In March, I told Luke that if he re-read Alice in
Wonderland, I'd take him to see the new Alice in Wonderland Movie. He listened to the unabridged version on his MP3 player very quickly in anticipation of a movie night with mommy. I had told him that I would listen to it as well, but I find Alice so silly and wacky that I was so easily distracted. I kept re-winding and re-winding. Finally, I realized that I could go no further. I finally just pulled the book off Luke's shelf, but I still didn't get very far. As a child, I was enchanted with the story of Alice in Wonderland, but it was a book I never finished. (I have clear memories of those books that I abandoned over the years. I always felt/feel that I'm such a loser when I let a book go unfinished. I'm not sure that I'll ever feel okay walking away from a half-read book.) Anyway, the movie is well, weird and weird in that Tim Burton way, but it wasn't until the credits rolled that I realized that this version is based on both
Alice and its unpopular sequel, Through the Looking Glass. Luke didn't read or listen to the sequel. I was determined to flip through the sequel when I got home, but even when I did, I determined that this movie is very loosely based on Lewis Carroll's books.
On the drive home from the movie, we did get to talk about books and movies in general. We talked about what we think about movies that have very little in common with the books on which they're based. He expressed interest in checking out Through the Looking Glass, but I can tell that Alice isn't going to be one of his favorite childhood books and that's fine with me. In the end, it's nice to see have an evening with just Luke every now and then. He's so interesting and he's getting so big and sometimes, I don't see it clearly when I'm in the midst of everything that makes up a full life. I need to make it more of a priority to spend time with just him more often. So, in the end, it's not just going to the movies together. It's a time to connect with my quickly growing and changing son.
1 comment:
What a fun night with your son, even if "Alice" isn't going to be your or your son's favorite! I agree with you in that we need to try and carve out more one-on-one time with our children. It's so hard, but we have to try ... My oldest has been requesting time with just me. I HAVE TO do this ... for both of us!
Post a Comment