Parents, Leave the kids alone

The last two weeks have been so hectic that while I had a million thoughts that I just had to pen down I was unable to do much about it. Luckily I have a breather today and here goes..
While we were watching Madagascar 2 the other day (hilarious movie, I must add) we caught the trailer of two upcoming Indian animated movies. Since my husband and I have dabbled in animation earlier, we have a keen interest on the subject. We were floored by the quality of animation that is currently in vogue but I had a view that funnily was also shared by the TOI review of one of the movies. Not that I need coraboration of an idea, but it seemed uncanny that I should have given a verdict that was mirrored by a supposed expert on the subject.
Well both of us thought that the movie lacked immensely on the fun quotient. The laughs were just not there. The whole movie revolved around morals, issues, mythology etc. but no riotous moments that tickle your funny bone, no witty dialogues, no crazy escapades - nothing to woo the kiddy audience that the movie is really trying to attract.
Which brings me to the real crux of the issue. Are we too preachy with our kids. Are we all too bothered about them learning all the right things through every medium possible. If it is a game - what kind of cognitive skills is the child learning, if it is a story - what is the moral, everything has become a teaching tool. A jigsaw puzzle doubles up as a mathematics teacher, a board game trys to teach you how to match and count - the list is endless.
Why dont we let our children have more FUN
I remember when we were kids we werent always hounded with information. We were let alone to just potter around, read what we wanted and generally fool around. But now my mother never leaves my daughter alone. She is always trying to teach her something. Even painting becomes a lesson on primary and secondary colours. I cant say I am entirely blameless either. I do tend to play word forming games, guess the spelling, who much does it add upto etc.. whenever I get a chance.
Mind you I am not saying that this is not required. I am just wondering whether there is an overdose at a far younger age than needed.
Why is there this drive amongst us to create prodigies or over smart kids - the smug look on the parent/grandparent's face is unmistakable when their ward has proven him/herself innaturally intelligent. No harm I must say as long as it is not overdone.
Maybe we need to let our kids laugh more often and romp about while they still have the time. Maybe every movie does not need to have a message. Maybe every game does not need to teach them something. Good fun should also be part of the agenda. Else we will have geniuses who cannot see the lighter side of life. And what a pity that would be!