Kids and Chaplin

I am still in the throes of my Chaplin movie kick, and had the chance recently to show one of his best, "The Gold Rush", to four of my TEN niece and nephews. I feel it's vital to introduce kids to different art forms, but at the right age. Silent movies require kids to be able to concentrate on the screen. All four of the kids watching the movie fell into the 7-10 age range. The kids were still young enough to find the "fall on the ass" humor hysterical, and yet old enough to understand the "he can’t get a break" mentality of the drama.

Reaction to the film overall was great. They all inevitably asked the same questions though:

Why did everyone wear grey and black clothing back then?
How come they couldn't talk, but we can hear music?

Isn't a Tramp a bad thing?

After quickly explaining that color film wasn't invented, and neither was sound recording (and the music was played WITH the movie, like their CD's can do), I explained that a "Tramp" back then was a bum, not what they were thinking. Then I wondered how the hell these kids know what a "tramp" is today? But I digress...

It never ceases to amaze me how much children actually understand. We always underestimate their comprehension. They completely "got" that he was in love with that girl, and she was being a total bitch to him. They all felt bad for the Tramp when the girls never showed up for the New Year's Eve party. They never questioned what the characters were doing or why.

To follow are some of their favorite scenes, and their reactions to them:

The Tramp taking the easy route down the mountain:

They loved that this guy simply sat down and slid down the side of the mountain. No staying on a long ass trail and taking days to get somewhere. No, just sit down, slide and get it over with.


The Thanksgiving Meal consisting of one Boot, well done: The kids completely believed that The Tramp and Big Jim McKay were starving. They were appropriately disgusted to see a boot come out of the big pot on the stove. Then they were laughing out loud when The Tramp ate the shoelaces like spaghetti and sucked the shoe nails like juicy ribs. One of the 7 year olds even commented..."I hope I am never hungry enough to eat my brother's stinky shoe!"

Big Jim McKay wants some chicken, and the Tramp will have to suffice:

All four kids were amazed at just how chicken like The Tramp was. I must admit, Chaplin really looks and acts like a chicken. The two older kids thought it was a computer animation, and after I told them it was just a costume, they wanted to know if the chicken costume was still around for borrowing!

The Tramp entertaining his fantasy guests by making dinner rolls dance:

This is a rather famous scene, and I've always enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if the kids would get it until I heard one of them exclaim..."Dude is pretending the forks are his legs! That's cool!".

The house on the edge of the cliff:

This was the highlight of the film for all 4 kids. From the moment the house is seen on the edge, to the final climax of the scene, they were rolling. They couldn't get enough of the two guys trying to get out of the house before it fell into the crevasse. They loved watching these two grown men panic, argue and struggle to get the hell out of there!

The kids were clamoring for more after the film ended, so I showed "The Kid" and two of his shorts (Payday and A Dog's Life) to them.

So, don't underestimate a kid's ability to sit through a silent movie. Introduce them to these silent film masterpieces. It's well worth the effort.