Introducing L&H to Kids

[Paul Fitzpatrick]

Last year, I introduced three kids to Laurel & Hardy. The girl was a
fifth-grader, and her two brothers were in third and first grade. The
film I showed was THE MUSIC BOX. Someone observed on this board some
time ago that a more faster-paced film would be better for introducing
kids to L&H. However, the action in this film is very simple, and I
figured that the boys struggling to carry a piano up all these steps,
only to have it constantly fall all the way back down, would be
naturally funny to kids.

The kids seemed to enjoy it okay. I think the fact that they were
huddled around their parents caused them to be more inhibited than
they otherwise would have been, so there weren't any shrieks of
laughter. However, they sat through it all, and when the horse looked
back at Ollie and almost moved forward for the second time (after the
piano had fallen on Ollie the first time), the little guy playfully
said, "Oh, no, not again! Not again!"

One thing that made me nervous is when Stan gave the woman a swift
kick; I hoped that these kids would not think this was something to be
emulated. And a few seconds later the nurse smashed the baby bottle
on Ollie's head. "Don't ever do that, guys," the father said to his
sons (the girl he apparently didn't have to worry about!).

The fact that the film was black-and-white was not even an issue; I
never heard it come up.

The next film I hope to show them is COUNTY HOSPITAL. One thing I
don't think I would show kids is WE FAW DOWN. There are portions of
that film that are very blunt, shall we say. Fortunately, there is a
minimum of such material in the Laurel & Hardy repertoire.

[[e-mail]]

Post by Paul Fitzpatrick
Last year, I introduced three kids to Laurel & Hardy. The girl was a
fifth-grader, and her two brothers were in third and first grade. The
film I showed was THE MUSIC BOX. Someone observed on this board some
time ago that a more faster-paced film would be better for introducing
kids to L&H. However, the action in this film is very simple, and I
figured that the boys struggling to carry a piano up all these steps,
only to have it constantly fall all the way back down, would be
naturally funny to kids.
The kids seemed to enjoy it okay. I think the fact that they were
huddled around their parents caused them to be more inhibited than
they otherwise would have been, so there weren't any shrieks of
laughter. However, they sat through it all, and when the horse looked
back at Ollie and almost moved forward for the second time (after the
piano had fallen on Ollie the first time), the little guy playfully
said, "Oh, no, not again! Not again!"
One thing that made me nervous is when Stan gave the woman a swift
kick; I hoped that these kids would not think this was something to be
emulated. And a few seconds later the nurse smashed the baby bottle
on Ollie's head. "Don't ever do that, guys," the father said to his
sons (the girl he apparently didn't have to worry about!).
The fact that the film was black-and-white was not even an issue; I
never heard it come up.
The next film I hope to show them is COUNTY HOSPITAL. One thing I
don't think I would show kids is WE FAW DOWN. There are portions of
that film that are very blunt, shall we say. Fortunately, there is a
minimum of such material in the Laurel & Hardy repertoire.

Shorts like Hog Wild or Busy Bodies have the slapstick style of
animated cartoons. I have been to big screen theatres that featured
both of these shorts, and children really enjoyed them.

Cartoonguy

[p***@verizon.net]

Children like silly situations in addition to slapstick. They also
aren't prejudiced against any of the films that the critics/books have
labelled as "bad" over the years. I've been in audiences of kids who
howled at "The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case," and remember my own
childhood how much my friends and I loved "The Big Noise."

I would say any of the films that really play up the "man-child"
aspects of their characters - the naivete' and innocence - are better
to show than the ones where they deal with more "adult" problems - for
example, I'd steer clear of things like "Chickens Come Home." But
"Way Out West," "Towed in a Hole," "Dirty Work," "Busy Bodies," even
"The Big Noise" are probably prime films to show to kids. And "Babes
in Toyland," of course.

"Blockheads" is one that falls somewhere in the middle - there's a ton
of super silly stuff that would appeal to kids; the philandering
aspects probably would go over the kids' heads. Ditto "Our Relations"
- it has some elements that might be considered dicey - certainly you
don't want any kids inspired to light someone's chest hair on fire(!),
but there's other stuff in there that might make kids laugh. But I'd
stick with the films I mentioned in the second paragraph.

[L***@hotmail.com]

BIG BUSINESS and LIBERTY are two that the kids always especially love.

[bpnjensen]

Post by L***@hotmail.com
BIG BUSINESS and LIBERTY are two that the kids always especially love.

These are quite good.

My son has always enjoyed "Towed in a Hole" and "Hogwild" the best.
I'd add to this "Music Box", "Dirty Work" and "Way Out West." These
are pretty much sure fire for the kids. Actually, for kids who can
appreciate the story as well as the action, "Sons of the Desert" works
fine - it is a hoot to watch the kids second -guessing what will
happen next as the boys continue to dig themselves deeper with every
faux pas.

I would also wait awhile to show them the more adult-themed shows.
Not because there is anything especially racy about them by today's
standards, but because much of the humor overall is subtler and over
their heads.

BJ

[Eric Perlin]

pat.chris2 wrote:
} And "Babes in Toyland," of course.

I love that film myself, but when I tried to show it to my cousin's two kids
several years ago, they wouldn't even sit through it for 15 minutes!

They had me put on Nickelodeon to see shows that are on TV every day.

I think they were about 9 and 11 years old at the time.

Maybe the best L&H full-length features for kids would be Way Out West, Pack Up
Your Troubles, and Saps At Sea.

[The Space Boss]

Post by ***@aol.com

Post by Paul Fitzpatrick
Last year, I introduced three kids to Laurel & Hardy. The girl was a
fifth-grader, and her two brothers were in third and first grade. The
film I showed was THE MUSIC BOX. Someone observed on this board some
time ago that a more faster-paced film would be better for introducing
kids to L&H. However, the action in this film is very simple, and I
figured that the boys struggling to carry a piano up all these steps,
only to have it constantly fall all the way back down, would be
naturally funny to kids.
The kids seemed to enjoy it okay. I think the fact that they were
huddled around their parents caused them to be more inhibited than
they otherwise would have been, so there weren't any shrieks of
laughter. However, they sat through it all, and when the horse looked
back at Ollie and almost moved forward for the second time (after the
piano had fallen on Ollie the first time), the little guy playfully
said, "Oh, no, not again! Not again!"
One thing that made me nervous is when Stan gave the woman a swift
kick; I hoped that these kids would not think this was something to be
emulated. And a few seconds later the nurse smashed the baby bottle
on Ollie's head. "Don't ever do that, guys," the father said to his
sons (the girl he apparently didn't have to worry about!).
The fact that the film was black-and-white was not even an issue; I
never heard it come up.
The next film I hope to show them is COUNTY HOSPITAL. One thing I
don't think I would show kids is WE FAW DOWN. There are portions of
that film that are very blunt, shall we say. Fortunately, there is a
minimum of such material in the Laurel & Hardy repertoire.

Shorts like Hog Wild or Busy Bodies have the slapstick style of
animated cartoons. I have been to big screen theatres that featured
both of these shorts, and children really enjoyed them.
Cartoonguy- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Try BRATS. This film is tailor made for kids, with the oversized sets,
and seeing Laurel and Hardy not only as adults, but as children.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by The Space Boss

Post by ***@aol.com

Post by Paul Fitzpatrick
Last year, I introduced three kids to Laurel & Hardy. The girl was a
fifth-grader, and her two brothers were in third and first grade. The
film I showed was THE MUSIC BOX. Someone observed on this board some
time ago that a more faster-paced film would be better for introducing
kids to L&H. However, the action in this film is very simple, and I
figured that the boys struggling to carry a piano up all these steps,
only to have it constantly fall all the way back down, would be
naturally funny to kids.
The kids seemed to enjoy it okay. I think the fact that they were
huddled around their parents caused them to be more inhibited than
they otherwise would have been, so there weren't any shrieks of
laughter. However, they sat through it all, and when the horse looked
back at Ollie and almost moved forward for the second time (after the
piano had fallen on Ollie the first time), the little guy playfully
said, "Oh, no, not again! Not again!"
One thing that made me nervous is when Stan gave the woman a swift
kick; I hoped that these kids would not think this was something to be
emulated. And a few seconds later the nurse smashed the baby bottle
on Ollie's head. "Don't ever do that, guys," the father said to his
sons (the girl he apparently didn't have to worry about!).
The fact that the film was black-and-white was not even an issue; I
never heard it come up.
The next film I hope to show them is COUNTY HOSPITAL. One thing I
don't think I would show kids is WE FAW DOWN. There are portions of
that film that are very blunt, shall we say. Fortunately, there is a
minimum of such material in the Laurel & Hardy repertoire.

Shorts like Hog Wild or Busy Bodies have the slapstick style of
animated cartoons. I have been to big screen theatres that featured
both of these shorts, and children really enjoyed them.
Cartoonguy- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -

Try BRATS. This film is tailor made for kids, with the oversized sets,
and seeing Laurel and Hardy not only as adults, but as children.

You beat me to it! I just started showing "Brats" to my two and a
half year old over the past couple of weeks. She's one smart kid, and
she'll keep asking me "What's Little Ollie doing?" "Why's Big Stan
breaking that glass?"

I think she's not sure yet that it's supposed to be funny, but she sat
there with me for the whole 20 minutes. And, yes, I also mad sure to
tell her things like, "You really shouldn't shove a doorknob into
somebody's eye," and "Well, he's trying to shoot that mouse with his
little gun, but we don't do that."

[Paul Fitzpatrick]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I just started showing "Brats" to my two and a
half year old over the past couple of weeks. She's one smart kid, and
she'll keep asking me "What's Little Ollie doing?" "Why's Big Stan
breaking that glass?"
I think she's not sure yet that it's supposed to be funny, but she sat
there with me for the whole 20 minutes.

If I had a two-and-a-half-year-old, I would see how long I could go
without introducing her to any electronic screens! Wouldn't want her
to develop an addiction to it before she even understands what it is.
I don't think she would appreciate even Laurel & Hardy at that tender
age.

[b***@rogers.com]

Post by The Space Boss
Try BRATS. This film is tailor made for kids, with the oversized sets,
and seeing Laurel and Hardy not only as adults, but as children.- Hide quoted text -

Laughing Gravy is great for the youngest of kids.
The dog makes it very sympathetic for them.

[[e-mail]]

Post by b***@rogers.com
Laughing Gravy is great for the youngest of kids.
The dog makes it very sympathetic for them.

The only thing about Laughing Gravy, the ending where Charlie Hall
shoots himself might bother some more sensitive children. Maybe Angora
Love would be a better choice.

Cartoonguy

[Eric Perlin]

Has anyone considered the film "Brats", in which L&H actually play kids?