by Charlie Brooks posted in Parenting

My wife and I thought our son was sensitive, but that was before we started watching movies with our daughter. Now it?s a miracle if we can get through a kids' movie without tears at the tense parts.
I don't mean to disparage sensitivity in any way ? I really like that my kids get so emotionally involved in stories. In my opinion, it shows both empathy and a good imagination. It just means that I won?t consider Old Yeller as a kids' movie anytime soon.
We watched Moana in the theater, and when Tamatoa nearly ate Moana, our daughter screamed so loudly that my wife and I initially thought it was part of the scene. Now that it?s on DVD, we got through the Tamatoa scene okay, but the lava monster scared the bujeezus out of her. Despite those scary parts, it?s still worth watching the film because Moana has ranked as a favorite movie for both our kids. (My wife is also nuts about it because of her celebrity crush on Lin-Manual Miranda. And I guess I think it?s a pretty cool flick as well.)
My wife and I still haven?t figured out a good formula when identifying a new kids' movie to watch as a family. We recently gave Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory a try. It seemed like a simple, fun movie without too much menace. Only after the film started did I remember the scary tunnel:

What seems to be the stuff of nightmares to an adult doesn?t necessarily faze a kid, though. Our daughter watched the scary tunnel without a peep. However, s...