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Can you make it through "Where the Wild Things Are" without crying? Credit: Warner Bros.
Now, admit it, you cry when Jor-El and Lara send their helpless infant son to Earth while they know they are about to die.
It comes with being a parent. Some TV shows and movies just hit too many parental nerves. We asked contributors to Seed.com, AOL's freelance website, to tell us some of the things they can't watch, now that they're parents.
More than 80 parents responded. Hardly any two answers were alike. Surprisingly, no one mentioned "Finding Nemo" about a frantic father looking for his son. However, "Prince of Egypt," "Titanic" and commercials for St. Jude's Children's Hospital got two votes each.
What were some of the other choices? Take a look.
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
From Erica Loop
When I took my son to see "Where the Wild Things Are
," he cringed and whined, "But Mooom, that is for babies!" Admittedly, I loved the book as a child, and during my son's toddler and preschool years, read it to him at least once a day. As my son contently munched on his popcorn trying to figure out exactly what was going on in this big screen version I sat with a lump in my throat and eyes tearing up, trying not to sob in front of the entire theater. Max is not so much the defiant trouble maker that we see in the book, but instead portrayed as an emotionally broken little boy. As the tensions escalate to the point of biting his mother and running away, I began to think of how incredibly sad that must be for both the child and the mother. I cried. Such as honest portrayal of such a heart-wrenching scene.THE PRINCE OF EGYPT
From Rachel Dhampirs
As a new parent, I have discovered that I cannot watch "The Prince Of Egypt" anymore. The "River Lullaby" where Jochebed places Moses in the wooden basket and sends him down the river to save his life makes me cry every time. I haven't been able to get past that part of the movie since my daughter was born.
AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS
From Sara D. Frazier
After giving birth to my son, I cannot watch "America's Funniest Home Videos." Although the majority of them are hilarious, anytime a kid comes up on screen and they are trying to pull a loose tooth, I just lose it. There is just something about a remote control car or a doorknob puling a child's loose tooth out, that kicks me in my core.
SYBILL
From L. Shepherd
I saw "Sybill" as a teenager and soon picked up the book because the case was such an interesting case study in psychology. All of that interest, however, faltered after I had children. It's no longer an interesting case or a psychological story. It is a story of horrific child abuse that I can't bear to watch even a few minutes of anymore.
SCHINDLER'S LIST
From Carol Caffin
"Schindler's List" is a masterpiece, but it's not the kind of film that you can watch lightly or "catch" inadvertently on cable. It requires a commitment because, when the movie ends, you are left with images of pain so intense, it takes a few days for the effects to subside.
As a parent, the most heartrending scene for me -- one I avoid even when I do watch the movie -- is when the Nazis forcibly separate the parents from their children who, unaware of their impending fate in the concentration camp gas chambers, are placed on trucks and driven away. The images of helpless mothers crying and screaming, trying to run after the trucks and reaching in vain for their children while being held back by Nazi guards, amid the childlike banter of the unknowing youngsters, is unbearable for me.
JACK FROST
From Russell Irving
Regardless of the season, this dad of two great sons, finds his own tears blurring the view of an unusual tearjerker. "Jack Frost" with Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston, provides an unusual take on Harry Chapin's "The Cat's In The Cradle." A father who unintentionally spends too little time with his young son, is killed in a car accident but comes to life, temporarily, as a snowman who attempts to right the wrongs of his parenting. For all of the anticipated silliness, the movie stirs feelings in the heart and gut of many dads.
16 AND PREGNANT
From Melissa Birckbichler
As a parent I cannot watch the show "16 and Pregnant." MTV has glorified pregnancy in teens a little too much and only shows from the eighth month of pregnancy to a few months into the baby's life. As a parent at the young age of 19, I know how hard it was to be a young adult and a mother. I know at the age of 16, it would have been even harder. Now as a parent of a teenage daughter, I cannot sit or let my daughter sit and watch this show and let it portray pregnancy and babies easily.
THE JOY LUCK CLUB
From Sophia Valles Bligh
"The Joy Luck Club" was one of my favorite movies until I had children. The scene where the young mom goes crazy after learning what a jerk her husband is and drowns her baby while giving it a bath is heartbreaking. Then there is the tragically sad scene where the mom suffering from dysentery during Communist China's red era leaves her twin girls under a tree along with all her worldly goods hoping some kind soul would adopt the babies instead of finding them next to their dead mom and thus be bad luck. Nope, I won't be watching that movie anytime soon.
STEPMOM
From Michelle Basile
As a mom, I cannot watch the movie "Stepmom." It stars Susan Sarandon, Ed Harris and Julia Roberts (who is to be the new "stepmom"). Sarandon is a divorced mother of two, trying to come to terms with her ex-husband having a fiance. While still busy placing the blame for the failed marriage, she discovers she is terminally ill and doesn't have much time left. Scurrying to put things in order, she comes to the conclusion that she must make peace with his future wife and turn the reins over to her for her children's sake.
This heart-wrenching movie is unbearable for me to watch, yet I will every time it comes on television. It is a "must see," but I warn you, bring a box of tissues!
OLDBOY
From Joe Arends
A coworker recommended the movie "Oldboy" to me claiming it to be the best foreign film he's ever seen. I recently rented it with my wife, and as a proud parent of two daughters, I want to warn all fathers to never ever watch this film. Not only was I physically ill, but I had nightmares for two weeks and could not sleep. The climax of the film is so shocking and disturbing that I don't want even to type it. Fathers, enjoy your sanity and stay away from "Oldboy."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
5-12-2010 @ 11:47AM
cbs said...Oh, Schindler's List. I get chills just reading your description. The worst part for me was the scene with the girl in the red coat. And then just the coat. I sobbed horribly during that movie and I didn't have kids at the time. I have made it a point not to watch it since I have a daughter even though I do believe it to be a movie everyone should watch once.
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5-12-2010 @ 1:01PM
Sentimental said...I've got a silly one. ENCHANTED, with Patrick Dempsey. I can watch it, but one part really gets me. (FYI, I'm a single full time dad.) The scene where they are at dinner together and he has to explain that his wife (the girl's mother) just left them high and dry. Exactly what happened to me and my daughters. Gets me every time, have to hide from the kids.
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5-19-2010 @ 8:25AM
amber said...When my ex-husband and I got divorced he hadn't seen my son in over 8 months. Then he called me a few weeks later and wanted to see him. He said he had just seen the movie Liar Liar with Jim Carey (sp?). He said he saw himself in the movie and felt guilty. (For those unfamilliar with the movie, it
5-19-2010 @ 8:32AM
amber said...continued...
is about a divorced father who always lies and he lies and makes up excuses for not seeing his son.) Well, he came to see him, then 2 weeks later he came to see him again. Then he didn't see him again for 3 years!
It's nice to see there are dad's out there that really care!
5-13-2010 @ 2:20PM
Jayne said...How can we forget "Sophie's Choice" starring Meryl Streep. How the Nazis make her choose which child she will keep with her, while the other child goes off to the concentration camp. I could not watch that after my kids were born.
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5-13-2010 @ 2:32PM
puckersbabe2 said...While I love the movie "Dumbo", I cannot hear the song "Baby Mine" without crying. I already know that when my daughter sees this movie for the first time, I am going to either have to leave the room when I see that scene, or cry quietly with a tissue ready in one hand. Breaks my heart every single time.
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5-13-2010 @ 5:02PM
Susan said...OMG! I am right there with you sobbing like a baby. That movie made me cry b4 I had kids. I have the DVD and I haven't taken it out of the shrinkwrap. I am hoping my 4 yr old won't ask to watch it. :-)
5-13-2010 @ 2:39PM
debbie said...For me...in Schindler's List it's when the Nazi's are separating out the children....and that little boy is frantically looking for a place to hide and ends up jumping into the latrine. I lose it every time.
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5-13-2010 @ 2:43PM
SyJee said...What about "Terms of Endearment"? Shirley McClain was wonderful as Emma's mother, especially in the hospital when she demanded the pain meds for her dying daughter. No mother should have their child die before them.
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5-13-2010 @ 3:01PM
Tina said...Saving Private Ryan it the movie that hit me hard as a Mom. The war imagery was horrific enough but there are 2 scenes that tore me up. The first one is when Private Ryan's mom was notified of the deaths of her sons. The other is later in the movie when the medic is shot and as he is dying, he is calling for his mother. All I could do during that scene was sob as I thought of my son.
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5-13-2010 @ 10:37PM
robyn said...tina that movie gets me too. my son is a marine and it broke my heart hearing the medic call for his mom. also when the guys are in the camp looking for ryan dogtags and they are being so disrespectful while the other guys walk past. i just pray that is never my son. i dont know if i could handle knowing if he was killed in iraq that his last words for his mom and i couldnt be there to save him.
5-13-2010 @ 11:35PM
Susan said...I had my 13 year old son watch Saving Private Ryan with me for two reasons. I felt he needed to have no romanticized/computerized illusions about the horrors of war that teens can get from video games these days. I also wanted him to see that most young men in their darkest hour call for their mother, and how heart-breaking that is. When Mrs. Ryan sees the Army car approaching her house and has to sit on her porch gets me every time.
5-13-2010 @ 3:30PM
NANCY said...When I was a kid I saw this movie called "Without A Trace". It starred Judd Hirsch and Kate Nelligan. She was the mother of a little boy who went missing on his way to school. Didn't really bother me at the time...I was a kid. Years later I saw it again with my husband while my son was a newborn. When they find this little boy and deliver him home we both just lost it. I can't watch these types of films anymore...they give me nightmares. Also any of these teen/college torture movies where they're off in some foreign country on break from school. And the movie Taken with Liam Neeson...can't watch it.
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5-13-2010 @ 3:29PM
Shawna said...Terms of Endearment was a great movie also Steel Magnolias I cry like a baby every time I see it. I lost my mother when I was 9 and I watched just how bad it hurt my Grandmother she wasnt the same for over a year after. Now I look at my daughter and I don't know how my grandmother went on after. I know its possible but it seems impossible.
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5-13-2010 @ 3:49PM
Fran said...When my son was a preschooler his aunt took him out of town to visit Grandma for the better part of a week, to give Mom and Dad some grownup time together for the first time really since he was born. We hardly ever had time to go to a movie in those days, so for our first 'date' we went to see 'Life Is Beautiful' - you know, the one where the Dad in the Italian concentration camp tries to keep his young son's spirits up by pretending that the whole thing is a game and that he will win a tank of his very own if he plays along. Great movie; bad, bad choice for a Mom experiencing separation anxiety from her child for the first time! It freaked me out. I had to call my son at Grandma's as soon as we got home, just to hear his voice and know that he was all right.
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5-13-2010 @ 4:00PM
TheRaven said...16 and Pregnant glorifies pregnancy? Did we watch the same show? I don't see the boy ending the relationship and taking off, the girl sobbing as she comes to realize her life is over, and c-sections, as glorifying pregnancy.
It may not show the whole process but I sincerely doubt this show has inspired young girls to get pregnant at a young age.
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5-13-2010 @ 4:39PM
David S. said...I recently watched "Sybil" again after many years. I saw it on TV when I was a teen-ager. You are right --- it is worse seeing it as an adult and the horrendous abuse she endures as a child. Guess I was too young to understand its intensity as a teen -- and then I thought, I wonder why my parents even allowed us to watch it then! But it was the 1970's -- a different time, and we thought about things like that differently. Today it would likely carry a warning if it were on regular prime time TV....I don't think it did then at all.
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5-13-2010 @ 6:23PM
KittyBelle said...I can't watch "Toy Story" any longer... my son adores the movie, and has since he was little (he's 15 now!). But the scene where Buzz finally realizes he's just a toy, as he jumps off the banister and does the slow-fall through the air... my son, at age three or so, would burst into tears every time it came on. And, of course, then *I* started to see the sadness in that scene, and now *I* cry every time it comes on, so I can't watch it any longer. I force my son to watch it in his room on his TV.
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5-13-2010 @ 5:48PM
diane said...Must be me. I saw and heard "boobs", "douche" and "boner" on Two and A Half Men and The Big Bang before I just turned off the tv. I admit I waited too long...should've quite the first five minutes.
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5-13-2010 @ 6:26PM
John F.C. Taylor said...Interesting list. Is this a concensus vote on the top ten or just something some staffer put together? Can't think of any movie that I'd put on this list. Very few TV shows I atch, so there'd be nothing going on there either. A few moments though that do catch me by surprise every now and then. Maybe just a look or just one line in a show.
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