going to fly—especially when kids don’t just stop asking questions. They start gaining superhuman levels of curiosity.
Now, it’s important to note that nobody’s trying to erase the existence of diverse family structures from the pages of the movie industry. It’s more about timing, folks! When you’re dealing with pint-sized viewers who are still figuring out how to tie their shoes, there’s a certain level of lightheartedness one would hope for in a space-faring adventure featuring their favorite action figure. Instead, they exit the theater slightly more confused than when they came in. That’s not exactly the kind of takeaway we want from Buzz Lightyear’s latest escapade.
And you can bet the “woke left”—the self-proclaimed guardians of inclusivity—will roll their eyes over the opinions that dare suggest leaving some adult topics out of children’s entertainment. But you gotta wonder, isn’t there a time and place for everything? Let’s allow kids to enjoy the thrill of space rangers battling the forces of evil before we dive into the complexities of life—let’s save that for their college classes, shall we? After all, you bring them to see talking toys, not to graduate from a sociology course.
In the grand tapestry of storytelling, it’s all about balance. Driving the message of love and family is undoubtedly essential—no arguments there—but how about doing it in a way that doesn’t leave the attendees feeling like they just stumbled into an advanced seminar halfway through the movie? Perhaps the day will come when filmmakers will find the middle ground where kids can still enjoy their heroes without having their brains overloaded with concepts they’re not ready to grasp yet. Until then, let’s just keep the action figures out of the deep stuff and save the serious conversations for the living room, right?
