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Watching Bond with our kids.

BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
in Bond Movies Posts: 373
For my 2019 "Bondathon" I've been sharing the movies with my ten year old daughter. She's often shown an interest in Bond so this year I asked her if she wanted to watch them all with me. She enthusiastically agreed. So far we've watched

Dr. No

She enjoyed this a lot. Said a few times she thinks this might be her favourite so far.

From Russia With Love

Enjoyed it. Didn't say too much about it though.

Goldfinger

Really got into this. She was a bit shocked at the "death by gold paint" bit.

Thunderball

Didn't seem to dig this one all that much.

You Only Live Twice

Now this she LOVED. Really got into it. She's also said she thinks this one might be her favourite so far but she's not too sure. She LOVES the title song.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Surprisingly perhaps she really did get into this. She was very surprised when I told her this was made almost a decade before I was born! "But it's good" she said!

She was a bit bummed out by the ending. Just said "I knew something like that would happen"

Diamonds Are Forever

Live And Let Die

The Man With The Golden Gun

We watched these three over the weekend and she didn't seem too taken with any of them really. Especially the last one. Just kept saying it was boring and asking me when it was over! Can't say I blame her really. It's a bit of a turd.

Still - she's enthusiastic about watching the rest of them and she wants to listen to some of the soundtracks I have. She LOVES the Carly Simon song and is looking forward to watching that movie on Friday night. Also - we're going out a bit later today so I'm going to play some Bond music for her in the car. Got big things planned.

So have any of the parents in here shown Bond to their kids? What did they think?
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Comments

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I had a Bondathon with my son ten years ago when he was ten. We did not watch them chronologically. CR was the first I showed him. He has later seen SF and SP with me in the cinema. We went twice to see both .

    Comments I remember from back then was that he was unsure what he thought of OHMSS, due to the ending no doubt.

    TMWTGG was the only film that made him exclaim "What a film!" when it was over.

    The Brosnan films he didn t care for at all.

    Something else I remember-him commenting on Connery s big bushy eyebrows, and he wondered if he wore lipstick?

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited September 2019 Posts: 18,343
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    The Brosnan films he didn t care for at all.

    Like father, like son, eh? ;)

    Of course he is right though.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    My youngest daughter (before I lost her) LOVED Thunderball and TWINE ,her fave Bond was Pierce .
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    I don't know if my girl has a favourite Bond yet...
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited September 2019 Posts: 1,714
    My son is just 20 months old, so I have a while to go. But the first film he "saw" was Moonraker, which I played in our room during our two nights at the hospital.

    One day I can ask if he wants to see the first film he ever laid eyes on, and hopefully the ball will roll from there...
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    A schoolfriend of mine has possibly the best 'early exposure to Bond' story: her mum went into labour while at the cinema seeing TSWLM!
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    @ProfJoeButcher - start 'em early! Why not!
    @Agent_99 - Old Rog had that effect on the ladies!

    :))

    My girl was listening to James Bond music on Google Play this morning. She seems quite interested in the David Arnold Shaken And Stirred album.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    BondStu wrote: »
    @Agent_99 - Old Rog had that effect on the ladies!

    :))
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    My daughter wants to try reading the Ian Fleming books!
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    Excellent parenting there!
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    Agent_99 wrote: »
    Excellent parenting there!

    Can't take the credit I'm afraid! She's just into it.
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    @BondStu what an interesting thread! I (like many of us no doubt) got into Bond around the same age, seeing Moonraker in the cinema and watching the movies on ITV (which only turned up on special occasions like Xmas and Easter!) but it’s great to hear that kids are still doing the same now!

    Your experiences would have made a great blog (a la Adventures with the wife in space and such), podcast or YouTube channel! 😝 I don’t have children so out of interest, what does your daughter make of the special effects in the early films - do they seem ridiculous, put her off, or does she not notice them?

    I’m a big Roger Moore fan so I’m hoping TSWLM and Moonraker make up for the disappointing start to Moore’s films! Fingers crossed! 🤞
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    Thanks @Max_The_Parrot ! I can't remember the first Bond film I saw but I can remember seeing You Only Live Twice, Live And Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker on telly at an early age (or bits of them at least). It was probably one of those four. I'll never be sure.

    First one I saw at the cinema was Goldeneye when I was a teenager - and then there was Tomorrow Never Dies and the Goldeneye 007 N64 game. That's what sealed the deal for me!

    Funnily enough - we took the kids to a special cinema showing of Moonraker in London a few years ago but I don't think my daughter really remembers it.

    As for the special effects - she has mentioned that she thinks a couple of them look a bit fake but it doesn't detract from her enjoyment of the films. She seems to be REALLY getting into them at the moment!
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    @BondStu that’s good - I think much of the SFX work on the early Bonds is a high standard - especially all the miniature work, but some of those back projections are VERY distracting! Do let us know if TSWLM is a hit! If the Lotus and Jaws doesn’t do it, poor Roger might be in trouble! 😝
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    I will do @Max_The_Parrot ! I'm pretty confident that she's going to love the movies we'll watch this weekend!
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    My friends' 11-year-old has only been allowed to watch a couple of the films so far (TSWLM and FYEO, both with me) but is a big self-proclaimed Bond fan. She will often request I sing the Bond theme to accompany her daring exploits on playground equipment :)

    (She's also obsessed with Mamma Mia! The Movie and has a big old crush on Pierce, but you can't win 'em all. @BondStu, has your daughter developed a favourite Bond yet?)
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    @Agent_99 - last time I asked her Dr.No was still her favourite. So I guess that makes Connery her favourite by default so far. We're getting back into the Bonds tonight. I can't wait!
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    Sounds like you have a great weekend ahead of you!
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    Well @Agent_99 - your prediction was correct! It was a great weekend!

    On Friday night we watched The Spy Who Loved Me. She really enjoyed it and at one point said she thinks it's her second favourite out of the series (she's still clinging onto Dr. No as her number one).

    Saturday morning we watched Moonraker. I think she enjoyed it but at the same time was a bit confused by it! :)) I told her it was a bit of a wild one, but I don't think she was quite prepared for how wild it was! Especially the bit with the pigeon. In fact - after the movie I told her that it's one that divides the audience a bit and a lot of people out there hate it. And she said "Probably because of that pigeon!"

    Saturday evening it was For Your Eyes Only - and I think she was taken aback by the abrupt change in tone after that last two.

    Sunday was an interesting day. I told her how 1983 was an interesting year in Bond history and about the "Battle Of The Bonds" at the box office.
    Sunday morning we watched Octopussy (which has never been one of my favourites) and Sunday night we watched Never Say Never Again.

    She said out of the two that the latter was her favourite. To be honest I'm inclined to agree with her!

    So that's the latest!
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,181
    I need to watch NSNA again! I think I've only seen it once. That's certainly a marathon weekend!
  • JaggedpulpJaggedpulp
    Posts: 21
    My daughter is 19 months old but she already is able to say point and say Bond at my Living Daylights mug and various posters around the house. I've also given her old Corgi DB5 to play with as well. So she is on the right track!

    After reading this thread I'm looking to introducing the Bond films to her in a few years even more than I was!
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    @BondStu Glad the TSWLM, I thought Moonraker would do the business tho. Not much of a Jaws fan then? Double-gutted about the FYEO damp squib and the OP flop - I guess you haven’t raised a Roger Moore fanatic! Shame on you! 😝😂
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    Sorry @Max_The_Parrot ! I did try! @Jaggedpulp - hats off to you sir!
    @Agent_99 - I recommend it. It's a clumsy movie but has charm. And you can't beat of bit of Connery as 007! ;)

    Anyway! My daughter and I have just finished watching A View To A Kill. I just thought we'd get it out of the way so we could dive straight into the Dalton era on Friday night.

    Afterwards I asked her what she thought of it and she said she thought it was OK. Now I wouldn't say I watched it properly (I was playing with my phone whilst it was on to be honest) but I did pay a bit more attention to it than I have done before.

    And what I did see was still as awful as I remembered. There was kind of a mean spirit to this movie. Just... unpleasant. Kind of like Diamonds Are Forever.

    Still - I was impressed by the John Barry score. I'll have to give that album another spin fairly soon.

    So. That's the latest.
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    @BondStu TLD up next eh? Roger may be down and out but fingers crossed a-ha make an impact. Wonder if she’ll know what a milkman is! 🤔😝
  • MooseWithFleasMooseWithFleas Philadelphia
    Posts: 3,370
    Love reading these stories. My boy is not quite 11 months old yet, so his only exposure to Bond is through his daddy watching during late nights when he's being rocked back to sleep :)
  • Max_The_ParrotMax_The_Parrot ATAC to St Cyril’s
    Posts: 2,426
    @MooseWithFleas I reckon you could edit together a great mixtape of Bond lullabies from the soundtracks for your little one ... you could make a fortune selling that to frazzled new Bond parents! 👍
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    So. Here's the latest

    The Living Daylights

    She enjoyed this and liked Dalton as Bond. I had to explain a lot of what was going on in it though. Especially how it was a Cold War thriller. I've told her about the Cold War before though so she understands what it was. It's just all the espionage stuff.

    Licence To Kill

    Was kind of dreading showing her this one cause of the 15 rating and the heightened violence. However - she knows movies aren't real and I didn't think it would be right to miss one out. If I'm showing all of them to her that does mean all of them.
    Sadly though - she didn't like it. Leiter getting maimed by the shark nor Milton Krest's death disturbed her particularly.
    What she didn't like was Dario getting minced, Heller getting impaled by a forklift - or Sanchez going up in flames (although she did appreciate the symbolism of the lighter used to do it).
    I had warned her beforehand that this film was a bit tougher than the rest of them and afterwards she told me she didn't enjoy it - and she didn't understand why violent and nasty films were made. But I explained to her that most of the characters who met a nasty death in the movie deserved it so she was cool with it.

    Goldeneye

    She enjoyed it for the most part - but like TLD I found myself having to explain a lot of it to her. About how the Cold War had ended before this film was made and how the film referenced that.
    She liked Pierce Brosnan and listened with interest when I explained how this was the Bond of MY generation.

    She's still hanging on to Dr. No as her favourite. Says there's just something magical about it.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    BondStu wrote: »
    and she didn't understand why violent and nasty films were made. But I explained to her that most of the characters who met a nasty death in the movie deserved it so she was cool with it.

    Hm. Sounds like she is the one who should explain things to you.
  • BondStuBondStu Moonraker 6
    Posts: 373
    @Thunderfinger - why's that mate?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    BondStu wrote: »
    @Thunderfinger - why's that mate?

    She has a much healthier attitude towards violence.
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