Old Movies vs. New Movies on Steriods

I sat down this weekend to watch “The Wizard of Oz” with my kids. This movie was made in 1939 although it has been digitally enhanced probably several times over the years, the main setting is still the same. Also, I think that this movie was probably very high-tech for movies in that time period. Watching the tornado scene and the witches disappearing in thin air was probably something very mesmerizing for people in that day. There were a few parts that have always and still do give me the chills and I cannot explain why. One of them is the scene when Dorothy and Toto are on their way to Oz and are telling the Munchkins bye. She is skipping off. I can see that the road stops and goes into a wall or curtain that has the road and background scenery painted on it. They have used this wall/curtain as a way to expand their set and make it appear as if the road is going out before Dorothy. This would have taken great artistry to do and as impressive as it is, you can see how limited their resources were. Another part is when the wicked witch is flying out of her tower. For this scene, they have made a small witch and castle tower and put the small doll witch on a string and just swung it around the tower. It is very obvious to me. However, I’m not sure if my kids had picked up on it. I wish I could explain why seeing these things give me such a strange feeling. Maybe because I feel as if I’m in on the secret with the actors of that era. I’m not really sure.
Since I was watching this movie with my kids I thought I would put myself in their shoes. I think the “Wizard of Oz” is a great movie and has always been one of their favorites, especially my daughters. I do not think that the lack of special effects has altered their opinion of the movie at all. This seems odd since the movies they are used to now are so advanced. We have even been to the movie theatre to watch 3-D movies. That is so much more advanced than the witch flying around her tower.
Last year I bought my daughter a VHS movie of Shirley Temple. I thought she would like it because my daughter does ballet and loves to sing. She probably lasted five minutes. I think she is so used to action and more stimulation that the old movies like Shirley Temple just cannot compete. This is not just in the area of movies. It just seems like everything is so overdone these days from food to video games. Kids can get bored so much easier because they are so used to high intensity stimulation. I wonder what the Beaver would say about today’s children’s television programs?