Lets go to the movies

Madeleine Thompson - 15 May 15

My daughter turned three recently.   And in planning the celebrations and merriment, I decided to take her to the cinema on her birthday as she only been once before and that didn’t count because she was only a few months old when I took her to see the Bourne Ultimatum at a parent and baby showing.   Yes, the cinema did in fact believe this pretty violent film would be okay for a baby providing that baby was under 2 years old. Maybe that’s when the cinema believed memories were formed…

Anyway, Aisha was very excited, and my mum was even more excited when I asked her to join us.

I wanted Aisha’s first cinema trip to be lovely and exciting and warm and fuzzy and a bit like the beginning of a Disney film.  I grew up obsessed with films and that hasn’t changed. I loved them all – The Goonies, Big, ET. I remember being completely devastated when I wasn’t allowed to watch Ghost because I was too young and I had to watch the Little Mermaid instead. As a result, I have always resented Ariel and been a little jealous that my sister got to see Ghost first.

So for Aisha’s first visit I trawled the listings of the local picture houses for a suitable cartoon film for us to go and see.   Alas, the times were not good and none of the cartoon films were compatible with us getting away from the cinema to pick up my son from nursery later that day. Of course, in the film of our lives, this would not be a problem and we would waltz into the cinema, see the cartoon whilst time stopped and then pick him up.

But the film hasn’t been made yet, so we’re stuck here in real time.

Not wanting to let her down after I had promised her the cinema, I opted for Cinderella. People had told me it was probably a little old, though it was universally rated, but I thought there would be no harm in simply letting her have the experience of the cinema.

So off we went.

And it was equal parts lovely and frustrating and funny and mortifying.   She loved walking in the big automatic doors onto the cinema lobby floor. She loved buying the tickets, meeting popcorn for the first time, and then creeping into the dark screen room to take our seat.   As cinema trips go it was probably one of my less comfortable as she was on my knee for most of what we watched of the film.   But that didn’t matter; she was in her element.   She was in awe of the screen, of the dresses, and of the characters.   And it was just lovely.

Probably for next time we will have to book her onto a ‘Cinema Etiquette for Beginners’ course.   She shouted out loud a few times – “Look at those funny dresses,” “Are those the funny dresses Mummy?”, “Want some popcorn?” “Don’t eat it yet!” “Just one piece Granny!”

And then she discovered the toilet (it was inevitable after a fruit juice and her plastic cup had been drained).   A little toilet (just for her) and a little sink (also just for her) were a total draw and we went back to the toilet about 6 times in quick succession.

Eventually, 1 hour and 45 minutes into the film, she turned to me and said she wanted to go home. My mum and I grinned, nodded and left.   And we went home.

All in all a successful first cinema trip.   Hopefully she will get as much pleasure out of cinema trips as I had and still do and come to really love films.

Pity that I never did get to find out what happened at the end of the film though….

Madeleine Thompson

I am mum to my little chicks, Aisha, 6 and Abel, 4. Originally from Yorkshire, UK, I now live in a little town in the North West. By day, I work for myself as a freelance PA. By night, I indulge my passion for writing.

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