My Role As A Parent - Become Figure Of Ridicule

"Surf's Up," a once-upon-a-time family favorite.

When I was growing up I was frustrated by my relatives wanting to take me to movies grossly inappropriate for my age. I was eager to see the "Poseidon Adventure" when the adults couldn't wait to take an actual kid to "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."

I vowed things would be different on my watch. Little did I know we become that which we mock.

Everything started so innocently.

When my daughter was three I would watch movies with her in the belief that things might get too intense or that something needed to be explained. She would watch movies several times, memorize the dialogue, trying to figure out on her own what they meant.

By the time she was five after weekday dinners we would retire in front of the television. We would play a game where we each would choose a few of our favorite scenes from a movie and view them on the TV. Sometimes we would use freeze-frames to deeply analyze every action. She would ask me why I liked a particular passage, or what had made me laugh.

From this I learned to appreciate the movies through her eyes, as well as enjoy the many quick jokes often made by secondary characters in busy scenes. The exercise gave me an appreciation of animated films I had not possessed previously.

 The above clip is from "Shrek the Third." Snow White starts out singing her cute song with all the forest creature frolicking, then transitions to Led Zepplin's "Immigrant Song" to attack the evil enchanted trees. My daughter and I must have watched this 50 times together, celebrating girl power as the princesses attacked the castle.

The other night we were fishing for a movie to watch together and I suggested an animated film we had enjoyed previously. "No.Way."

She's only 12, I thought, maybe there could be just a little leeway?

I celebrate being ridiculous.