Last night I finally got round to watching the South Bank show on Pixar. Brad Bird was talking about how Disney during the 1980s and 1990s was petrified of having anything scary or exciting or racy in its animated movies. Over time, the highs and lows were removed, omitting emotive content and, in Bird’s words, ‘flatlining’ the movies.

SFGate now has an article with the headline Maurice Sendak tells parents to go to hell. In it, Sendak, creator of  Where the Wild Things Are, has a to-and-fro with a reporter about the movie adaptation of his 1963 picture book:

Reporter: “What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?”

Sendak: “I would tell them to go to hell. That’s a question I will not tolerate.”

Reporter: “Because kids can handle it?”

Sendak: “If they can’t handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it’s not a question that can be answered.”

If only more people responded in this way. I’m not suggesting kids should be presented with the likes of Saw or Friday the 13th on entering a cinema, but it’s insane how do-gooders constantly try to revert children’s media to something that Mary Whitehouse would have been satisfied with. Surely, creating children’s movies with a full gamut of emotions is better for them and their parents than more grey mush?