My vote for the Academy Award for Best Film of the Year? Disney’s “Cars”, the humorously sweet animated film about a race car’s journey of self discovery.
OK, it’s not nominated in the overall Best Picture category, but it should be, if only for the surprisingly positive impact it has had on my two-year-old son. The movie has taught him valuable lessons about acts of kindness and just plain greed.
Although the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend television for children ages two and younger, I’ll admit that my husband and I break the rule for certain educational shows and for “Cars.” We’ve sat on the couch together countless times and talked about the things we see on the screen. (It helps that the film is laced with a humor that adults can appreciate; otherwise, we’d be bored silly.)
My son has grown particularly fond of the movie’s characters — Lightning McQueen, “Tow” Mater, Doc, Sally –- and calls them by name. He even adds McQueen’s signature “Ke-pow” “Ke-chow” to practically any car that may pass through his little hands.
What movies does your family credit for teaching your children valuable lessons? Here are just a few my husband and I have McQueen and his friends to thank for:
Helping a friend in need: My son now reenacts a scene near the end of the movie where McQueen helps push another race car past the finish line. My son will flip over a Hot Wheel car and have another come to its rescue, sweetly saying, “I help you.”
Friendship. My son was already beginning to learn the concept of “friends.” The movie reinforced it, adding the new term “best friend” to his vocabulary. He now roleplays with his cars, though it’s sometimes anyone’s guess what exactly they are saying to each other.
Sadness as a natural emotion. With three cousins near his age and about a dozen classmates at day care, my son has had his share of experience with sadness. Tears are shed for toys that are taken away, refusals to share and playtimes that are cut short. But Lightning McQueen and his friends in Radiator Springs have taught my son about a higher level of sadness: Seeing loved ones go away. Feeling bad when a friend gets a “boo-boo,” as we call it.
