Uncanny Valley

Tonight we visited scenic Uncanny Valley at children's church by talking about the movie "Mars Needs Moms." The movie has a bad rap for being an epic bomb - and although I'd agree it wasn't the greatest flick in cinematic history, I'll also point out that it isn't that bad either!

Last spring, we went with Madison to see this movie - we may be in the minority, but we sort of like the look and advancing technology used to make these sorts of movies. "The Polar Express" and "A Christmas Carol" are just two movies that use this motion capture technology. From the looks of things, this sort of movie making process is sidelined for a bit, as it hasn't been making the kind of money to keep on going. Yet the movies aren't that bad. "The Polar Express," in particular, is one of our favorites at Christmas time. I think there are four movies of this kind right now, and that might be all there ever is made. In fact, this might be the answer to a trivia question someday!

"Mars Needs Moms" was one I was worried about in the theater with Madison. I didn't realize it would have a certain kind of peril, and was on the edge of my seat watching her. She didn't seem to mind though - she was quite content all the way through. Just goes to show you that you never know what's going to get to a child. If it's all the same, I'll be happy to be paranoid about it and not try and find out. We really do go out of our way to prevent Madison from seeing anything that might be too scary. Yes, some things are obvious. But even in these cartoons there could be moments that bring about nightmares. So we must be cautious and protective.

Now, just because I'm saying all of this doesn't mean "Mars Needs Moms" is a uber-scary movie. Far from it. It's just that there were some elements within that had me concerned for Madison. I remember looking over and gauging her reaction to things that happened, and feeling very nervous. But again, it all worked out just fine - and we decided to be more careful about reviewing movies beforehand.

Anyway, before we follow that Martian rabbit trail any further, here below is a quick write-up I made up to describe today's service, which turned out really well!

In the movie “Mars Needs Moms,” Milo thinks he has it rough. Can you imagine having to actually eat your broccoli? We feel so sorry for Milo, don’t we?

In fact, we don’t. Milo doesn’t realize how blessed he is to have loving parents until it is nearly too late, and that’s a lesson he has to learn, even if it takes flying all the way to Mars!

You probably don’t need to go to Mars like he did, but perhaps there are times you’ve questioned some of the things your parents have asked you to do. In these cases, the Bible makes it perfectly clear: Eat your vegetables!

Seriously: obeying your mother and father has its benefits – the Bible tells us that honoring your parents will give us long life. Simply eating your vegetables is one way that happens, but obedience has many, many other rewards as well.

So be thankful for what you have. Over the course of the movie , Milo realizes he’s had the wrong attitude about his mom. The old saying is true, “You don’t know what you’ve got until it is gone.” It takes almost losing his mother for Milo to really start appreciating the gift he has.

Simply put, everyone needs moms. We all need parents! They’re one of the greatest gifts that God has given. The Bible tells us to honor our mother and father – so today, find ways to honor your family. It can be with something special and unique, or it can be just with the gift of obedience.

Mars may need moms, but there’s someone that needs them more: each and every one of us.

This morning there was the rain. And then it got cold. Seriously cold. Like, "I'm not messing around" kind of cold. It was as if we were living on the polar caps of Mars.

Sorry, had to throw that in there.

Anyway, Daddy picked up Madison from school and rushed her to the lunar rover to turn the heat on, and then went home for lunch. Yummy! Mommy had delicious soup for us, to warm us up really quick. Today was a busy day at work, but Daddy was delighted to get to go home and spend some time with Mommy and Madison, indoors of course.