Member-only story
Wild and Not Meant to be Tamed
On Familiarity, Safety, and Letting Kids Be
I’m pretty sure this is the twelfth time we’re seeing Zootopia 2 in a movie theater.
Not at home. Not half-watching while folding laundry. In an actual theater, with previews and popcorn and the whole ritual.
I’ve never done this with a movie before. Not Star Wars. Not Titanic. Not even the blockbusters everyone else saw five times in theaters and called it a phase. But here we are again because this is the movie my son can return to. The one that still works. The one his nervous system says yes to.
There’s a cost, of course. Tickets add up. Snacks add up. Time adds up. And when people hear “twelfth time,” they sometimes raise an eyebrow, like it’s indulgent or excessive or something to be fixed. But we don’t take vacations. We don’t do weekend getaways. We don’t have a lot of extras right now.
What we have is this.
And right now, this is regulation. This is connection. This is choosing the thing that lands over the thing that’s novel, impressive, or efficient.
What’s interesting is how familiar this all feels when I zoom out. Adults do this all the time. We rewatch the same shows at night because they’re predictable. We put on the same movies when we’re tired…
