“My eight-year-old son looked up at me with his big brown eyes and, with a shaky voice, asked, ‘Mum, is that true that Santa Claus doesn’t exist?’”
While scrolling through the multitude of options available on the child-friendly Disney+ one evening, my daughter stumbled upon the 2008 romantic comedy27 Dresses and asked me if we could watch it.
It’s listed on the streaming site only as a PG-rated movie so it was a fair enough assumption for me to make that this light-hearted romance would be OK for my kids to watch under my supervision, right?
I thought it was pretty safe
I’d seen the film years ago and hazily recalled a few mild adult themes, some swearing and an unhealthy scattering of sexist clichés but nothing that I felt would be detrimental to my children. And it was being offered on the child-friendly streaming service Disney+, so surely it wouldn’t contain anything too risqué!
Little did I know when I said yes to watching this movie that a single throw-away line would prove to be the undoing of eight wonderful years of Christmas magic for my son.
At the 10-minute and 44-second mark, Katherine Heigl’s perennial bridesmaid character, Jane Nichols, says to James Marsden’s smarmy journalist character, Kevin “Malcolm” Doyle: “That’s so noble of you. Do you also go around telling small children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist? ‘Cause someone needs to blow that shit wide open.”
On hearing this, my eight-year-old son looked up at me with his big brown eyes and, in a shaky voice, asked, “Mum, is that true that Santa Claus doesn’t exist?”
I froze like a deer in the headlights and stole a desperate glance at my non-believing daughter, silently begging her for help. Quickly catching on, she’d reassured him, “Of course he’s real, silly!”
But he remained unconvinced and when I wasn’t quick enough to hide my hesitation, he saw the truth written all over my face. In that moment, I watched as my boy’s precious heart shattered into a million tiny pieces and eight years of lovingly crafted Christmas magic streamed down his face.
It shouldn't have happened like that
Of course, our children all grow up and learn the truth one way or another… it was bound to happen at some stage. But why did it have to be this way for my son, via this film and, worst of all, on Disney+ - the one streaming site I’ve naively been believing is safe for kids?
Unlike other streaming services, Disney+ promotes itself exclusively as “family-oriented entertainment” and has no films with R or MA-rated content. Parents can also set up dedicated kids' profiles with content suitable for children under the age of seven, which can help parents shield their young children from content that may be inappropriate for their age.
Should there be some kind of warning? Picture: iStock
But surely a movie that has a revelation that Santa Claus isn’t real should NOT be available on a “family-friendly” streaming service! I’m not saying it’s a terrible movie, or that families won’t enjoy watching it together, but I believe Disney+ has a responsibility to provide a better guide for parents on individual films that have the potential to cause our kids distress.
Disney+’s listing for 27 Dresses states only that it is PG-rated and a Romantic Comedy – not that there’s swearing, adult themes or heart-breaking revelations about Santa Claus.
So, I ask you, was it just my bad parental judgement that my son discovered the truth about Santa the way he did? Or do I have a valid reason to be angry at Disney+ for not providing enough warning that this particular movie has what has proven for my family to be such devastating content?
Pick your game up, Disney+!
First published at Kidspot.com.au on August 21, 2020.
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