I wasn’t sure what to do about the red carpet.
As an invited guest to the Opening Night of Sprockets – The Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth – I figured I could walk down it but as a member of the media covering the event didn’t I belong with the paparazzi?
Luckily, I had my boys with me and they knew EXACTLY where they wanted to be – with Lightning McQueen. 
A life-sized replica of the famous race car sat at the foot of the red carpet and the boys wasted no time in checking it out.
And when the evening’s special guest, Disney Pixar Animator Don Crum, came out to pose with the car he created, the fans went wild.
So began an exciting evening at the new TIFF headquarters. For the next hour and a half the boys ran from McQueen to a Pizza Nova sponsored pizza party, took turns posing as a Toy Story character and munched on “cake pops” desserts.
The resulting grease and sugar high made me a little nervous that Crum might have a wall-climbing catastrophe on his hands as they settled into their seats for the movie.
This was, after all, a 7 p.m. start on a Friday night and yawns were as commonly heard as “When is it starting?” among the crowd.
But just as kids started to fidget, it started and all fears were put to rest.
Hawaiian Vacation is a 6-minute short (It took longer for me to buy our popcorn.) but somehow, the movie manages to offer non-stop laughs and leaves no one saying, “That’s it?”
The toys decide to transform the bedroom into a “Hawaiian Vacation” and hilarity ensues.
The short was followed by a sneak peek at the all new, sure-to-be-blockbuster CARS2 which had kids throughout the theatre on the edge of their seats.
As a bonus, Crum then spent some time talking about his job as an animator and showing the process that goes into producing these films which was both fascinating and exhausting to think about. (It can take anywhere from four to six years to produce one movie; drawings are often revised numerous times; and you need 24 perfect drawings for every one second of movie frame!)
His message throughout is clear: It’s something he loved to do since he was a child (he shared some of those early drawings with us too) and it’s a passion he’s turned into a career.
Still, it’s after 8 by the time Crum is deep into his presentation the kids are shifting and losing interest. They came for McQueen, not Crum, and it’s woefully past their bedtime. We sneak out quickly as it comes to a close. As I tuck my six-year old into bed, he’s teary.
A long week marred by illness and excitement, a long day at school and the dark sleep-filled drive home only to be woken in order to change for bed, have left him grumpy and disoriented.
“I feel sad,” he says with half-closed eyes as I tuck him in.
I rub his back and remind him of two scenes from the movie and he begins to giggle and grin.
Parents everywhere better prepare themselves: Pixar has another winner.
Heather Greenwood Davis is heading off this summer on a 1-year travel adventure with her husband and two kids. She’s pretty sure that wherever they are on June 24, they will be watching CARS2 in theatres. Sprockets runs through April 17.
Sprokets Toronto International Film
Festival for Children and Youth ends this weekend. Visit the Sprockets
website for a full list of films and showtimes.
Thanks ladies! Very much in love with my little guy and had a BLAST at the Opening.
Great post Heather! I was there with my family as well courtesy of Urban Moms and my girls had a blast! We didn’t get a chance to visit the giant toy box (it’s a bit of a commute from where we live) although I’m sure that would have been a hit too!
OK, Heather, THAT LITTLE BOY?!?! Could he be any cuter?! Looks like a total blast.