Two movies just came across our radar yesterday. One was in the theaters and the other we checked out from the library. Though both are for children and fully appropriate as far as content, language and themes, I am going to go ahead and say that they are not appropriate for pre-schoolers. I have different reasons for stating this for each film.

We rented Bridge to Terabitha from our local library yesterday afternoon. It’s fantastic! If you have ever read the book, the film does an amazing job helping us see what Jessie and Leslie are seeing in their mind’s eyes. We are sharing with them in their vivid, exciting imaginings about the kingdom of Terabithia. Even as an adult I was fully engaged and my own longings to be able to access the creativity of my youth were awakened.

My daughter is not yet rive, though, and this film was too intense for her on two counts. First, some of the scenes called froth an intensity that to me was exciting, but to Gigi was just frightening. She equated the tension and suspense with fear. Some of the characters in Terabithia were also scary-looking to her young eye.

Second, if you have read the book, you will know that this story deals with the subject of death. And, the theme is harrowing in its poignant timing and the relationship we will have built with the character by the end of the story. The event was disturbing for my daughter and although we were able to broach the subject and come to some satisfying resolutions, it is difficult for a child to process the death of someone who is not old or sick or unknown to them. Keep that in mind when sharing this movie with a youngster. Be prepared to spend some time addressing the theme of death.

We also saw Fred Claus yesterday, in the theater. It was charming and sometimes even touching. I enjoyed it a lot and have to admit that I find both Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti sexy in their sheer ordinariness. Give me a regular guy any day of the week over an overblown sex-symbol type.

Anyway, the trouble with this film when you are considering seeing it with a preschooler is that there are drags in the action that can be close to unbearable for someone with a short attention span. While the movie moved along nicely for me, my daughter informed me that it was the longest movie we had ever seen. Those drags in the film resulted in a whole lot of talking on Gigi’s part and I am sure that was not particularly pleasant for the other people in the theater. She was, ironically, the only person under the age of 20 in the theater at the time.

So, two great movies. Both are ultimately appropriate for most any child. I just wanted to pass along my thoughts on why they are not ideal for preschoolers.