A Night At the Movies : Spy Kids 4 All The Time in the World

The children and I went to see my mom and dad for a couple of days to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Mom and dad like to take the children to the movies when we go visit.  I wanted to see Winnie the Pooh, but it was only showing in one theater and it was on when my parents would be at work.  After reading the Plugged In review of Smurfs, there was NO way we were going to see that one.  So, that left Spy Kids 4 All the Time in the World (mom took Chelsea (14) to see the last Harry Potter which I don't let the other children watch)  Spy Kids was in 4 D so not only did you not need glasses, you were given a scratch and sniff card that when a number came up on the screen ans you scratched and sniffed the same number on the card you could smell what was going on on the screen.  I don't know how well that worked since I didn't have a free hand to try it out myself.  Dad and I got the kids situated in the theater with me and Emelia (6 months) on the outside, Lily (2) next, then Anthony (6), Nick (9), Christian (4), Dad, and Alex (7.)  The boys loved the movie!  I thought it was pretty good.  The effects were decent, although at one point made me dizzy.  The "violence" was very tame with no blood or major injuries and was not scary at all.  The "bad guy" wasn't even scary.  Some scenes were a little gross (think vomit and dirty diapers.)  There was no bad language and although the "spy mom" is in battle when 9 months pregnant and again with a baby strapped to her chest, you never have a real sense of danger for the baby.  The movie has a very positive message about families working together and not wasting the time that you have with them.  There was nothing in the movie that scared Lily, but she did tell me it was not her favorite.  If you go see it at the theater, get there after the previews.  I thought they were highly inappropriate and was glad we were busy settling into seats and getting our snacks to pay too much attention to them.

Emelia was not happy to be at the movies.  I was surprised since at 6 months old she has already seen Hop, Kung Fu Panda 2, Cars 2, and Harry Potter.  As soon as the previews came on she started crying.  Luckily, I got her to sleep quickly and she slept almost the whole time.