Childhood Toys Turned Movies

It always seems to surprise me at how exciting it is to see one of our childhood toys come to life on the big screen. Fairly recently, a friend and I were talking about the latest kid cartoons turned movies (and sequels) and our kids' desires to see them. However, the sad truth is that our kids will most likely miss out on these big screen releases.

My husband is an enormous fan of Transformers. Before we had children, he collected a few of the old and new robots in disguise. These were mainly "mint in box" but I will admit that one red and blue leader of the Autobots made it to his work desk. His love stems from endless hours of being entertained by the cartoon and the toy in his childhood. When the first Transformer movie was released to the big screen, he was there (and multiple times afterwards as well). Sharing this great piece of his life with his sons is one thing that he really looked forward to.

Transformers the movie holds a "PG-13" rating, but with the majority of the "bad parts" being clumped together in a couple of different spots, it was easy enough to distract or block out for our sons. After my husband had seen the movie, he knew just when to strategically cover eyes and/or ears. As much as we wished these portions were not included within the movie, we were able to swing it. When Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen was schedule to come out, we assumed this would also be the case. Unfortunately, this is not so.

My husband, back at the theatre on opening day, was disappointed that there wasn't a clear way to block out "just the bad parts" so he could again enjoy a Transformers movie with our sons. The sequel, to one of the most popular movies of Summer 2007, is littered with swearing (among other things). In fact, according to director Michael Bay, characters Mudflap & Skids were said to be created specifically for the kids but seemed to have the worst potty mouths in the movie. My boys love Transformers, and the toys are everywhere, but I refuse to let them have these 2 characters as toys.

This leads me to the newest release, GI Joe. I have not yet seen this feature film presentation, so I can't say exactly how this one will play out. However, before the PG-13 rating was announced, a rumor was floating around that it would be placed in the R rating category. My thoughts were instantly... Seriously? GI Joe? Please say it isn't so Joe!

I have no problem with these movies being full of fun and excitement, but why must we take our innocent childhood toys and cartoons and turn them into sexual, violent, cuss word filled movies? Wouldn't we love them without all of the extra "filler?" Wouldn't those of us who enjoyed these characters as kids love to have our own children embrace them as well? How can we do that if the rating is going to be above PG? Why do we set up endless displays in the toy aisles for our young kids to ooh and aah over if we don't intend to make the movies kid friendly? Take a look at the toys out there as well. Flip open level 1 Transformers were created for young fans, ages 3 and up, and I have seen Mr Potato Head with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee pieces as well. Why make some of these movie toys geared toward the very young if they aren't even able to watch the movie?

I'm not saying I don't enjoy the movies, but I just wish I didn't have to tell my kids, "you can play with the toys, but you can't watch the movie." Maybe it's not that at all. Maybe I'm just a little jealous of the full grown boys getting all of their toys made into movies. I mean I just wish Rainbow Brite or My Little Pony would get a movie and call someone "b****" or something... that'd grow up our girl cartoons! I even have a few ideas that could work....

Extreme Makeover: Rainbow Brite Edition

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