If you have never seen a Cirque du Soleil production, simply imagine the most creative circus and then add sun. While that might seem too literal, their productions are really like no other circus around, and now Cirque de Soleil is going to create a show choreographed to Michael Jackson’s music.

The first project will be an arena-touring show debuting in fall 2011. The second one is a permanent show in Las Vegas set to open in late 2012. Cirque du Soleil has already created imaginative productions based on the music of the Beatles (Love) and Elvis Presley (Viva Elvis). Both are eye-popping productions that your kids will love (pun intended!).  As their jaws drop, they’ll also get an earful of some truly classic music.

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For whatever reason, both my kids love to watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Up until last year his face never moved and he could only roll his eyes. He also has a very checkered track record as he seems to always get into accidents (although luckily no one ever gets hurt). My boys love to look up Thomas online but the official site has a very limited number of videos to watch (and most are promos) so I turned to YouTube.

You have to be very careful playing Thomas videos on YouTube, since most of the videos are homemade mash-ups that might not be appropriate for young kids. I found Thomas songs mixed with Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, but I also found a great Thomas video set to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Using all the dark and spooky footage from Thomas, the video’s “editor” has mixed a story with Jackson’s classic song. The mash-up is less scary than Jackson’s original million-dollar music video and it’s a great way to teach your kids about eighties music. You may want to stop it  just before the end because there are some shots of zombies from Jackson’s video which could be a little frightening to your little ones.

When I was growing up there were less distractions than there are now.  We didn’t have the internet and cable television. So when something struck in pop culture it truly became a phenomenon. I remember seeing Star Wars as a kid only because it was so popular. I remember waiting by the television to see Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. Now I want to share the classics with my own 5 year old but I have two problems 1) He doesn’t seem to care for them because of all his other options and 2) what is an appropriate age to show him something that wasn’t made specifically for kids?

After listening to Thriller together in the car, I tried to show him the video but I forgot how scary the first few images were (when he turns into a werewolf). My son’s face turned white and he asked me to shut it off. I know there are a few scenes in Star Wars that he shouldn’t be watching, specifically when Luke discovers his Aunt and Uncle have been killed and when Ben Kenobi cuts a guy’s arm off with his light saber. So I’m asking you, the Rockabye readers, what is an appropriate age to show a kid the Thriller video and Star Wars?