Think back to the first time you ever went to the movies. Remember what it was like standing, (or being carried), in line, squinting at the squares of light bulbs illuminating the brightly-colored one-sheets in the lobby, listening to the atonal melody of pinball machines and arcade games playing in concert with the chatter of excited moviegoers buying their tickets, the smell of fresh, buttered popcorn hanging thick in the air. Remember entering that dim, cavernous theater, sitting in one of those awesome seats that folded up like magic when it was empty, and staring in awe at the big, monolithic movie screen. And then ... it happened! The biggest TV you'd ever seen sprang to life, flooding the room in white light as though you were entering the gates of Heaven itself. (This effect was enhanced all the more if you were treated to a rumbling THX sound system promo at the same time.) And then, the real magic began.

There's an all-too-small window in childhood where we're able to take everything we experience at face value, reveling in the joys of a pure, unbridled imagination. When we see movies then, we're not just simply watching films, we're watching reality! No one wrote or directed the story, it's just happening, and we get to watch! That's not Peter Mayhew in a yak-fur costume, it's Chewbacca, the wookiee spaceship mechanic! That's not Christopher Reeve hanging from wires against a green screen, it's Superman! That's not David Bowie in a fright wig and tights, surrounded by Muppets; it's Jareth, the Goblin King and his army of goblins!

A kid's first trip to the movie theater is an exciting, formative and memorable experience, and CLICK! Cable and The Grand Cinema teamed up to make sure of that with the CLICK! Family Flick program! On the third Saturday of each month, at 10 a.m., The Grand screens a family-friendly film, sponsored by CLICK! Cable, completely free of charge! (This is an especially good opportunity for parents with very young children because if it turns out that your little tyke isn't quite ready for the movies yet, you can leave the theater early without forfeiting any of your hard-earned cash.)

This month's CLICK! Family Flick is 2011's Mr. Popper's Penguins. Loosely based on the beloved Newbery Medal-winning children's book of the same name, the film follows Tom Popper (Jim Carrey), a divorced real estate entrepreneur who finds his world turned upside down, perhaps for the better, when he becomes the reluctant caretaker to six gentoo penguins. Transforming his New York high-rise apartment into a penguin-friendly habitat, the formerly distant and workaholic Tom begins to reconnect with his two children Janie and Billy (Madeline Carroll and Maxwell Perry Cotton) and ex-wife Amanda (Carla Gugino), but caring for six rambunctious penguins in a high-rise apartment isn't as easy as you might think, and hijinks soon ensue!

Mr. Popper's Penguins is a wholesome, funny family-friendly film for children and adults, (and penguins), of all ages.

MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS, 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 18, The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, $4.50-$9, 253.593.4474