Moms and Money: Moxie Cinema

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - There’s nothing quite like seeing a movie in the theater. The smell of popcorn, candy, and the sound quality. It’s unfortunately something that took a backseat during the pandemic. Now theaters across the country are welcoming patrons back, including their younger customers.

“So we just watched Lego Movie,” said Mike Stevens, Executive Director of Moxie Cinema.” The Lego Movie from 2014 is one of my favorites and it’s part of our Moxie Flix series. These are free feature-length films that we put together once a month, and we think of them as essential films every kid should see before they turn 13.”

Mike Stevens is hoping to expand kids’ interests from the small screen to the big screen.

“The Wizard of Oz is upcoming, Paddington Two as well,” said Stevens. “We played our first movie to kick it all off with one of my favorites is Singing in the rain. We’re just trying to give kids a taste of not only great movies that are fun but a range of stuff that they might otherwise not see.”

Stevens said these are kid-friendly showings.

“One of the reasons why I’ve started doing this is because my daughter aged out of our earlier kids program and I thought I want to be able to take my daughter to see a great movie and not worry about, you know, how much it costs or how much noise she makes, because she’s excited about the movie.”

Stevens said films are a storytelling tradition that’s lived on for thousands of years.

“I think it’s just that it’s a story,” said Stevens. “It’s a story of us. It’s a story of them. It’s all the way back to shadows in the cave in ancient times and being around the campfire. It’s gathering together in a darkened room and the lights go down and images come up and they’re telling you something to kind of make you feel less alone and make you understand the world better.”

The Moxie Flix movies are free and happen once a month. To see their showings and learn more click here.

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