Ice Age 2: The Devil's Playground

My last two movies from Netflix were Ice Age 2: The Meltdown which was very enjoyable and fun! There was a short as one of the extras that had me laughing the whole time! That Scrat, what a wild and crazy....whatever he is.

There are a lot of enjoyable moments to go along with the cutting edge animation and clever writing. There are enough moments to keep the adults entertained but enough that kids will love it start to finish. The old Disney ending where something sad happens before it turns into something good is practically gone from animated movies today.

You could have a pretty good day with both Ice Age movies and some popcorn!

The Devil's Playground was a bit more serious. It was a documentary that dealt with the Amish rite of passage tradition of Rumspringa where at the age of 16 you are allowed to do as you wish in the "English" world before either giving it up or joining the Amish church for the rest of your life. That means giving up your clothes, cars, alcohol, vices, and music for the strict but simple and happy life of the farm and family.

It appears from this documentary that most Amish teens go wild at 16 and even though they get a taste of life as we know it around 90% join the church. What really is the foundation of this film is the very tight knit Amish community. You hear that term in so many different ways that honestly just don't apply but in this case it does.

You learn a little about Amish doctrine and life which would make for an incredible documentary but for the most part the Amish don't allow film after joining the church. The Devil's Playground is their term for our world for the lack of a better term. There is a separation between the way you and I see and live our lives and the way the Amish live their lives. Their goal is to live a simple, honest and just life in order to obtain everlasting redemption.

After seeing this documentary it really makes much more sense now that after the Amish schoolhouse shooting tragedy they reacted the way they did as a community by immediately forgiving the widow and treating her just as much of a victim as their own lost children. By inviting her and her children into their community for support. That is uncommon compassion that really is lost on a large part of the population.

You can't go wrong with either of these movies even though they are vastly different in content.