HS Mom in NC Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 If you are an adoptee, if you are an adoptive parent, or if you are married to an adoptee, what is your take on Kung Fu Panda 2 and its adoption related themes? How did your adopted child or spouse react to it? My adopted child is 6 years old, so I am very cautious about letting her to see it based on the mixed reviews given by adoptive parents. I'll wait until it comes out on video and preview it before I decide when she's old enough to watch it, but I still would like some feedback now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Honestly, it aggravated the living daylights out of me. The panda had no idea he was adopted (which is kind of funny since his dad is a bird!) and he is living a pretty happy life. Then he finds out he is adopted and SUDDENLY he "doesn't know who he is" and "has to find out where he really belongs" etc, etc, etc. My ds knows he is adopted and has known from the beginning. Thankfully it seemed to go right over his head (he is 7yo). But the whole premise that just because you are adopted AUTOMATICALLY means you "don't know who you are" and "don't know where you belong" really bugged me. Like it is planting seeds of discontent, ya know? My dh is adopted, I am adopted, his sister is adopted. Adoption runs pretty thick in this family so it definitely stood out to us. The rest of the movie is good but we won't be watching it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Sounds like a movie I would not go to the movies to watch - because I would want to be able to put in my 2 cents' worth based on my kids' reactions. (I have not seen this movie yet.) Interesting parallel - we just watched The Ten Commandments (the Charlton Heston movie) today. Moses has a similar kind of moment. I provided a running commentary throughout that part, LOL. I pointed out that in the movie, Moses had just learned that he was adopted, unlike my daughters, who have known it all along. That if someone suddenly found that out without knowing it before, it would be a shock and he'd be wondering what to think about it. (I thought the movie dealt with it well ultimately, but it wasn't something I'd leave up to my kids' imaginations to digest.) It's remarkable how many kids' movies and books are based on orphans. I don't mind it, but it's something extra to consider as an adoptive mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTJo1996 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We recently saw the movie at the cheap theater. We have adoption in our extended family but not in our home, and DDs BFF is adopted from China. HER mom opted NOT to see the movie b/c she felt that the story depicted too much confusion for her DD. I agreed after seeing the movie. Obviously BFF knows she is adopted and has asked questions about who carried her in their tummy in China before Mom came and adopted her. BFF is content with her adopted life and at this point doesn't have any interest in her bio parents. My DD thought the story line was whacko. She too thought Poe shoulda known he was adopted given that his Dad was a bird and he is a panda! And DD is only 7. Unrelated to the adoption stuff, the movie seemed dark, and ominous to me, and did NOT hold the attention of my 7-1/2 yr old OR my almost 3 yr old. In fact DD asked about halfway thru, "When will this movie end?" I thought KF Panda 1 was cute, and did a good job depicting hard work and the under-dog coming out on top. I'm still not really sure what KFP2 was supposed to be about - but the ending made a big fat open door for a sequel....which we will NOT be seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I have watched it, but I told my adopted 7 yo daughter that I wanted to wait until it comes out on video to watch it with her. (she is dying to see it since it is about China - where she is from). I want to be in a situation where we can pause the movie and have long discussions about how she may or may not feel about what she sees. To be honest, the movie that most bothered me as an adoptive mom was "Tangled", believe it or not. Have you seen that? The villian in the movie pretends to be Rapunzel's "real" mom in order to use the power of R's hair for eternal youth. What was disturbing to me was how much the villian acted like a real (albiet super-strict and dictator-like) mom. She actually acted out scenes where she acted like she loved R, and talked like a real mom might. Rapunzel wants freedom, but she does not want to disobey her "mom". Of course, when she finally does, she finds out that this was not her real mom after all. That she is a villian who has evil intent. She discovers that her real mom is a queen and that she is a princess. I know, I'm probably way too over-sensitive because of my dd. But, I felt like this could plant seeds in my dd's mind. Seeds like "how do I know that this person really loves me since she is not my 'real' mom?" Seeds of doubt in our relationship. Seeds of fantasy that there is a "real" mom out there that is a queen and would never require such strict rules on her as she may sometimes feel like I do. We did watch that one together at the theatre. I had no idea of this element. I was shaken by some of the scenes where the evil "mom" acts affectionate towards R, and R is so torn by this. So, I guess I am more concerned about Tangled than Kung Fu Panda. I think Kung Fu Panda might actually be a great way to open up a topic of conversation that I want to be sure to have with my dd. But, I want to have it when I think she is ready, and when we are alone and can pause it and talk all we need to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I just saw it this past week and my husband (an adoptee) would not benefit from seeing it. He will deny he has any issues with being adopted..but they are there in many ways...unfortunately, his experience with being adopted was not the rose colored type...so movies that show the 'good' side of adoption (birth families who love you dearly, adoptive families who love you dearly) only reinforce the reality that he received neither of those....I feel like we've needed to make up for 18 years of not such great experiences for him...no need to remind him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 To be honest, the movie that most bothered me as an adoptive mom was "Tangled", believe it or not. Have you seen that? The villian in the movie pretends to be Rapunzel's "real" mom in order to use the power of R's hair for eternal youth. What was disturbing to me was how much the villian acted like a real (albiet super-strict and dictator-like) mom. She actually acted out scenes where she acted like she loved R, and talked like a real mom might. Rapunzel wants freedom, but she does not want to disobey her "mom". Of course, when she finally does, she finds out that this was not her real mom after all. That she is a villian who has evil intent. She discovers that her real mom is a queen and that she is a princess. I know, I'm probably way too over-sensitive because of my dd. But, I felt like this could plant seeds in my dd's mind. Seeds like "how do I know that this person really loves me since she is not my 'real' mom?" Seeds of doubt in our relationship. Seeds of fantasy that there is a "real" mom out there that is a queen and would never require such strict rules on her as she may sometimes feel like I do. I agree with you. Someone bought my 4yo (adopted) kids this movie and my sister let them watch it. (Usually I like to watch a movie with my kids first, but I'm less picky when it comes to cartoons.) I happened to see the part where Rapunzel tells the witch off, e.g., "you're not my real mother, I hate you, etc." It was so raw - really too much for little kids in my opinion. My DD2, who is normally very mellow and good-natured, had the biggest hissy that night over an early bedtime. "As soon as I turn 18, I'm going to leave you and never see you again, waaaah!" I have banned them from seeing that movie again for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I agree with you. Someone bought my 4yo (adopted) kids this movie and my sister let them watch it. (Usually I like to watch a movie with my kids first, but I'm less picky when it comes to cartoons.) I happened to see the part where Rapunzel tells the witch off, e.g., "you're not my real mother, I hate you, etc." It was so raw - really too much for little kids in my opinion. My DD2, who is normally very mellow and good-natured, had the biggest hissy that night over an early bedtime. "As soon as I turn 18, I'm going to leave you and never see you again, waaaah!" I have banned them from seeing that movie again for a long time. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was feeling weird that I had such a negative reaction to such a charming cartoon! Thanks for posting! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmom27 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Wow, I didn't know any of this. Guess we'll be skipping this one for a while. On the other hand we saw Meet the Robinsons for the first time tonight and I had no idea that it had adoption themes. It seemed to go right over my kid's heads though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I will be skipping this too, but honestly, I can barely sit through kid movies being the really bad mom that I am. :001_smile: I was adopted and my son is adopted. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelaughs_times_three Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Wow, I didn't know any of this. Guess we'll be skipping this one for a while. On the other hand we saw Meet the Robinsons for the first time tonight and I had no idea that it had adoption themes. It seemed to go right over my kid's heads though. You know, I actually liked the take that "Meet the Robinsons" took on adoption. I love that movie for that and for the idea that a positive attitude can make all the difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElaineJ Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I took my kids to see it this summer when my adopted ds was about a month short of 4 years old. I was surprised my the focus on adoption issues, but thought that he was probably to young to follow that plot line. The next day, though, he carried his stuffed panda around all day and acted out the adoption related scenes. NO kung fu, nothing related to anything else in the plot, just the adoption issues. Over and over he told me, "Baby panda has lost his mommy. He really NEEDS you!" So yeah, I would say it was disturbing for him and he took in a lot more of it than I thought. Based on his response, I think whether or not you go would probably want to take into account the age of your child, his/her sensitivity level, and his/her ability to discuss these sort of things about the adoption experience when they come up. I was glad, though, that the birth parents and adoptive parent both seem to be portrayed positively. I agree with the previous poster who found Tangled more disturbing. I think the portrayal of the "mom" (witch) would be really confusing and scary for a lot of adopted children. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleWMN Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We haven't seen KFP2 (we were warned) but Tangled was really hard on my 6 y.o. DD who was adopted and tends to have some issues with it. We has bought the movie and ended up getting rid of it after a few really bad days after watching it. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarymelon Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We watched Kung Fu Panda with my kids, including my adopted daughters (9,10). They didn't verbalize any anxiety from the adoption sub plot. It does take them a week after watching all martial arts based movies to stop kicking each other, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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