Since when was The Sound of Music about Nazis?
Isn’t it strange that we watch films as children then believe that we understood them completely when we think about them again as adults. But did we?
I’m not so sure.
A few years ago I watched The Sound of Music properly, instead of as a background film whilst I did something else. I was shocked to realise that it was actually about the Nazis. I obviously didn’t pay much attention for a large portion of my teenage years. What a discovery! It probably happens a lot, the realisation that the film about the singing nun isn’t just a bit of fun and actually has a serious theme.
There are plenty of films I watched as a child and either have seen them again as an adult (The Mighty Ducks, Little Rascals, Little Giants), or have forgotten about them completely. One of those films was Baby’s Day Out. It was on television just the other day and I expected it to be such a cheesy, stupid film that I regretted ever liking, but it wasn’t. It had a similar feel to Home Alone, in that, with adult perspective, you realise how ridiculous it is for someone to survive so many serious bangs on the head. It was also a really funny and cute film, one that I’m sad to have forgotten about for all this time.
I watched Problem Child for the first time in quite a few years earlier in 2013, and that went in the opposite direction of Baby’s Day Out. It felt rather ridiculous for the most part and, in a way, it ruined the glory days of believing it was a wonderful thing.
I also watched Toy Story 3, finally, about a year or so ago. It was one of those film releases that makes you wonder why children get so hyped up about it - they weren’t born/were too young when the first two came out, so they didn’t really understand (some might have seen the first and second, but they might not have realised the enormity of the third’s existence). If anything, the third in the series was for the adults who had grown up with the films and it didn’t really disappoint. I imagine for the children watching, the ending was merely something that happened. How many of the younger children would have cried the way adults/I did?
I should probably try rewatching some of the other films I saw as a child and see what I discover.
I suppose that’s the true sign of a really good film - whether it can stand the test of time and continue to appeal to adults as well as their younger selves/children.