Paddington Bear
Feb 3, 2015 13:01:41 GMT -5
Post by Captain Serious on Feb 3, 2015 13:01:41 GMT -5
Yesterday was M's birthday, and we had his party on Saturday. Since Monday's not a fun-day, we let him pick what he wanted to do for the rest of Saturday. He really wanted to see the Sponge Bob movie, but it doesn't come out until next weekend, so we thought of Paddington Bear.
Knowing that the bear get's "adopted" by a family, I decided to google it with the word adoption, and thank goodness I did! I know it's a little late, but for anyone else who might be thinking of taking their children to see this movie, please read this review, and give careful consideration whether you want to go down that rabbit hole: www.adoptionlcsw.com/2015/01/paddington-adoption-movie-review.html.
It's not that the movie has a bad representation of adoption, it's just that it can parallel real-world adoption stories pretty closely, including all the difficult parts. For one, children/Paddington are left at the train station with a note asking someone to take him in. Families read the note, but pass him by. Even when the Brown family takes him home, they don't see themselves as his final family, but as guardians who will help him find a family. They don't trust him and assume he is lying when he tells them stories. He's so scared when he does something wrong that he runs away. There were so many difficult things in Paddinton's life before he settled in with his family that mirrored what my boys lived through that I just didn't feel like it was a good movie for us to see on M's birthday. The bear was even from Peru!
We told M about the movie and that it was about a bear from Peru looking for a family, and he decided that he'd rather just wait to see Sponge Bob next week. Maybe one day, when it is out on video, we'll see this movie at home and talk it through. For anyone looking for a lighthearted, warm movie, be aware this may open a whole can of worms your aren't expecting.
Knowing that the bear get's "adopted" by a family, I decided to google it with the word adoption, and thank goodness I did! I know it's a little late, but for anyone else who might be thinking of taking their children to see this movie, please read this review, and give careful consideration whether you want to go down that rabbit hole: www.adoptionlcsw.com/2015/01/paddington-adoption-movie-review.html.
It's not that the movie has a bad representation of adoption, it's just that it can parallel real-world adoption stories pretty closely, including all the difficult parts. For one, children/Paddington are left at the train station with a note asking someone to take him in. Families read the note, but pass him by. Even when the Brown family takes him home, they don't see themselves as his final family, but as guardians who will help him find a family. They don't trust him and assume he is lying when he tells them stories. He's so scared when he does something wrong that he runs away. There were so many difficult things in Paddinton's life before he settled in with his family that mirrored what my boys lived through that I just didn't feel like it was a good movie for us to see on M's birthday. The bear was even from Peru!
We told M about the movie and that it was about a bear from Peru looking for a family, and he decided that he'd rather just wait to see Sponge Bob next week. Maybe one day, when it is out on video, we'll see this movie at home and talk it through. For anyone looking for a lighthearted, warm movie, be aware this may open a whole can of worms your aren't expecting.