Is Cars movie scary or otherwise inappropriate?

[hillview]

DS LOVES cars. He loves the Cars characters. He saw Lightening McQueen at DL. He saw a couple of the Cars shorts on disney.com. He's never seen the Cars movie. He doesn't know there is one.

So Ratatouille is too scary for him. Little Mermaid is also a no go (sharks). Where does Cars fit in?

TIA!
/hillary

[maestramommy]

I think Cars is GREAT. It would only be scary if car crashes would be scary.

[AnnieW625]

Cars is suprisingly a really good movie. We really like it. There is nothing wrong with it in my honest opinion. It's one of my daughter's favorites. He might also like Wall E.

[billysmommy]

We love Cars but Benjamin is scared of "Frank" the combine who comes after Lightning and Mater when they're tractor tipping. That scene is nighttime and Frank comes out and is loud and looks pretty mean.

Here's Frank
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/images.jpg

[KrisM]

DS1 watched it age age 2 and loved it. It took a few days to watch the entire thing, because of his age. He still likes it now. There is nothing scary in it.

[SpaceGal]

Cars isn't scary at all...my oldest is a big scaredy cat too. Probably the only "scary" part I can think of is when the Lightning and Mater go tractor tipping and Frank (this hude combine) sees them. Consider Frank like a big angry bull. But otherwise it is a great movie...I have two copies and I think it's been played like over 1000 times...initially once or twice a day for a year....then once a day then once a week...now once every few months.

ETA: DS has been watching it since he was 1.5 yo...he's 4.5 now...that's three years of Cars...three "Cars" Christmases. DS #2 loves it too now.

I also think Wall-E is a great choice but the Cars story is soooo much better. Bolt is good too...and my boys love George. They've started watching Toy Story but the psycho neighbor boy that dissects toys and what not freaks them out a little.

[belovedgandp]

My son can find just about anything to be frightening, but no Cars has not bothered him. It can be ridiculously long to sit through if they aren't used to feature films and the tractor/field scene is a little dark for about 30 seconds before being funny.

[kijip]

Cars was not scary for T at age 3 since the drama is on the race, not on eminent danger (like Nemo being separated from dad, the Rat being chased and threatened, Ariel being tricked by an evil witch). There are a couple of words I was not wild about, stupid being one of them (and the only one I can remember). But overall I think it is super mild and fun.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Cars rocks! My ds was a very nervous movie goer when this came out; I think he was 4yo. He did great! Saw it 7 times in the theater, I think (thanks, Grandma!). There is a little bit of a scary part with the tractor tipping (Frank can be a bit startling).

Beth

[justlearning]

DS has always been too scared to watch movies, but Cars has been the only one that he does like. The nightmare scene described above did scare him at first but he was fine with it upon subsequent viewings.

[mom2binsd]

Great movie for kids and adults, great soundtrack too! I bet he'd love it.

[gatorsmom]

We love Cars but Benjamin is scared of "Frank" the combine who comes after Lightning and Mater when they're tractor tipping. That scene is nighttime and Frank comes out and is loud and looks pretty mean.

:yeahthat: When Cars first came out, Gator was 3yo IIRC. He was very nervous about Frank. He wanted me to explain over and over that Frank wouldn't actually hurt LIghtning McQueen. But that scene is over quickly and really doesnt add much to the storyline so if you fast forwarded through that part, you would not miss an important part of the movie.

[ThreeofUs]

I have a sensitive guy, too, but he can watch Cars. He needs a little support to watch it, and is still wrapping his mind around how route 66 became obsolete, but he likes it. Oh, yeah, and we have lots of discussions about Frank.

[pb&j]

The first couple of times he watched it, DS was a little scared of Frank the combine, but we talked through it, and he was fine. He was a little concerned about the car crashes, but we told him that all the bumped up cars would get towed to the garage and fixed.

We LOVE Cars! DS thinks that Sally is Lightning's mom, which just makes me so happy. I am not about to correct his misconception any time soon.

[o_mom]

DS1 is scared about most movies but Cars has always been fine with him (Horton Hears a Who is too scary, for example, and most times I am amazed at what other kids his age will watch without being scared) . I think he was about 4 when he first saw it. There are a couple mild cursing lines - hillbilly hell and dag-gummit. Other than that it is about as tame as they come

[justincase]

DS is very easily scared and he loooooooves Cars. To give you some reference points, he is scared of Jungle Book (not just Kaa and Shere Khan but harmless Baloo, too, for some reason) and of the Cat in the Hat (he has never read a Cat in the Hat book or seen anything about it, but somehow decided that the tiny picture of him on the spine of all the Dr. Seuss-type books is "a really bad guy" and made me put them all away). There is one brief slightly scary part in Cars where a big red wild bull-looking combine chases Lightning McQueen and Mater across a field where they were out tractor tipping (like cow tipping) but DS likes to proudly tell me: "This is the scary part with the mad combine but they shouldn't have been in his field in the first place..." He doesn't watch much TV but putting Cars in the DVD player in the Ody guarantees me a quiet 116 minutes of driving! As for inappropriate, there is some "fresh" language and one tiny moment when LMQ's groupies "flash" their headlights at him, but the reference is waaaaay over DS's head. I'd say go for it.

[infomama]

Cars is a great movie. I often check this site http://www.kids-in-mind.com/c/cars.htm when looking into movies.

[Kitten007]

My son hates the opening of Ratatouille (the scary big eyed lady with the gun). We just choose the scene in the scene selection menu to where he is washing down the sewer.

Here is my guys favorites:

Cars (his absolute favorite!)
Tinkerbell (loves those ladies!)
Bolt (loves the dog and very good!)
WallE (loves it loves it loves it)
Meet the Robinsons (very very good story I like it too)
The Incredibles (thinks it's okay..sees it every now and then)
Finding Nemo (likes it somewhat but too slow for his taste)
Kung Fu Panda (he thinks the panda is funny)

[writermama]

My 3 year old DD loves Cars. I second and third what PPs have said about where it lies on the not-scary scale.

Be aware, though, that the bonus Cars short on the DVD, "Ghost Light," is mildly to moderately scary. My DD used to be scared of it -- she would ask to watch it over and over with me sitting right there while she was working through it. It's short though (10 min maybe?) so it's easy for you to preview and decide if it's right for your DS.

[alien_host]

We love Cars but Benjamin is scared of "Frank" the combine who comes after Lightning and Mater when they're tractor tipping. That scene is nighttime and Frank comes out and is loud and looks pretty mean.

Here's Frank
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j28/loricaddoo/images.jpg

:yeahthat: DD made me skip over Frank each time, she's beter about it now but not thrilled with Frank (she hides when he comes on). Otherwise she LOVES the movie. And she loves "Mater and the Ghostlight". She also loves Wall-E.

She also was skitish about Ivan (the doorman) in Curious George. We hadn't watched it in 6 months and she kept saying, "hey isn't there a scary part coming up?" and I said, "oh Ivan, he's nice at the end remember?" They really don't forget do they!

[eyedoc_01]

:yeahthat: DD made me skip over Frank each time, she's beter about it now but not thrilled with Frank (she hides when he comes on). Otherwise she LOVES the movie. And she loves "Mater and the Ghostlight". She also loves Wall-E.


I've seen two people say Frank was scary in Cars but Wall-E was OK.

For whatever reason, DD#1 loves every part of cars, Frank included, but won't watch Wall-E. He's very scared of the part where Eve is attempting to blow Wall-E away with her huge laser cannon.

[caheinz]

Hmmm. Frank (Combine) was fine here, but DS1 didn't like the near-train-crash at the beginning. Just fast-forwarded through it the first umpteen times...

[rlu]

[QUOTE=gatorsmom;2463438He was very nervous about Frank. He wanted me to explain over and over that Frank wouldn't actually hurt LIghtning McQueen. But that scene is over quickly and really doesnt add much to the storyline so if you fast forwarded through that part, you would not miss an important part of the movie.[/QUOTE]

It was the scary part for DS at first, but dang, the tractor tipping scene is my favorite part of the movie. DS laughs at it now, prob because I start cracking up as we near the scene.

DS wants to drive Route 66. I told him he's already been on part of it when we drove from TX to CA for his baptism. Doesn't really count, but he's been to Kingman.

[KBecks]

There is also a perilous scene near the beginning where Lightning is separated from Mack and gets lost. He drives around wildly on the highway, almost getting hit. To me, it is concerning, but I am very sensitive to these things. I'd definitely watch with your child. The first few times we watched the movie I sat prepared to advance to a later scene and skip the chapters with Lightning getting lost and the Frank scene. Both Alek and John like the movie a lot. It is our favorite and I love it too! Have fun!

[mytwosons]

There is also a perilous scene near the beginning where Lightning is separated from Mack and gets lost. He drives around wildly on the highway, almost getting hit. To me, it is concerning, but I am very sensitive to these things. I'd definitely watch with your child. The first few times we watched the movie I sat prepared to advance to a later scene and skip the chapters with Lightning getting lost and the Frank scene. Both Alek and John like the movie a lot. It is our favorite and I love it too! Have fun!

It's also during this part that a Peterbuilter (sp?) truck says to Mack "turn on your lights, you moron". That was the only "bad" word I remember from the movie (probably because I heard my son say it. But, it was a good opportunity to discuss how words can hurt and be inappropriate.

[billysmommy]

:yeahthat: DD made me skip over Frank each time, she's beter about it now but not thrilled with Frank (she hides when he comes on). Otherwise she LOVES the movie. And she loves "Mater and the Ghostlight". She also loves Wall-E.

She also was skitish about Ivan (the doorman) in Curious George. We hadn't watched it in 6 months and she kept saying, "hey isn't there a scary part coming up?" and I said, "oh Ivan, he's nice at the end remember?" They really don't forget do they!


That's funny because Benjamin doesn't like Ivan in Curious George either ~ he always says "Skip the mean man part" :)

It's weird because the Frank part in Cars really bothers him (he absolutely loves the rest of the movie and knows it by heart) but he has no problem watching the scarier Disney movies ~ Sleeping Beauty (loves all the parts with Maleficent), Alice in Wonderland (fascinated with the Queen of Hearts)

He is scared of Lucifer in Cinderella though?!?!?!

DH and I are thinking it's something along the lines of what's real and not real ~ dragons and wicked fairies are NOT real but cats and combines are real so they are scary because that might happen.

[alien_host]

That's funny because Benjamin doesn't like Ivan in Curious George either ~ he always says "Skip the mean man part" :)

It's weird because the Frank part in Cars really bothers him (he absolutely loves the rest of the movie and knows it by heart) but he has no problem watching the scarier Disney movies ~ Sleeping Beauty (loves all the parts with Maleficent), Alice in Wonderland (fascinated with the Queen of Hearts)

He is scared of Lucifer in Cinderella though?!?!?!

DH and I are thinking it's something along the lines of what's real and not real ~ dragons and wicked fairies are NOT real but cats and combines are real so they are scary because that might happen.


That is funny b/c my DD sat through Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland without issue as well. She's OK with Lucifer but did ask me if he was scary. She also does not mind Ursula in Little Mermaid.

Thank goodness for the "skip" button on the remote!

[billysmommy]

That is funny b/c my DD sat through Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland without issue as well. She's OK with Lucifer but did ask me if he was scary. She also does not mind Ursula in Little Mermaid.

Thank goodness for the "skip" button on the remote!


The boys both love Ursula's part in the Little Mermaid too :) Kids are funny sometimes

[BillK]

I never understood in Ratatouille WHY the producers felt the need for the main Chef to say the line "Welcome to Hell". I'm not a huge fan of the opening shotgun scene either - but Zach's fine with it all.

Cars and Wall-E are huge hits here - as is Curious George and Nemo.

[happymom]

Cars is a great movie. I often check this site http://www.kids-in-mind.com/c/cars.htm when looking into movies.

Thanks for that site!

[gatorsmom]

"Welcome to Hell".

We just watched Ratatouille again last week and when they said this line I thought to myself, "come ON! Is that really necessary?" Because now, of course, Gator is interested in trying that one out.