After years of not watching children’s movies because my younger sister has been an adult for a while now, I watched two children’s movies this week (thanks to my new MoviePass subscription which I just started trying out). The first was Early Man — a claymation movie like Wallace and Gromit in which Stone Age people attempt to win back their land from Bronze Age colonizers by playing soccer. The second movie was Peter Rabbit — a live action continuation of The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter that is considerable more bold and wild than the book.

I’ll be honest, I don’t remember ever reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit as a kid, so I’m definitely not an original purist. I loved this modern continuation. I went to see Peter Rabbit by myself since everyone else was busy, but it was so funny that I was laughing louder than the kids in the theater with me.

I did not love Early Man. It made me want to cringe. It wasn’t a bad movie. By most standards, the plot was fine, not too simple (which is something I problems with in a lot of films). The animation was what one would expect from a claymation film. The humor was lacking though. I’m sure it would’ve made children laugh (though my fiancée and I were the only ones in the theater when we went to see it). It had really good messages (girls playing soccer, aw yeah!) and was super wholesome (except a little theft).

What was the main difference between the two films? The fact that the humor in Peter Rabbit could be funny to two different generations for two different reasons. Both movies had slapstick humor — like when Dug and his tribe run away from the giant, toothed duck or when Peter and his family assault the young Mr. McGregor with a classic rake-to-the-face bit. However, the jokes that Peter cracks throughout the movie speak directly to internet humor today. Maybe it’s because I’m a millennial, but I thought it was hysterical. When I have children, that’s the movie I’m more likely to choose.

If you think about all the super popular children’s movies, the hugely popular ones featured humor that would amuse both children and adults. The Incredibles, Minions, Frozen? They were all great, because as an adult I can watch them and still enjoy them, for different reasons. Well, some of the same reasons too… who doesn’t love animated movies?

I, however, have never seen a Veggie Tales movie in my life. The reason? My mom didn’t want to sit through that, even though she’s an incredibly kind and giving woman. The one with money wins when choosing the movie. Probably why I was brought up on action movies and psychological thrillers — my dad’s choice.

Feel free to add your take in the comments!