Well, Sapphire is being sarcastic but points out a valuable position.  Is the bane of existence for Christians in today's society Mickey Mouse or Shrek?  Probably not.  But if Christian's aren't careful about the overall lessons that we allow to filter down to our children the values and ideas that we cherish as believers can be watered down or diffused to something that falls short of our goals.  I think that the concern with regard to magic being portrayed in pop culture is that is blurs the line between the everyday and Jesus' miracles.  By being bold in our convictions and thourough in our teachings, our children will realize that when someone does a "trick" and looks like a rabbit is pulled out of a hat is nowhere near feeding the multitudes (source of our symbol the Ichthys) or rising on the third day.  Jesus' miracles stand as a symbol of the power of the Lord, and thus, the power of our faith.  Shrek is just something funny to laugh at (although he does have a lot of "fart jokes."  Bad taste).  We should be able to show our children the difference.

I'm new to the boards so you don't really know me yet.  I consider myself to be a pretty progressive Christian but, I'm sure like most of us, I haven't lost my traditional barometer for right and wrong.  Also, since we can agree, there will ALWAYS be another Shrek or Mickey Mouse or Harry Potter to come along, and thanks to the Hollywood marketing machine, they will be everywhere;  it is nearly impossible to stop our children's exposure to them.  Perhaps we would be better served drawing the aspects of pop culture which reflect or resemble Christ's teachings, and use them to better develop the faith in our children. That and encouraging the development of more mainstream Christian entertainment through patronage and praise.  No one would argue that the production of "The Ten Commandments" last week wasn't helped by the financial success of "The Passion of the Christ". 

The point is, the existence of "magic elements" doesn't automatically mean that a piece of fiction is evil, even if it certainly doesn't help.  More than the existence of a magic potion, what we could instead look for is the lesson or idea conveyed by magic within its use.  Evil does exist in the world as the means by which we marginalize our beliefs or values through exposure to certain elements.  With children, often just a reminder that what they just saw was not real, but Jesus' miracles, and especially his love are real; will do more to fight off that evil that any protest or boycott.  Reminders of our faith, consistency with our convictions, and especially, our standing as a symbol of God's word through our actions and words;  that will have a bigger influence on our children than any cartoon or movie could ever hope to achieve.

But let me know what you guys think!

Sorry Spectre260, God exists in all things, so even if you went back in time to undo whatever mistake you made, God would know you did it to begin with.  No escaping the view of God (or his love!) You're better off just confessing to him and making amends.   I assure you, all will be forgiven in the eyes of the Lord.

Isn't that easier than inventing time travel, anyway?!