Does Parenthood Change Your View?

As most of you know I have a 5-year old son. He absolutely loves movies and I have been slowly introducing him to some of my favorite (and my wife's favorite) films.

We have gotten through most of the superhero films that I allow him to watch, the Pirates franchise, Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, etc.

Obviously, some of those will have to wait until he is older. Although I am not a fan of censorship, I believe censorship via parenting is extremely important.

Before my son was born (and now too I guess) I was pretty much a kid at heart. I loved watching some of the films geared towards children, like the Pixar/Disney movies, Shrek, the Muppet films, etc.

But, has being a parent also changed me into liking some of these films, especially those I probably would have never watched unless I had a child, more than I usually would?

This past weekend my family watched The Smurfs together. Now, in the past (before my son) I don't think this would be a film I would watch. Sure, I watched the cartoon as a child, but nothing in it screamed to me that I had to see it.

And, I not only watched The Smurf, but I actually enjoyed it to an extent (review coming in the future).

I follow a lot of other blogs about films, some with children and others without. I am not sure if being a parent has changed their viewing habits, or their likes at all. This is just something I have noticed with me.

In the past year I have watched Alvin & the Chipmunks (both of them), Gnomeo & Juliet, Rio, Alpha & Omega, Cars 2 and I am sure many others. The lone exception on this list that I probably would have watched alone is Cars 2 because, as I said above, I was a Pixar fan even before I became a father.

I did not hate any of the above films I listed. Sure, they weren't groundbreaking, Oscar level films, but each of them had something that made me at least somewhat interested. In fact, I have watched Rio twice already - and I am sure to watch Cars 2 a ton more times as my son loves it.

Don't get me wrong, I still watch a ton of different-type of films. And I have even branched out a bit beyond my own comfort zone and watched films that others have deemed good, despite my distaste for gore (I got through Zombieland (again, review coming) and I will eventually give Tucker & Dale vs. Evil a try). That is not the type of change I was talking about.

I guess I am watching a bit more kid-oriented films than I would have in the past. And, I am enjoying them a lot more than I thought I would. I guess I have my son to thank for that.