Sun - November 23, 2003

Mia's review of The Cat in the Hat


On a scale of 1 to 3 (3 being the best), Mia gives it a 1 (she only sat through a third of it, hence the 1 out of 3).

We are fortunate. If Mia likes a movie, she will sit and quietly enjoy it. This is unusual behavior for a child of 2. Most parents I've talked to that have children Mia's age can't take them to the movies because their child just won't sit still and watch. Mia will, provided that she enjoys the movie. She has enjoyed all the Pixar films (Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo) as well as the occasional regular Disney animated film like Brother Bear. She enjoyed Chicken Run and Shrek as well. She watches the trailers for upcoming animated films via Apple's web site. She had been watching the trailer for The Cat in the Hat for a while before seeing the movie. She enjoys having the book read to her so the fact that it was made into a movie made it even more interesting.

The Cat in the Hat began playing this weekend while we are visiting Mia's grandparents in Killeen. Since there was nothing planned for this afternoon, I decided it was a good time for Mia and I to go see the movie. You would think you would have to know how to read to use a computer but that's really not the case. Mia is getting better and better at it every day. In fact, when it was time to go to the movie, I found Mia sitting at her Grandfather's computer watching the trailer for The Cat in the Hat over and over again. It took a bit of explaining to make her understand that if she stopped watching the trailer we could go to the movies and see the whole movie.

I know my way around Killeen pretty well but I've never driven to the movie theater so we left extra early. This turned out to be a good thing because I got a little lost on the way there. We arrived at the theater, bought a ticket for me (because kids under 3 get in free) and went to the concession stand to purchase a bottle of water and some popcorn. If you have a small child and you want them to have water in the theater, bring a sippy cup. I had Mia's sippy cup in the car but forgot to bring it in. I figured this wouldn't be a problem. Take a child to just about any restaurant and they can always supply you with a cup with a lid and a straw (a good temporary sippy cup). When I asked for a cup so that I could share the three dollar bottle of water I just purchased with Mia, I was presented with a small, topless cup. Apparently the guy behind the counter just didn't notice Mia. After all, she can't see above the counter. I figured he must have noticed me talking to her. But he didn't. This left me with two possibilities: (1) he though I had an invisible friend (like Harvey) or (2) he just hasn't had enough parents ask for a cup with a lid.

I asked for a lid but was told that the these cups don't have lids. So I asked for a small, empty soda cup. I was then told I had to pay for it. OK, I'm a reasonable guy. I'll pay 25 cents for a cup. "How much for the empty soda cup with a lid?", I asked. "$3.25" says the guy behind the counter. After paying $4.25 for popcorn and $3.00 for a bottle of water, I wasn't about to pay another $3.25 for an empty cup even if it does come with a lid. The guy behind the counter could tell I didn't like that answer and apologized saying that those were the rules. I told him to tell the manager that the rules suck.

So we went off towards the theater with our water, our popcorn but completely and totally cupless. Mia noticed a movie poster on the wall. The poster was a large, green "2" with little green ears on a white background. That was it. Nothing else. No movie title. No pictures of the characters from the film. Nothing. Mia took one look at that poster then looked at me with a big smile on her face and said, "Look Ahpa, Shrek!" ("Ahpa" is Korean for "Father"). Pretty amazing.

We found the theater and took our seat. I say "seat" because while kids under 3 get in free what they don't get is their own seat. I don't have a problem with that and Mia likes to sit on my lap. I think because it makes it easier to reach the popcorn. Mia waited patiently until finally the lights went down and the trailers began. After ten minutes of trailers, the movie began. After about 30 minutes or so, Mia got up out of our seat, took my hand and said, "Up please." then proceeded to lead me out of the theater. When we got near the door that leads out into the parking lot, I asked her if she wanted to go back and finish watching movie. She shook her head and said, "No. Harmony, Hadabagee." Those last two words mean "Grandma" and "Grandpa" in Korean. She decided that she'd rather spend more time with her grandparents than watch the movie. That made them feel good. Later I read a review of the movie where the reviewer indicated that he only laughed once during the film. Apparently we never got to that part because I don't think we laughed at all. Not a chuckle and not even a smile from Mia.

If you have children and are thinking about taking them to see The Cat in the Hat, save yourself the trouble and take them to see Brother Bear instead. That's Mia's recommendation.

Posted at 01:55 PM     Read More  


Wed - November 12, 2003

Mia has graduated from diapers



While her grandparents from California where here, Mia completed her potty training. She no longer wears diapers at all (not even at night while she sleeps). Pretty good considering she's only 2 1/2 years old.

Posted at 01:40 PM     Read More  

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