Wall-E and a few surprises

The kids have off all this week and with David unable to take off work due to important meetings, so we've been stuck at home. I just didn't have the guts to take an adventure alone with four kids. We needed to do something fun, so I took the kids to see Wall-E, the latest film by Disney-Pixar, in German yesterday.

At first, the screen was covered by a curtain, which opened and we viewed about 10 minutes worth of commercials. A bank ad, Eva Langoria nibbling seductively on a Magnum ice cream bar, an ad to encourage people to go to the movies, etc. Then, the next one shows a couple in bed gazing at each other longingly. There are close-ups of fingers caressing bare skin as sultry music plays. A message is displayed that says (as far as I can remember it): "You are this close. Talk to each other. Just say it." And then there's a closeup of a condom in a transparent wrapper being handed to the lucky guy. What!!!???? Are we not here to see a children's movie?

The lights came on and the curtains closed. We are here to see Wall-E, right? I thought to myself.

Thirty seconds later, the curtain opened again and it was time for the movie trailers: High School Musical 3, Ice Age 3, Madagascar 2 and an ad for a comedy for grown-ups about some bozo on a submarine. In the middle of the trailer, he dropped his pants and mooned us all.

I was shocked. Germans are more open about sex and nudity, but does the fact that this showing was for a children's film mean nothing? Brief nudity in commercials and even more in movies at night on German TV doesn't bother me and I know I can count on seeing naked bodies in the magazine and DVD racks at the store. And you should see the 2009 calendars on display everywhere. Believe me, there's plenty "on display."

But those ads before Wall-E took me by surprise. Our children are certainly getting an education here.