I do always find it odd the assertion that kids will love ROTJ and then grow out of it, or even Anchorhead's comment that kids won't notice the tonal shift as much since ROTJ was more focused towards them. At 9, I always found ROTJ to be a lesser film than the previous two. It always felt lighter and fluffier. It always felt somewhat tired to me. That's obviously not a judgment. I just always found it interesting. What's also interesting to me is that I always thought I was the only person who found Empire the superior film of the two. All of my friends growing up thought ROTJ was the best of the trilogy, and it was only when I started posting here that I found others that agreed with me. I guess that just means I was one of the few children who wasn't put off by the darker elements. Or maybe that 9 is just getting so close to the dividing line that it becomes a bit blurry. There were certainly film franchises I saw when I was younger (4-6) where I was put off by an installment I felt was darker and scarier.