Remember when your folks just dropped you off at the movies on a Saturday Afternoon and told you to find your own way home? I could do that where I grew up, the neighborhood movie theater was “right up the street” and back then the neighborhood was relatively safe. But you remember the Disney movies of the 60s and 70s? There was a formula. There were good guys and bad guys and good guys who looked like bad guys but there was a chance they might be good and there were bad guys who migh just have some redeming qualities and then there were just plain ol’ bad guys and the good guys must find a way to defeat them, which shouldn’t be hard because evil is always so dumb? Those Disney movies.

I was wondering last week why “The Pacifier” did so well at the box office. I mean I like Vin Diesel as much as the next guy. I find him interesting even when he’s walking through a movie, not trying to act, just being himself. He’s like Stallone that way. I can watch him and if he never said a word, it might be better. My son suprised me…I thought the vote today would go 2 for “Robots” and 1 for “The Pacifier,” but I was wrong…Boyo wanted to see “The Pacifier.” I think Beautiful Wife may have got to him. She likes watching Vin Diesel too, for reasons that I don’t appreciate but understand.

And “The Pacifier” is a Disney movie in the old tradition. They’re not trying to be anything but Disney. And it works. There’s laughter, tugs on the heartstrings, good triumphing over evil, and the bad guys get “their wheiners smashed” (dontcha love 8 year olds?) a LOT. One guy in the back of the theater enjoyed the movie so much we thought we were going to have to call the ambulance. He should be hired by Disney so sit in theaters for them…he had THAT big ol’ laugh that was just infectious. God bless him.

And Disney…keep it up…we think you’re on to something. We’re even planning on seeing the remake of the Love Bug based solely on the previews and the fact that “The Pacifier” made all three of us laugh a LOT.

And yes ladies…Vin takes his shirt off, they weren’t lying.