Something very disturbing happened to me when I was playing with my 5 year old cousin the other day, Ian. I’ve mentioned Ian on this board before and how much he loves Cars, but…
Me: Seeing his toy of Mack Ooh, its Mack!
Ian: Yeah…I don’t really like the Cars movie anymore.
Me: Really? Why?
Ian: It seems like its for little kids.
Of course, in my head I was like “ARE YOU INSANE? YOU ARE FIVE YEARS OLD! I’M FOURTEEN, AND I LOVE THAT MOVIE!” But I tried to keep my cool.
Me: Well, its really a movie for everyone.
Ian simply shrugs.
This really, really disturbed me. I hope its just a phase, but what is our world coming to if a five year old considers Cars for “little kids?” Dangit, he’d be too young to get half the jokes when he’s twice his age!
It’s a phase some little kids go through, when they want to be all independent and seem all grown up. I see it a lot where I work, really young kids refusing their parents’ help because ‘I can do it myself’. At that age they’re gaining a little independence and want to mimic what their parents do, and if it’s made clear by their parents that a movie like Cars is suitable for them, the child, but not the parents then they’re likely to mimic this same behaviour in an attempt to appear more adult.
We, as actual adults, are more conscious of what we like and dislike and whether or not that is influenced by our environment, and so we’re able to discern the fact that we may like a movie like Cars despite it being aimed at a wide-ranging audience and despite the slight stigma attached to the animation field and who it’s supposed to be aimed at, which is stereotypically thought of as children.
So I wouldn’t be surprised, Rac_Rules, if your cousin goes through this phase and then comes out of it liking Cars again. As for how long that will take, well, you never know with kids!
EDIT: Just re-read that, and it sounds like a bunch of psycho-babble, but I’m sure there’s some truth in the basis of my idea.
Ah, it better be just a phase! I remember when I was 12, I hated that I enjoyed Cars because I thought it was meant for little ones like my at-the-time 4 year old brother (he loved it a lot back then, too). But a year later, I was into the picture full swing! shrugs I don’t know if my bit of experience (I guess you could call it that) helps, but I hope he comes to his senses sometime.
I enjoyed reading your psycho-babble, lizardgirl! xD
Interestingly enough, they repeat this phase when they become teenagers (except this time, they follow peer pressure in addition to defying their parents). Granted, not all teens are ‘flock-followers’, but most of them are.
Ha. I had the same feelings as your cousin for Toy Story when I was his age . And many other things that I can’t remember :XD: . My boyfriend said that he “hated” most of the songs in The Land Before Time (“Peaceful Valley”, for example) when HE was really young because he thought they were childish. (He said that as we were having a marathon and I was just singing my heart out)
Most of us know kids that age go through a phase where they think they’re all grown up act THINK they act like it. Clearly they don’t know about adults and “big people”
It may not be anything to worry about. It sounds like he’s saying he dislikes it because he thinks its a kids movie. Once he realizes that its not just for kids, or that its OK to like a “kids” movie, he may change his mind. Although I do find it interesting that at 5 years old he considers himself an older kid
Haha, I actually think that it’s really cute that your cousin considers himself all grown up! This may sound counterintuitive, but he’ll realize as he grows up that he’s just a kid and that being a kid is awesome, so don’t worry!
I’m going to admit something. The only movies I watch anymore are Disney or Pixar. I don’t like the way other media companies are nowdays. I agree with Lake.
Same! I’m only 14, but I appreciate the hard work put into these cartoons which people pass over as being just for “little kids.” My little cousin Chase, four years old, used to LOVE Cars, and still does. But not as much. We still run around the backyard backwards pretending to be Mater. He’s the only person I can talk to about Cars.
I’m gonna keep him in this stage as long as possible
I’m so alone
