One year later [Hollywood hates children's movies]

[DarkHelmet]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Walt didn't have to rely on fart jokes.

Don't underestimate the intellect of a child. Sure they will laugh at a fart, but doesn't mean it should become screen entertainment.

The recent PBS series "Pioneers of Television" had a segment on the incredible kids shows. Most if not all of the creators of these highly successful shows agreed on one thing...kids are intelligent and deserve intelligent humor. Don't talk down to them.

Toilet humor talks down to them.

 

[Lutso]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

I'm going to pledge my support to Jonny5's cause...

Admittedly I'm not so sure that raunchy humor is that recent of a development. I remember kid's flicks from the 90's that were full of that kind of stuff. I was never really fooled by them though...thank goodness. I favored stuff with actual substance. Wallace and Grommit was always good.

However I get the point that you emphasizing about the trailers showcasing this crap. Yes, I think that is a bit more recent. Movies used to try to cover up toilet humor like it was a guilty pleasure. Now it's their main marketing strategy.

Personally I think comedy should stem from and thrive on creative writing, but this is apparently an alien concept to most of Hollywood.

I know there's a few Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World fans that hang around this board...although maybe not a "comedy" film in the literal sense, one of the funniest things I've ever seen. And it didn't get that way with poop jokes...

I can't wait to see what kind of bullsh** they pull in the new CGI Smurfs movie. I only saw one movie poster for that and I knew it was going to be a load of baloney. I'll bet $50 I'm right.
In fact I can almost always tell if a kid's movie is going to be crap or not based on the poster alone. Funny how that works.

Point made, I agree on everything you've said. And yes, kids (or at least some kids) deserve some intelligence and maturity in their media. Although not a movie, look at Sesame Street. Wow, what a brilliant show. Witty and thoughtful adult humor - I still crack up at it - and loved by kids all over.

Bottom line, kid's movies should be made to be enjoyed by kids - not made to be so stupid that only a kid would enjoy it. See the difference?

Then again, as an amateur filmmaker I have a big thing against tailoring movies to audiences in general, so perhaps I don't belong in this discussion.

 

[jonny5]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

This is very much to my point.
If it is a throw away gag and irrelivant to the story, why then is the only bit of bathroom humor featuered so prominently in the trailers?

What 'coke-snorting-marketing dip-hole' layed out a sucessful case in some meeting that a CGI rabbit pooping jellybeans on the hood of a car was THE SCENE that summed up the heart and soul of this little $38M gem, and would make people flock to theaters to lay down $10 a head to watch what is essentially an Easter themed version of Tim Allen's 'The Santa Clause'?

It is this sort of advertising that keeps me away from what for all I know might well be a cute little film aside from, this one pointless gross out gag.

Now you just watch. The people who make trailers for movie releases are clearly not the same people who make trailers for DVD releases. I'll wager my years salary to this date* THAT bit won't be in the commercials for the DVD relase of HOP.


(* Prize value $0.00 I've been un-employed since Sept 2010.)

I think that was the only "bathroom humor" that Hop had was the jellybeans...and that was only shown twice.

 

[jonny5]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Your right! I had forgotten that.
The line in the context of the movie was a total throw away.

The trailer for Rio showed him talking about peeing in the bird bath. Falls in with all the others.

 

[jonny5]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Of course kids find this stuff funny. They are immature.

The issue is trying to raise kids to be decent human beings as opposed to future frat boys and Paris Hilton wannbes. Trying to encourage my kids to be better than I was (am).

My oldest son left HS a year early to start 4 years of college and graduated 2009. His sister is did 4 years of HS and managed enough AP credits to enter her 1st year of college techincally as a sophmore, meaning she too will get her 4 year degree a year ahead of others in her HS graduating class.

Is it too much to ask that some of the future leaders of the world appreciate Shakespeare more than SpongeBob? Physics more than flatuence? 3.1415 more than 4:20?

I think you're making way to big a deal out of stupid fart jokes in kids movies. This is what most kids find funny, so of course they'll put them in there.

 

[jonny5]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Admittedly I'm not so sure that raunchy humor is that recent of a development. I remember kid's flicks from the 90's that were full of that kind of stuff.

I've noticed this problem in trailers since the movie BABE (1995)

Although not a movie, look at Sesame Street. Wow, what a brilliant show. Witty and thoughtful adult humor - I still crack up at it - and loved by kids all over.

Still a huge muppet fan but SS lost me when they introduced a character named Telly who incessantly whined about his fears.

At some point the actress who plays Maria got into writing and directing and at that point the live action content and the show went down hill fast. The absolute nadir was one episode when while talking to a male muppet cow named Christopher, someone on screen stated:

"Christopher the Cow gives us milk."

CTW got calls on that one.

We will have to agree to disagree on the current state of SS.

Then again, as an amateur filmmaker I have a big thing against tailoring movies to audiences in general, so perhaps I don't belong in this discussion.

Films used to tell stories. A good storyteller can enrapture each and every member of their audience. Early cartons werent jsut fore kids ther was as much going on for adults in a Bugs Bunny cartoon from the 30's and 40's as there was for kids and there wasn't anything you had to worry about a kid hearing.

Crushing your little brother's head with an anvil is a whole other topic.

 

[Nwerke]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

I don't recall anything offensive in the Cars 2 trailer... although it did look surprisingly bad to me for being a Pixar film.

Well, at least they're staying true to the first one, then.

The Ice Age films had some stuff I didn't like so I just haven't bought them for the kids to watch.

Really? Wow, I'm surprised. My kid LOVES Ice Age. The one with the dinosaurs, at least, we don't have the others. What's offensive about them?

Because people want toilet humor.

Was it Scary Movie where that girl gets plastered to the ceiling by...uh, yeah, I don't think I can even type that here. Anyway. I think I saw the writing on the wall, right there that day in the cinema. If that makes me a snob, I'm a snob. (Now polish my boots, cur!) :lol

 

[tubachris85x]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

I grew up watching Dumb and Dumber, the nutty professor, bevis and butthead and ren and stimpy. I turned out just fine

 

[jonny5]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Which Nutty Professor, Jerry Lewis or Eddie Murphy?

How old were you when you watched Bevis (1993-1997) & Stimpy? (1991-1998) Do you think those shows are appropriate for the 4-11 year old demographic?

Murphy's low point was Norbit.

Did you know Eddie Murphy turned down a part in Star Trek (not sure if it was #4 or The Next Generation series) to do The Golden Child? He didn't want to do the Trek cameo because as a fan (small f) of Trek, he didn't feel he fit with what he thought Star Trek to be. He was only being offered the part because the Hollywoood Maximum Box Office Formula states you must insert the hottest celebrity into the hot movie franchise.

Sadly for ST:TNG Whoopi Goldberg had no such misgivings.

I grew up watching Dumb and Dumber, the nutty professor, bevis and butthead and ren and stimpy. I turned out just fine

 

[Wes R]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Was it Scary Movie where that girl gets plastered to the ceiling by...uh, yeah, I don't think I can even type that here. Anyway. I think I saw the writing on the wall, right there that day in the cinema. If that makes me a snob, I'm a snob. (Now polish my boots, cur!) :lol

Well in that one case the writing was on the ceiling...and from the looks of it on everything else in that room :lol

 

[Art Andrews]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Just watched The Other Guys and that was one of the least funny movies I have seen in a long time. It was just painful to endure. I don't care for Will Ferrel but like Walburg, however, he seemed totally lost in regard to exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Terrible, terrible film.

2. The worst of SNL/Stoner films. I lump into this the Will Ferrel vehicles which are basically people talking about the broad joke they just made. Example: I watched The Other Guys last night. It includes a bit where their captain (played by Michael Keaton sans curly mullet) keeps giving them pep talks or yelling at them and wrapping everything up with a line from a TLC song. Like, "You guys better shape up, alright?! I don't want no scrubs!!" Rather than just cut to reaction shots from the two main guys, they say "Did you just quote TLC?" The captain acts befuddled "What are you talking about? I don't even know what you're talking about." This SPECIFIC joke happens multiple times, and each time they call him on it, and each time he responds the same way. I call this the "Worst of SNL" because it drags jokes out WAY longer than need to be, and to me seems to be more the result of very loose scripting and improvisational style humor. That can work sometimes, but a lot of times it doesn't.

 

[Wes R]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Will Ferrel is a prime example of why SNL hasn't been funny in a decade. Personally other than Daryll Hammond (that his name?) as Clinton I haven't' found it funny since the execs drove out Dana Carvey and that crew in the mid 1990s. Are comedies this bad over in Europe or is it just us?

 

[yt]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

God how I wish there was a giant like button for this thread, I could'nt agree with you more.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[wuher da brewer]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Part of me wants to defend Hollywood, the other part thinks the world of Idiocracy gets closer every day. I think the latter part is winning out. Though, not having children, I particularly hate it when the juvenile fart and pee jokes creep into geek-worthy films like Transformers and the Star Wars prequels. At least I'll never make the mistake of seeing any of the Transformers sequels.

 

[MattMunson]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

If people stopped paying money to see these films, hollywood would stop making them.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

If people stopped paying money to see these films, hollywood would stop making them.

explain Uwe Boll and m knight shamallauananyan.....horrible directors, but they keep coming out with films

 

[Lutso]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

If people stopped paying money to see these films, hollywood would stop making them.

That's the real trick, isn't it?

...and it's going to cost you something extra. Or, actually, it won't cost you anything.

But that's beside the point. The problem with your idea is that there will always be 2-dimensional parents out there who pay for this crap because "It's a kid's movie, so their kids will like it." End of story. It's like a big projection-screened babysitter. Shut up and watch the movie.

Sometimes it doesn't even have to really be a "kid" movie.
It's amazing some of the stuff I've seen parents take their children to. I saw a 4 or 5 yo in Transformers 2 (who cried several times), and there were tons of kids in the 6-8 yo crowd at the (midnight) showing of the Simpsons Movie.

Whatever.

 

[Alan Cross]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

Just watched The Other Guys and that was one of the least funny movies I have seen in a long time. It was just painful to endure. I don't care for Will Ferrel but like Walburg, however, he seemed totally lost in regard to exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Terrible, terrible film.

Not a great film. BUT... in my opinion, some really funny scenes:

The Tiger/Tuna story...

The Rock and Sam Jackson jumping off the building!

And the whisper fight...

And Walberg repeatedly hitting on Ferrell's wife...

And Ferrel ragging on Eva Mendes...

I found all of those scenes to be really funny. But then again I like Will Ferrel. So maybe that helps. I dunno.

Alan

 

[nick daring]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

I for one think farts are hilarious.

Stinky air shoots out your butt while simulataneously making a goofy noise.

The act often happens on accident and invisibly offends other people's senses.

There is a taboo nature to it and it happens to everybody.

George Carlin, Bill Cosby, and Patton Oswalt couldn't engineer a more perfect and vicseral chunk of comedic genius as the everyday fart.

Nick

ps- If it's silent the comedic situation alters dramatically and heads into completely different comedic territory.

 

[joker-scar]

Re: Hollywood hates children's movies

HOLLYWOOD DOESN T HATE CHILDREN...THEY LOVE MONEY!!!!!!
FARTS = $...
Will Farrel = $...
$ leads to more $...
we lose in the end.

PS. yeah I'm a film snob too, what of it!!!!!!!!!!! Someone's gotta pick up the bloodied film standard and run towards a bright future where THE GOLDEN CHILD is just a horrible forgotten memory.