Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

We watched "Ramona and Beezus" with our grandson last night. His teacher had read them the book, and we discovered the film was "G", a miracle, as nothing but "Cinderella" is G, and sure enough, he was not disturbed at any part. He knew Ramona's daydreams were "imagination", as he put it, and he understood without upset when the cat died, as he has had a cat that died. He laughed at parts, especially the water fight, and I sat admiring the fact that the filmmakers had figured out just what a young child would find funny. There are big changes in the Quinby family, but they weather them in a reassuring fashion. Sandra Oh as Ramona's teacher is delightful, and the entire cast is perfect. It's a tough road finding a movie that is appropriate, even so-called children's films have scary parts. Disney's "Robin Hood" is good, and parts of "Secret Life of Pets", but our year younger grandson got terrified watching Cinderella, and disturbed when the cat falls out the high tower window. He knew that cat, Lucifer, could not survive such a high fall. The stepmother in the dark curtained room got him too. He can see "Cars" and "Secret Life of Pets", but for both of these grandsons, TV has done a better job of creating kind, careful stories for young children. Both of love "Dinosaur Train", "Seseme Street" and shows like "Molly from Denali" and "Luna". We don't let them watch often, but sometimes, it winds them down and has them resting, without a battle over naps or quiet time, two words aborrent to toddlers.