When my mother took me to the movies as a little girl it was mostly a chance to have an adventure together. But sometimes it was about staying in the cool air conditioning for as long as possible before venturing back out into a hot Florida day. As part of prolonging the movie-enjoying experience, we always stayed to watch the credits of every film. At first I was annoyed by it. What little kid wouldn’t be? I didn’t really understand what the massive scroll of names meant as they rolled on the screen.

My mom began to read the credits to me and explain, as best as she could, what they meant.

“These are the names of the actors in the film. You see how they match up with the character they played?

“Look! Those people designed the costumes the actors wore. And those people made them!”

“Those people made sure the people with cameras had enough light.”

Watching the credits became a way to connect more with the film we had just seen. It was a way to tip our hats and say thank you.

The first time I remember seeing something extra after the credits was in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  It was such a surprise, which I will not recount in case you missed it the first time (but if you're a Matthew Broderick fan, stream it and check it out). All I will say is it was as if the filmmakers had known we were there reading and appreciating their work and had decided to reward us. After Ferris Bueller, we felt vindicated. For every time we were the last people in the theater, for every time some usher turned on the lights too soon, for every time nothing happened after the credits -- we finally had this.

THIS, by the way, can happen in several different ways: a postcredits scene, a tag scene, or the painful sounding “stinger." One of the first films to use a postcredits scene was The Muppet Movie in 1979. After the credits, Animal yelled at anyone who might still be left in the theater to “GO HOME!”

Of course, now that I’m a mom who takes her kid to the movies, I am the one having to teach the art of “staying put during the credits.” It’s hard. Oh goodness, it is so hard to be a kid and sit when everyone else is bolting for their cars. My mother tried to explain to my son about the after-credits possibility - that you just never know... but it was such an abstract idea for him.

I talked to my son about staying through the credits as a way to thank the people who worked on the film. I told him how exciting it was for me to see my name in the credits of the films I had worked on and how fun it was to look at all of the jobs people in production have. He really didn’t care.

Then Big Hero 6 happened.

The film had ended and we were reading off fun names and interesting lines from the credits. (Did you know there are two names listed as “production babies”? How sweet is that?) The credits ended and then... a bonus scene! The theater had mostly emptied out at this point so it felt like a prize for those of us who had stayed. I’ve had no problem convincing my son to hang out to watch the credits ever since.

Just recently we went to see the adorable and very funny (seriously, I have not heard my six-year-old laugh so heartily at a movie!) Shaun the Sheep. The film has no talking. None. Zero. If you and your family are fans of the TV show, that will not be news to you. New fans of the sheep may be surprised by the lack of dialogue. It will remind you of the fun cartoons from when we were kids - like Tom & Jerry and The Pink Panther. There is lots of action happening!

When you go, make sure to stay for the credits, as the story continues with lots of clever illustrations. Stay allllllll the way through the credits because afterward, you will be rewarded with a short and sweet bonus scene.

I am so excited bonus scenes seem to be on trend right now - especially in family movies! Some films show bonus material during the credits, and some are popping up as a fun surprise once the credits are over. Several of these films are currently playing, so when you go to any of these movies, make SURE you stay all the way.

Shaun the Sheep: During the credits, after credits

Ant-Man: During credits, after credits

Minions: During credits, after credits

Pixels: During the credits

Inside Out: During the credits

Dresden Shumaker is a writer, advocate, and appreciator of movie popcorn. She chronicles her adventures in single parenting on CreatingMotherhood.