Went to the 9:30pm show...pretty quiet except for the guys who thought the humans didn't look real. That was on one side and on the other a seat over from mine 2 kids(the only ones i think) were amazingly quiet!!! All i could think was how lucky we were.

True. Very True. I went. Children screemed and were running all over the place. I didn't mind. I went opening weekend. I knew theaters would be packed, and children would misbehave. Obviously the people that didn't expect this should perhaps get out more.

At one showing, a little girl cackled everytime she laughed, so it was sort of unsettling...

First show last Friday, hmm.... less than 30 peeps, about 12 of them kids, and they were very well behaved. (adults and kids )

Because this is the equivalent of smuggling McDonalds food into a classy restaurant just because you can't afford their food, but want to sit someplace nice while you eat your meal. Theaters make almost ALL of their profit from concessions...if you want to eat in the theater (unless the theater doesn't have a rule against it), at least be honest enough to buy the food there...

Hey, if you don't think it's "wrong", why aren't you carrying it out in the open instead of hiding it in a coat or a purse until the lights go down?!

My wife and I took our daughter (3 years old this Monday) to see Nemo on Saturday. Despite a half hour delay in a sorry excuse for a cinema (projector broke, had to move to the next screen over) the crowd couldnt have been better. Well behaved and patient. I have been to R rated movies and had HORRIBLE experiences with adults and teenagers. This was my first "family film" experience and I couldnt have enjoyed it more. The combination of a great movie and a house full of excited, laughing children was a real escape for me. Sure, parents should control their children but this isnt Utopia....as said many times in this post, if you want to see a movie like Finding Nemo without being "disturbed", wait for the dvd.

I once snuck in some Mickey D's food into the theatre, never again, the smell was overwhelming -

Moocher, I totally agree.

To add to what you said:

I'm sorry, I can't believe how many people here excuse excessive unruliness under the guise of "kids will be kids". That's crap. Yes, a movie aimed at a younger crowd will not be completely silent. Kids will ask questions, laugh very loudly, talk - but running up and down the aisles? Screaming? Is this a movie or Jeepers/Gymboree?

Yes, I live in the real world and I have a 5-year old who is very much still a child in every sense of the term - BUT at a movie she knows she is there to watch and enjoy. She asks questions, laughs, requests more popcorn - fine. Running the aisles, screaming, kicking the back of chairs, being uncontrolled are not allowed because as the parent I don't allow it. She can run and yell all she wants at the playground or at home.

Heck, I'm not paying money for a movie if she's not going to try and watch, that's what we're there for after all. Children misbehave, for sure, and because of this parents should just let them run free? Please.

Sorry. Not a very good comparision. You go to a restuarant to eat food - so if you bring in McDonalds you are negating the very reason for you being there. The purpose of going to a movie theater is to watch a movie.

I will pay my 9 bucks or so to go see a movie, but I don't feel I have to patronize their overpriced concessions.

Another reason why I don't go to movies on opening weekend.

Especially on comedies, last time I did that, I couldn't hear half the dialog b/c everyone is laughing so loud!

You're right - my example wasn't very good. But the point I was trying to make was that you have the right not to buy their concessions, but the theater has the right to make sure you don't bring outside stuff into their building. My objection was that you stated there was nothing "wrong" with bringing in outside food, and considering that most theaters stay in business based solely on their concessions money, I'm claiming that there IS something "wrong" with sneaking in food - unless of course, you're local theater doesn't have a problem with it.

I guess I'm just one of those guys who doesn't mind buying concessions at theaters that are well-managed, since I know that money is helping them stay in business and get the kind of movies I enjoy watching.

If you're going to protest, go see the matinees instead of the night movies, since most of that money goes directly to the studios. But don't protest by sneaking in food instead of buying it - if you don't plan to eat anything, that's fine, but if you do, at least have the decency to pay a few extra bucks and show a little support for your local movie house.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: FORCED STERILIZATIONS FOR EVERYONE.

You want a kid? Fill out an application and be prepared to prove you are one hell of an intelligent, responsible, and mentally/financially stable individual.

I love kids immensely, but I loathe pathetic parents whose idea of parenting is to "let the kids be kids" without guidance, care, and supervision.

Cheering, laughing, and reacting to the film is fine! But to let your kids run up and down the aisles, stomp, fight, scream, yell, kick seats, and carry on while other people are trying to watch a film shows a disgusting deficiency in simple parenting skills and total lack of common courtesy.

Control your child, or get the hell out the theatre.

That having been said, I saw Finding Nemo this weekend (digitally projected at the AMC at Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island, what a treat!) and not only was the film great, the kids in the crowd were enraptured and well behaved. A wonderful time!

These are the type of comments that truly astound me.

My theater was fine. Like 6 other people not including the 6 of us. One was 4 who has never been to the movies before. He didn't get scared or act up or anything.

Movie theaters don't have the right to search you. Some theaters now check bags under the guise of "national security." To me its pretty ridicoulous that they are using "these troubled times" according to a big poster in my local Loews to say you can't bring any bags in. But whatever

Beyond loyalty towards a theater - there is the idea of a free market. Convenience stores sell junior mints for $1.50, theaters for $3. I will obviously pick them up at the convenience store and put them in my pocket and go to a theater. Does that make me a bad person? No. I am not doing anything wrong, except making a decision based on the free market economy.

Now for a related situation - What happens if I want something I can't get at the theater. I like popcorn, but I don't like the high-calorie popcorn they serve at theaters...do I have the right to bring in the popcorn from home that I bake? I should because the theater doesn't offer it.

Also, the idea of the "local movie theater" is pure bunk, at least in Chicago. Sure there are some independents out there, but most of the big theaters are owned by Sony or AMC or General Cinema. Like I said in my original post, if I didn't have to wait in line for 15 minutes everytime I want something in the theater, I would be more willing to fork over inflated prices.

saw this today with my 4 yo daughter....she loved it, i loved it....there were plenty of kids who chatted and did what kids do at the movies....no big whoop. I agree that the people who bitch about this invariably are people without kids who have no idea what it's like. If you are going to a children's movie, especially one of Nemo's caliber on opening weekend then expect a zany crowd. If you don't like it, wait and see it later....

Last I checked this is a Finding Nemo thread. Most of us have kids!! Many of the people complaining about this (including me) have kids. I have four of them all under the age of 10. It's just that some of us that have kids practice a little parenting now and then.

I love how parents use this argument to conveniently justify their kid's lousy and grossly obnoxious behavior.

If parents can't keep their brats in line, then they shouldn't bring them to the theater. Ever.

Strangely enough, I brought leftovers into a theatre just a few weeks ago -- but not to eat.

It was 100 degrees outside, and my wife and I had just finished eating lunch and took our leftovers to go. I knew that if we left the food in the car, it would be worthless when we got back. So, with no other option, I carried it right into the theatre. I thought the ushers would say something and I'd be forced to explain or leave it somewhere, but they didn't look twice. I still don't know why.

The crowd I saw it with yesterday was pretty horrible ... I always shudder when I see the strollers being rolled in ... not to mention the 50 people roaming the isles after the lights go down because they can't possible show up on time to a theater with three screens showing this movie.

As others have said, I understand that there will inherently be more noise in a children's movie, but the kids playing hopscotch on the stairs and throwing popcorn at me have to go.

Listen....my daughter talked a little now and then but was hardly disruptive....same goes for other kids in the audience. She didn't get out of her seat or do anything to bug anyone....she was perfectly well-behaved - she knows the rules of going to the movies and follows them.....you can bitch about people's "brats" all you want at a kids movie, but the fact of the matter is that when you have a theater full of kids and a cartoon on the screen some are going to go off.....for them, the theater is playland and while the parents should do what they can to keep them from being too obnoxious, expecting silence in a room full of 3-8 year olds is completely ridiculous. Doesn't happen, ever.

And if all kids followed your daughters behavior, we'd be living in Paradise when going to the theater. You should be proud!But it's not "playland" -- it's a public theater where people have paid money to watch a movie!Nobody is expecting silence. You can't even get that with adults.

What people are complaining about is not when children cheer, laugh, or have fun in a movie. People are complaining about children who run around, stomp on the ground, scream and yell, talk excessively, kick the back of seats, and generally disrupt the movie while the parents do nothing about it! I have no fault with the children; they're too young to know any better. But these so-called "parents" should -- they should being doing their duty as parents by keeping their children in line. And if they can't, they shouldn't be parents at all, let alone take their brats to the theater.

Forced sterilization is becoming more and more of a better idea, the more I think about it.

Like Matt said, nobody complaining about this expects silence. The expectations are just as Matt, me, and just about everybody else on the "complaining" side has said. You are using the age old unfair debating tactic of exagerating your opponent's position.

Your post is rather confusing because you contradict yourself within the same sentence. Do you think we should expect some parents to let their kids treat the theater as a "playland" or not? From your post it is hard to tell. You say we should expect some kids to "go off" and treat the theater as a "playland" yet you also say the parents should control these kids. I'm confused!!

Pretty annoying bunch. I went to a fairly late show (8 pm - 10 pm) hoping the really young kids wouldn't be there, but we had 30 minute crying baby where the mom just stayed in the theater, unescorted 6 (or so) year olds (behind me, kicking my seat quite a bit, kids running up and down the aisles--all the stuff the theater haters usually complain about. I was pretty much able to ignore it (the crying was hard) and enjoy the movie--it was the first week, so I knew there'd be at least some annoyances (but doesn't anybody have a bedtime anymore??)

Exactly. If you are so concerned about kids making noise at a KIDS movie, go to the late show. I'm sure it's playing every half hour from 12 to 12. On every screen.