Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

 Bandit Heeler

Brisbane

Queensland

Australia

Dear Bandit,

I really enjoyed your letter about taking Bluey and Bingo to the cinema. It was hilarious!

I took Littles to see Sonic 2 last night. She's been really excited about it for weeks, and has talked of little else since I booked the tickets.

The film itself didn't disappoint. It had just the right balance of genuine excitement and complete absurdity, and it held my more discerning adult attention throughout. We took Littles's Sonic and Tails cuddly toys (because obviously they wanted to see their own film. No red carpet for them, though, which was odd.) We also brought our own snacks. I know this is discouraged by cinemas, but frankly, cinema snacks and cinema tickets are both outrageously overpriced, so it's one or the other I'm afraid!

Littles was bouncing up and down excitedly - it was a bouncing up and down excitedly sort of film - and she noticed a slightly younger boy doing the same thing in our row. Our row wasn't very crowded and it was right at the front so they could get away with a bit of nonsense, though I did try to hush them a little when we drew angry looks from other cinema-goers. But if you go to see a kids' film, there will be kids, and kids will kid, am I right? (Although I get the feeling from your description that you took the girls to an autism-friendly screening - you said the lights stayed up, and no one batted an eyelid when Bingo played whack-a-mole through all the seats! We went to a conventional screening, so Littles and her new friend were barely visible in the dark.)

So they bounced together, pontificated on the merits of Sonic toys, and ran back and forth to see which of them could break the sound barrier as per the eponymous hedgehog.

It never ceases to astonish me, bandit, how quickly children can form a very deep and satisfying friendship. It's an entirely innocent form of love that I sometimes envy.

After the film, the friend's parent/ carer did the unthinkable: left before the end! Not only before the end of the credits, but before the bonus bit in the middle of the end credits. Why do people do that, Bandit? It drives me nuts! They've paid to see a film, but they won't watch the whole film! It makes no sense.

When Littles realised he was gone, she charged after him before I had had a chance to get my stuff together, and I charged after her, lest I lose her in the dark. When she realised that he had gone, and there was very little chance of catching him up, she was absolutely inconsolable. She cried all the way home. I was reminded of something you told me in an earlier letter about Bluey's friend Jean-Luc, who came into her life suddenly and left just as suddenly. I was struck by the depth of her grief. 

"What if I never see my friend again?" she asked repeatedly, and "What if I don't see my friend again until I'm a grown-up?" 

Obviously I didn't tell her this, but the chances that she will see her friend again (or recognise him if she did - she didn't get his name, and it was dark!) are virtually nil. I put a post on the cinema's facebook page, but I think that's a long shot. We, as adults, don't always appreciate how sad these things are to tiny people with plus-size emotions!

Other news, and it is now the Spring Break, which means no nursery for Littles, which means Beloved and I have to entertain her all day every day for two weeks. Send help, Bandit. Send help!

Give my love to Chilli and the girls,

All the best,

Alastair.