FOR THE KIDS / MOVIES AND MORE : Lawn Chair Cinema : ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is the first of three movies offered free at Simi Valley’s outdoor Bicentennial Amphitheater.

So you didn’t take the family to see “Beauty and the Beast” when everyone else was lined up at the local theater.

You can still redeem yourself.

Take them to see it under the stars at the Bicentennial Amphitheater in Rancho Simi Community Park.

It’s all part of Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District’s Films Under the Stars summer program.

“Beauty and the Beast,” the first of three cinema offerings, will be shown Monday at 8 p.m., or whenever dusk arrives.

Not only is it free, but you’ll avoid theater lines, outrageous popcorn prices and bad seats.

The amphitheater is a natural bowl where viewers sit on the grass to watch the movies. Families arrive early with picnic dinners, popcorn, blankets and lawn chairs.

This is the fourth year that the district has offered the summer film series, but it’s the first time that the films are animated.

The second film, “An American Tail,” will be shown Aug. 3, and the last one, “The Rescuers Down Under,” will be Aug. 24.

All are G-rated (for general audiences).

If you need a recommendation for “Beauty and the Beast,” take the word of the Academy Awards folks.

The Disney film took Oscars for its musical score.

Imagine how it will sound under the stars.

If you want to do more than eat dinner and see a movie, Rancho Simi Community Park has much to offer. First of all, the 35-acre park includes a 2.5-acre lagoon with ducks, streams and waterfalls. Kids under 15 and senior citizens can fish.

If that’s not enough to keep them busy, there also are two playgrounds--one more challenging than the other--as well as softball fields, lighted tennis courts, lighted basketball courts, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard and volleyball courts and a renovated 50-meter swimming pool.

You can catch a flick or two under the stars in Thousand Oaks too.

On July 18 the movie “White Fang” will be shown on the softball field at the Thousand Oaks Community Center, 2525 N. Moorpark Road.

Bring your lawn chairs, blankets and picnic dinners. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

There will be games and other activities for kids before the film and during intermission.

It’s not free. Cost is $1 per adult and 50 cents per child.

It will be a double show on Aug. 15 when the films “101 Dalmatians” and “Three Men and a Baby” will be shown.

MAGIC MOUNTAIN TRIP: If the kids have been nagging you to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain, but your stomach is queasy at the thought, here’s the easy way out.

The Ventura Department of Parks and Recreation is taking a load of kids there on July 24 for the day.

The trip is for kids 6-12. The cost, $30, includes bus transportation and admission to the amusement park.

About 100 children will be making the excursion, leaving Balboa Middle School at 8 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m.

The parks and recreation people provide supervision--one counselor per 10 children, plus some aides.

Kids should bring their own spending money and a lunch, unless they want to buy it there.

Veterans of the trip advise kids to bring a water bottle.

DRUM LESSONS: You say the piano or the violin isn’t your youngster’s cup of tea? Well, plug your ears.

Kids 9-16 can take a class in drums through the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District.

The classes will be on Mondays, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., from July 13 through Aug. 3, at the Camarillo Community Center. Cost is $24.

The instructor is Larry English, who teaches band for the Pleasant Valley School District.

He’ll teach the fundamentals of bass drums, quads, cymbals and snares. Drummers and wanna-bes are welcome.

* WHERE AND WHEN

* For information on Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District’s summer film series, call 584-4400.

* For ticket info, Thousand Oaks outdoor films, call 492-2461.

* For info on the Magic Mountain excursion, call 658-4726.