“The world doesn’t revolve around you,” is a common parenting phrase.

 

When my parents uttered this statement in frustration, I responded, “Actually, my world does revolve around me.” And now you understand why I was grounded through most of my teen years. I was a smart aleck, but I wasn’t wrong. Kids are biologically self-centered, a necessary function of development. 

 

Since kids are so busy thinking of themselves, they usually don’t think about their parents’ lives. Parents fly above the radar. My memories of my dad are full of tickle fights, board games and long discussions about music. My memories of my mom focus mostly on discipline and giving away our dog who never mastered potty training. But my awareness of my parents’ lives outside of how it affected me is slight:  After my mother left teaching, she never settled into a career she loved. And my dad was a workaholic, or at least that’s how I saw it. Accurate or not, those impressions affect the way I live my life.

 

This is why Saving Mr. Banks should be a cold splash of water to the face of parents. It’s about more than the making of Mary Poppins. It’s about the childhood of the book’s author, P.L. Travers, and how she’s haunted by the memory of the father she idolized even as his alcoholism brought their family to ruin. But more specifically, it’s about how Travers, as a little girl, perceives her father and mother. Saving Mr. Banks doesn’t just take the audience off into Travers’ memories but will take you on your own. And after the film, ask yourself: what does your life look like to your child?  

 

Here are two movies to see with your family this weekend:

 

 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Astonishing special effects and a dragon who may be this year’s most dreadful villain are worth seeing on the big screen, but the romance, a two-and-a-half hour run time and a PG-13 rating make this sequel a better choice for teens.

 

Frozen. A sister story, a princess movie, a catchy musical, a pet reindeer and cinema’s most lovable snowman – there’s something for everyone in this winter tale.

 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Movies often portray killing someone with the same emotional punch as eating a sandwich. Catching Fire shows that taking another’s life is traumatizing and that intelligence is the best weapon of all. Still, it’s incredibly intense so this is better for middle schoolers and teens. 

 

To see what kids think about these films, please go to KidsPickFlicks.com, where all kids are movie critics.