At what age, and in what order, should one introduce kids to "Star Wars"?

Cafe Society
1

I was sorely tempted to post at the end of this “zombie” thread (after all, we can certainly update it with new information since 2012) but some people always seem to get their noses bent out of joint when I do that and it partially derails the discussion. So I’d suggest taking a look at that for some background, anyway.

I’m not going to even attempt a poll because the combination of movies and ages would require far too many options. So:

I have not yet introduced any of the Star Wars movies to my two younger kids (age six and four). They (especially the six year old) would probably enjoy them, but I want to wait until I’m sure they can really fully follow the plot the first time through, rather than have them already very familiar with the characters and the rhythms of the action while slowly getting more and of a sense of what’s specifically happening with each viewing and as they age. That in and of itself is an interesting question to chew on, as I imagine most parents who are big SW fans do not wait as long as I’d think best. I have read articles written by critics who, for instance, tried to get them into the movies at age four and found they were bored by everything except maybe The Phantom Menace. Well, yeah, duh: that’s way too young IMO.

But then there also arises the question of whether to show them all the movies or just a curated subset of them; and in either case what order to use. That gets an extensive discussion in this Vulture article, but despite a diversity of approaches, no one comes close to my suggested curation and viewing order (even if you discount the fact that the latest film was not out then).

So, without further ado, here it is:

(1) Star Wars (“A New Hope”, if you must).

(2) Repeat (1) a few times over a year or more.

(3) *Revenge of the Sith *(maybe finding a way to skip the super cheesy Vader “Noooo!”).

(4) Rogue One.

(5) That’s it. The end. None of the other films are even whispered about (they can find out about them on their own at some point). Goodnight, Gracie!

All right, get those ripe tomatoes ready for hurlin’. I’m ready! :cool:

2

Because your approach completely leaves out Empire Strikes Back, one of the best of the bunch.
I would recommend my approach:
Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
The Clone Wars (animated film)
The Star Wars Christmas Special
Both Ewok made for TV films
10 Hours of Darth Vader NoOOOoOOoOO YouTube clip

3

best order for introducing kids, or anyone for that matter:

1: rogue 1

2: return of the jedi (though start after jabba is killed)

3: phanton menace

4: then show the jabba scene in ROTJ

nothing else.

4

A six year old is far too young for Rogue One or Sith.

When they’re 10 or so, show them 4, 5, 3, and then 6, (Or ANH, ESB, RoS, RoTJ). Save Rogue One for when they’re around 12.

5

As for age: I took my oldest son to see the first SW movie when it came out in 1977. He was six years old and loved it. I remember him walking back to the car with his elbows stuck out, pretending to be C3PO.

6

For my son (at the age of almost-7), I did: IV-V-VI-I-II-III-Clone Wars-Rebels-VII-R1. Basically, release order.

For my daughter (at the age of 5, since her brother was already immersed, she couldn’t be kept out): Clone Wars-I-II-IV-V-VI-Rebels-VII.

My daughter was introduced via the Clone Wars cartoon, and fell in love with Anakin and Ahsoka. She also knew about all the OT characters (Vader, Luke, Leia, etc.) from books. We then introduced her to the movies in numerical order. For her, the big reveal wasn’t that Vader was Luke’s father, but that Anakin was Vader. She was devastated. We’re holding back III for a couple years; it’d be too intense for her.

For reference, here’s the thread where I asked how I should introduce the stories to my daughter earlier this year.

For me, a Star Wars fan, I didn’t want to necessarily impose my likes and dislikes on my kids. I wanted them to come to their own conclusions and find their own favorites and whatnot. Introduce them to the story-- in a way that would give them the maximum “wow” impact-- but let them sort out what they liked and didn’t like on their own.

7

I get that. I was once one of those who rated ESB highest of all. But I see more problems with it now, and none of its dangling threads are wrapped up to my satisfaction. I certainly don’t want my kids to see Return of the Jedi if I can help it–I still think that’s the worst SW movie of all (yes, even worse than Phantom Menace). I now think it should be “blow up the Death Star, award the medals (even if Chewie is unfairly left out), yay, happily ever after, the end”.

For me, the age at which they might first be able to *love *it is not the same as the age at which they ought to first *see *it, if that makes sense.

If this is serious and not a whoosh, it goes to show there is a *wide *diversity of opinion on this subject! :smiley:

8

Kids have the internet now. You don’t get to decide what or when they get introduced to ideas.

9

My six and four year old do not “have the internet”. Nor are they going to for a few more years. But a lot of Star Wars enthusiast parents would have introduced them to this universe by now.

10
  1. The original trilogy (not the special additions).
  2. The Force Awakens
  3. Rogue One

Why would you want to traumatize your children by showing them the prequel trilogy? Seriously, I hope CPS is called on any parents who would keep those three crap movies in their house.

11

As I’ve said so many times before and will maintain until my dying breath, there is no justification for a claim that Return of the Jedi is a better movie than Revenge of the Sith. It’s clean and simple to talk about “the original trilogy” vs. “the prequel trilogy”, but the reality is not so neat.

12

Start with A New Hope, and see if they’re interested in watching the rest of the original trilogy. If so, do Empire and Jedi, then Rogue One, then TFA.

If they’re not interested, don’t try to force them to be.

13

From age 7 or 8.

IV - A New Hope
V - Empire Strikes Back
I - Phantom Menace
II - Attack Of The Clones
Clone Wars, CG Animated
III - Revenge of the Sith
VI - Return of the Jedi

Rebels
Rogue One
VII - The Force Awakens
etc

There’s no need to pretend the prequels don’t exist, and at that age they will love them.

14

My daughter was almost six when I showed her STAR WARS, which she loved, and EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, which she also loved; since Darth Vader was her favorite character, and that one ends with the famous reveal about him, I asked her if she wanted to see the story of how Vader got to be that way.

She enthusiastically said yes and watched the prequels: cheering for the little kid in PHANTOM MENACE, being incredibly impressed with the young queen using all that makeup so she and her bodyguard could impersonate each other, and otherwise following the plot right up to where jumping back in at ROTJ made perfect sense.

Vader was still her favorite at the end, but she dressed up as Yoda for Halloween.

15

Exactly.

It’s one thing to prefer some movies or to dislike some others, but to approach Star Wars with some ridiculous notions of purity…come on. They’re movies. And while (general) you may not like I-II-III etc., what’s to say your kids won’t? There’s a lot of things my kids watch that I’m not crazy about, but they enjoy.

16

That’s just not my metric. They love Dora the Explorer and that’s fine, but I don’t want it to be mixed up with Star Wars.

17

Cripes, and I thought you were worried about the violence. You’re worried they might not grasp the subtleties of the plot, and might get bored? Put something else on. Honest to god, you’re putting way more thought into this than is necessary.
It’s a movie series, not a religion. Relax.

18

if your goal is to try to get them to enjoy Star Wars in the manner you want them to enjoy it, I daresay you’ll probably fail.

19

Maybe so, but I’d rather try and fail than just serve up Jar Jar and Ewoks and midichlorians and Muppet Baby Vader pod racing.

20

So, really, there’s no question being asked here in this thread? You just want us to all know what you’ve decided.