MovieChat Forums > We Bought a Zoo (2011) Discussion > Not happy with the Easter Bunny Referenc...

Not happy with the Easter Bunny Reference!


Thought this was a family movie, and in most respects it is but in the scene where Benjamin and Dylan are arguing at the top of the stairs he made a comment "I still have a 7yr old who belives in the Easter Bunny!"

I happened to have my 7yr old with me who happened to have fallen asleep 5 mins before that scence. Never felt so relieved!

Do not bring your kids to this movie if you don't want them knowing, it shouldn't have had that reference in it as a PG movie

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Seriously? I mean, it's your kid and everything but it seems a little naive from your part to expect your 7 year old to still believe in the Easter Bunny. Please! I find it ridiculous! I mean. so what if he/she finds out...by mistake? These things are supposed to happen. Sooner or later.

And I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who's world didn't collapse when founding out at 6 years old that there is no Santa Clause.





'A baby sleeps in all our bones so scared to be alone..'


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What? There is no Santa Clause???


You can't palm off a second-rater on me. You gotta remember I was in the pink!

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Sorry to dissapoint. But you know, there's always the Fairy Godmother left. :)





'A baby sleeps in all our bones so scared to be alone..'


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You know, some children have a higher threshold for make believe. My son and one of his besties had DEEP philosophical discussions the year they were in sixth grade. Over Christmas break they came to the conclusion that it was their parents. This may have also been the year that our Priest (who grew up in a third world country) told a story about staying up under the tree with his little brother and their BB guns. The only time they EVER got gifts was on Christmas, from Santa (family too poor for birthday gifts)... so they decided that if they just winged Santa enough that he had to stay at their house for a while, they'd get gifts and special food every day that he stayed.

My son came to me and asked - and I asked what he thought... then confirmed his theory. What is amazing is that none of their classmates who were 'in the know' ever spouted off about it... AND, the town's Santa Claus (for parades, pix, breakfast with, etc) was the shop teacher at the high school... who they saw at least once a week around town, AND who helped the Cub Scouts every year with their Pinewood Derby cars (taught them how to use the tools, then supervised for safety). The boys NEVER caught on until they were in high school.....

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No, the Santa Clause is real.

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I believe you have to be at least 13 to have an account.

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mikaela you cannot be for real. if you are, get a clue before you post.

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well the girl in the film is 7 years old and still believes in the Easter Bunny so apparently everyone involved with making this movie disagreed that 7 is "too old" to still believe. chill out.

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yea they should have said "includes mild easter bunny spoiler alert" at the start of the film.

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lol... nice post!

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Do your kid a favor and tell him/her the truth about the easter bunny. I find it weird that a 7 year old doesn't already know this.

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you obviously don't have kids.

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This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. Why would you want your child to grow up believing myths and fairy tales?

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[deleted]

Believing in things like the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy are examples of shared societal traditions which is one of the things that helps unify a community and makes it unique. Also, these beliefs help children develop their imaginations, and ultimately teach them about disappointment in a relatively benign way. Imagination is important for human and spiritual development. I can understand the concern of the parent who wrote the original post. It is up to parents to decide for their children when it is appropriate for them to discover that these things are not real. My parents let me decide for myself. They never would confirm that these stories were not real. They thought it was important for me to decide for myself and would ask me, "What do you think?" when I queried the validity of such tales. To the original poster I would say that a child who really wants to continue to believe might not even recognize the meaning of the dialogue.

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"develop their imaginations" Imagination? You're not encouraging imagination. You're presenting something imaginary as real. There is a big difference.

"teach them about disappointment" By letting they know that their parents will lie to them, and not even feel sorry about their violation of trust. Never mind the other kids made fun of you either, at least your parents has some fun.

"spiritual development" Go on... believe in other fake stuff too.

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This has to be the dumbest thing I've ever read. Why would you want your child to grow up believing myths and fairy tales?


Would you tell that to people who raise their children to be religious? Evidently, religious doctrine is just what you say "myth" and "fairy tale". People can do what they want and deserve to do what they want. Honestly, the amount of ignorance is gobsmacking.

"Everybody lies." - Gregory House

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Of course you should tell that to people who raise their children religious. It's child abuse to indoctrinate your children to a cult before they have a chance to think rationally about what you're forcing them to believe.

I have a serious problem with parents that teach religion to children.

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I have a serious problem with parents that don't.

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Well, you my friend, are an idiot. Why do you think a child should be forced to follow something before they can understand whether or not it makes sense?

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Because their eventual understanding and acceptance is the key to their salvation. Sounds like your parents came up a little short in that area. That's no fault of mine, nor of your own. Yet, you are presumably now of the age to make sense of it and choose not to. Further, you label those that learned long before you idiots. A dismal path to be on, even by your own planning. I shall pray for you, CaptainSexMachine.

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Why is it so important to teach someone something before they can make rational decisions on their own? I'll tell you why: Because if you try to teach religion to an adult, he will laugh at you and tell you to take that nonsense elsewhere. The reason most religions place so much emphasis on children is because that's the only way to propagate the idea: by brainwashing them before they can think.

If your beliefs are rational and correct, why can't an adult accept them without having previously been indoctrinated as a child?

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Do you wait until your child sticks a fork in a socket to teach them about electricity? I mean, that can surely wait until they're adults. Oh, wait. You'd rather not expose them to the pitfalls and consequences they may encounter sans that insight. Ergo, constructive brainwashing on your part.

Conversely, I know of many adults that didn't learn of religion until later in life. Some sought that level of enlightenment without being approached, feeling it was something they missed out on as children. In learning, they didn't laugh, nor did they label it nonsense. So, to answer your question, they very much can. Just as an adult can learn about the dangers of electricity. It's simply viewed as wise to introduce them to it as early as possible, to avoid potential setbacks. Such as being led astray by close-minded heathens, for example.

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Adults that become religious doesn't seek or get "enlightenment" they are gullible fools too begin with and would by any old BS they felt "resonated" with them. No adult with a properly functioning brain becomes religious.
"When one person hears voices in his head he's called insane. When millions hear voices they're called religious!"

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Quite the opposite. No adult with a properly functioning brain does not.

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Well it can be beneficial in cum situations. The Catholic Church is one example.

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Scientologists love Narnia, there's plenty of closet space.

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You know, that comment was totally uncalled for. You took a post talking about the Easter Bunny and made it about religion. Nobody here was referencing anything about God or anything like that, yet you had to be @$$hole-ish and write what you wrote.

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I was answering holonone who said "Why would you want your child to grow up believing myths and fairy tales?" All im saying is that it's not that surprising considering the amound of religious people in the world who as grown intelligent people actually beliving in the myths and fairy tales of theie "holy" books. There are some resemblings. Thats all, try not to be so easily offended.

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We all need something to believe in......otherwise what reason is there to even live? So until you can actually prove that those 'holy books' are myths and fairy tales they give many people not only hope but comfort.The fact that those books exist at all is proof enough for many, many people obviously. Children need to have fairytales and little bunnies who leave candy to believe in.....especially in this day and age of so much bullying and technology that they can't even think for themselves anymore.....nothing like an entire generation of cynical, nothing to look forward to robots with no imagination.

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Being alive is the reason to live. Your only reason to live is based on FEAR of what some HUMANS wrote thousands of years ago. You're pathetic.

It's also the height of irony that you complain about people not thinking for themselves anymore when that's the exact problem with religion.

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Pathetic is the paradox of attempting to usurp another's faith with demands of evidence. It wouldn't be a matter of faith, if they could provide such.

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[deleted]

Hey PG stands for "Parental Guidance" meaning it not child proof

http://www.purplefreak3.com
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Just out of curiosity what is the Easter Bunny? Not to be funny, but when I grew up (yes, I'm in America)... Folks mentioned the "Easter Bunny" as part of a costumed person or chocolate bunny as a treat... No one taught me a story about the Easter Bunny or concept of one... I "knew" there was a Santa Claus and a Tooth Fairy as they actually did something... Well, it was purported that they did...

But, what - on God's Green Earth - IS an Easter Bunny? If we're talking about the actual make up of a rabbit, surely we're not expecting THAT to carry a basket around... Or is it supposed to be like a Wererabbit type incarnation? Which - to be honest - sounds scary...

To further that point, is their job to "lay eggs?" I mean, I guess the notion/lie was too much for my parents and the parents of my friends to explain to children (who just got taught about mammals) that a mammal is out in the field laying colorful eggs...

I know the OP is upset, but I am trying to find out, about what? Do kids really think there's an Easter Bunny? If so, can someone tell me what they think that is, as I really don't know...

Now I'm going to have to troll the net and see if I can get the story on this character... Seems kind of silly to be upset about...

What got me upset is the boy yelling BULLSH!T at his dad and saying DAMNIT... It's funny that parents don't seem to care about that loss of innocence (or sheer disrespect), but care about a very non-sensical character that I would guess most kids won't believe anyway...

EDIT: According to Wikipedia (I know, it's not the best source, but I guess I don't care enough to spend too much time on this) says the following:

The Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit (sometimes Spring Bunny in the U.S.) is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Father Christmas, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday. It was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Frankenau's De ovis paschalibus[4] (About Easter Eggs) referring to an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs.

All I can say is "wow..." So I guess I was right on the money... My folks were so busy trying to keep me believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy, that they just didn't bother to try and make sense of this... I had pet rabbits too, so I know I probably asked a lot of questions about "how do they stand up?" "How do they walk on their hind legs?" "How can something that little carry a basket taller than him?" "Since when do rabbits lay eggs?"

I am just saying, I can't see a child being scarred for life over that brief, non-detailed mention of the Easter Bunny...

You people are the disease, but I've got the cure. ~Morgan on "Chuck"

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I love how those who find it difficult to believe in God's existence, don't think twice before disregarding the entire concept as something asinine.

Just cause you can't prove it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. As far as religious folk go, there's a thing called 'Faith'.

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Why is everyone so extreme?
I do know that I had a lot of fun as a kid with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. They gave me some of my finest memories..
It didn't scar me or make me ever feel like I had been lied to. It's a fun fantasy for children. It's no more damaging than fairy tales or any other flights of fancy. It awakens the imagination.It's just fun.
Trust me that life gives us plenty of years to deal with hard core reality. I cherish the few years I didn't have to.

On the other hand..the vast majority of children have it figured out by 7 years old and are just playing along.
So I'm not sure where the problem is.

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OH NOES MY GRANDPA STILL BELIEVES IN THE EASTER BUNNY, THIS MOVIE SHATTERED HIS WORLD.

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This sig has been deleted by an administrator.

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>>>>the vast majority of children have it figured out by 7 years old and are just playing along.

and you know this HOW?

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-minia


very good question


The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the spring season.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. The first bunnies were not made of chocolate; they were made of pastry and sugar.





- C'mon back to my room and I'll give you a Rusty Venture.

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To Minia: there is a hilarious chapter in David Sedaris' book "Me Talk Pretty One Day" in which he describes a discussion about the Easter Bunny that occurred in his French class.

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If it wasn't a post you made in March, I would have thought this was a silly April fools joke as a post, what a moronic comment you made. You are actually so OVER-protective of your child, you worry about the Easter Bunny, get a life and let her have one too, that is just the picture of stupid in my mind. Why I am wasting time replying to a idiot like you is even beyond me, do us a favor and stay off of IBDM with your dumb comments.

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Mark Dana--

Why did you even reply? Why did you even click on the post if it bothered you so much? Let people voice their opinions and leave them alone. Parents have a right to say how they feel about a family movie. I happen to agree with the original poster. Please don't comment back to me--I don't want to be called over-protective, stupid, a moron or an idiot. We all have the right to voice our opinions without being raked over the coals. I am so glad I had parents that pretended to be the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus which made my childhood magical and beautiful. It showed their love for me and I am so grateful for that. When I found out the truth I loved them even more. I have been able to do that for my children and have seen how happy it has made them. They get so excited for the holidays. My oldest now knows and loves us for it. Wishing you happiness.

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>>>that is just the picture of stupid in my mind

quite a stretch

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