I remember the first movie Eugene ever saw on the big screen. Wall-E. It would be the last movie Sue-Sue ever saw on the big screen. She wouldn't have gone at all had her love for her great-grandson not been greater than the pain in her knees. Every step was an effort as she hobbled from the concessions to the ticket-collector, but Gene's little legs were so small he never noticed; their paces matched.
All through the movie - which many other kids found boring - Gene and Sue-Sue cuddled and pointed, smiling wide-eyed together at the beautiful animation. I may as well not have been there. They were in their own little world.
He was a late-two/early-three. She was in her 80s. His fascination with G0D's world was fresh, hers was renewed. Their hearts matched.
Gene has seen more movies on the big screen since that day, but not too many more. Living in East Asia, we don't get the opportunity as often as other kids might. This month, however, we had the chance to see Big Hero 6 at the theater and we jumped at it. All 6 of us headed to the mall, along with carloads of our friends. It was a good show! Because the movie was in English, there were Chinese subtitles along the bottom of the screen. Baymax's name was translated for Chinese viewers into the name, "Big White." We loved that.
Brave and Jubilee cried (they aren't used to seeing villains come to life on such a large scale!) and the popcorn we bought for each kid as a special treat was hardly touched (waste of money there), but it was probably the first movie our five-year-olds will remember seeing on the big screen. And that is something.
