Dad Panel: Must-Watch Movies
One of the great joys of fatherhood is introducing your kids to the things that you love. Whether it’s your favorite team, the best cheeseburger, or your favorite band opening the door to the things you love is pure joy. Recently I reached out to a few dads and formed a quick dad panel to talk about what movies were dads most excited to watch with their kids. Each dad was allowed to list some honorable mentions and their favorite movie (for our purposes we counted a trilogy as one entity),
Pop some popcorn and follow along as our group of dads waxes eloquent about the big screen classics that are must-see for their families.
Aaron Sharp, father of 4. You can follow him at http://www.oursharpology.com
Honorable Mentions: Original Star Wars Trilogy, Hoosiers, Saving Private Ryan, Field of Dreams, Indiana Jones Trilogy
My movie: Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Are these movies incredibly long? Yes. Are they pretty violent? Yeah, I guess so. Have we already started showing them to our kids? You better believe it? The lovely Mrs. Sharp and I watch the LOTR trilogy every year, and eventually we will incorporate the kids into that, but probably at a different time than our annual December viewing. If the house was on fire and I could only grab one DVD case on my way out the door it would be the LOTR directror's cut. By the time they leave the house my kids will be quoting Tolkien, or it will be a major failure on my part as a father.
Joshua Strychalski, father of 2 boys. You can follow him on Twitter at @joshstryke.
Honorable mentions: Hoosiers, Elf, Dan In Real Life, Casablanca, Saving Private Ryan. (There are many more, but I was limited to 5)
My movie: Disney’s animated classic, Robin Hood. I have a special set of skills. I am able to recall lines from movies and TV shows and weave them into ordinary conversation. It’s something that my sisters and I have done since we were kids. It’s like a different language that we speak. So after that three-second moment of panic when I found out that my wife was pregnant with our first son, I thought about sharing experiences with him. It didn’t take long to think about what movie I wanted to watch with him.
Robin Hood was the first movie that came to mind. It’s animated. It’s talking animals. Good story. Funny and memorable lines. But the reason I chose it was because it was the first movie I remember seeing when I was a kid. We watched it at my next door neighbor’s house on Beta or laser disc, I can’t remember. It was a long time ago. I just remember loving it. So when he hears me say, “Hiss! Hiss! Where are - oh, you’re in the basket...” I want him to speak the same language that I do. I want him to be in on the joke - however small. I want him to share that experience with me.
Travis Prange, father of 2. You can follow him at http://www.travisprange.com
Honorable Mentions: In no discernible order: Back to the Future Trilogy, Alien/s, Batman Begins (Trilogy er maybe Batman Begins and TDK), LOTR Trilogy, Ghostbusters.
My movie: Jurassic Park. Though I was 11 when this movie came out, I'm determined that my kids are no older than that when they see it. I've waited a long time to watch this film, if nothing else to see their eyes in awe and wonder when that Brachiosaurus comes into view for the first time, or the sheer terror of the T-Rex encounter. It's part of the reason why I built a home theater - to terrify my kids with such creatures. It's too bad that they will know before watching it that dinosaurs aren't real - Jurassic Park could've fooled me in my youth. My retort to their probably sideways glances and eyerolls at such notions will be "Life, uh, finds a way."
John Adair, father of three. You can follow him on Twitter: @jadair330 or check out his website gladsomemorning.com
Honorable Mentions: Spirited Away (2001), The Hedgehog in the Fog (1975), The General (1927), The Searchers (1956)
My Movie: Modern Times (1936). Yes, it’s in black and white. Yes, the lead character is basically silent throughout the entire movie. And yes, some of the humor goes over my kids’ heads. But here’s the deal: Charlie Chaplin was a comic genius, and now that my kids have seen this (and all his earlier silent features), they understand.
Really, I was just looking for the best opportunities to share laughter with my kids. And Modern Times has provided that—the scene of Charlie being fed by machine while continuing to work on the assembly line is our favorite. The shared laughter around Modern Times and other films has been especially important as my kids have started to enter the stormy teen years, one more reminder of the joy we find in each other’s company.
Case Hubbart. Pops of 2 - requested Grandfather name of the future: “Grand Master Grand Father”. Website: www.stellfello.com
My choice hands down, without question is - The Sandlot. THE movie of all movies. It’s entertainment value on a scale of 0-10 is an 11. It’s quotability continues to stand the test of time and seems as if it will last... FOR EV-ER...FOR EV-ER...FOR...EV-ER... The sandlot has a way of transporting us back to the days of careless childhood. The simpler times in life and the reminder that the friends and memories we made when we were kids were priceless.
The point is. The sandlot was the movie that I most anticipated sharing with my kids. If it weren’t for Benny, Smalls, and Squints I would never have said the phrase, “The pipe is pinched shut” or “Ah Ham, now we can’t play no more...” I wouldn’t have been inspired to play endless games of “rundown” in my front yard the summers after 7th and 8th grade wearing jeans and a white tee and yelling “pickle!” every time I got the chance.
The life lessons felt throughout the movie are just as epic as the endless stream of quotes:
1. “Get in to trouble for Pete sake...” - (“well none mother’s I guess...”) - The point is, part of growing up is making mistakes. Some of the best memories I have from being a kid is when we got into trouble. In fact, 98% of the stories I tell my kids revolve around the times I was in trouble or doing something I wasn’t supposed to. Make memories for the sake of making memories...
2. Your friends matter... “Yeah, it’s easy when you play with a bunch of rejects and a fat kid Rodriguez...” There’s no clarity on the sandlot’s crew’s social status or financial well being, but it seems that the guys that road in the day of “YOU PLAY BALL LIKE A GIRL!” were better off financially - they were decked-out in legit baseball gear, cruising on their bikes and had access to a “real diamond Porter!”. And it didn’t matter. The fellas from the sandlot “kicked the crap out of those guys” because they played like a team (and it was a movie and that’s the story line), but those guys played ball ever single day...together. The only way to mold chemistry is with repetition and relationship, and that’s what they did. When things were good, they were all together. When Ham was “baking like a toasted cheeser” because it was so hot out, they were all together. When Smalls “belted a homer and they couldn’t play no-more”... they were all together, and they stayed that way. The point is, Smalls fit because they guys accepted him and he kept showing up. They all showed up every day over and over and over again... not just because it was baseball, but because it was their group of friends - and your friends matter. It’s a phenomenal example of how we should be with those we choose to surround ourselves with.
3. Do the best you can when you’re in the situation you’re in... Yes they could have just knocked on the door and asked “Old Man Mertle” to get the ball... But then there wouldn’t be a movie and “We got the ball back didn’t we...we got the ball back.” Even though Smalls and his friends initially lied, they still came back and were honest about the entire thing. Which ended up better in the end. Memories made, lessons learned, childhood lived. Yeah, Squints lied about drowning, but he clearly made up for it in the end by doing what was right and marrying Wendy Peffercorn and running the drug store... Again - memories made, lessons learned, childhood lived... The point is, they always did the best they could with what was in front of them.
4. The way you treat others says more about you than it says about them... Benny was the best in town. Smalls couldn’t throw a ball. Benny didn’t invite Smalls because he needed another warm body in a position so he could rotate 8 positions instead of 7, it was because Benny was an includer. Benny gave Smalls a glove and a hat, 1. Because the kid had style and he couldn’t have anyone on his team look like an “L7”... but, 2. because he was compassionate. A leader is a leader whether they are 7, 13 or 70. The way Benny treated Smalls I would argue is the way the majority of us would want our sons to treat others as well.