Comments on: Discovering Good Kids’ Movies

By: Jason Apuzzo

Jason Apuzzo — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:47:32 +0000

I'd like to weigh-in here in favor of the Apple Dumpling Gang films. I was a big fan of those growing up. Other favorites of mine from that era: Pete's Dragon, the animated Disney Robin Hood and the Herbie movies.

By: kishke

kishke — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 03:08:52 +0000

The Apple Dumpling films are fun, safe kid’s films. We’ve had good experiences with the American Girl series too. The first Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is nice. Mary Poppins, Sound of Music. WWII films for the boys. Honeymooners is a big favorite, as is I Love Lucy.

By: David Ross

David Ross — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:00:15 +0000

I can well understand kids loving “Ponyo,” there being much to love. “Howl’s Moving Castle” begins very promisingly, but descends into wayward free-form confusion about halfway through. I myself had no idea what was going on toward the end. Kudos to your kids for sticking that bucking bronco of a cartoon.

By: BlackOrchid

BlackOrchid — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:52:15 +0000

Thanks for the great kids’ suggestions!

I would add “Treasure Planet” to the much0-better-than-expected Disney list — and it’s GREAT for little boys AND little girls (unlike so many recent kids’ films which offer little to boys).

My kids have loved the film versions of musicals: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Oklahoma” – pretty much any of the classic musicals! I keep pushing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” but it seems to be too long.

They loved “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Ponyo” – will have to try “Totoro” now!

By: Looksoverpark

Looksoverpark — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:09:12 +0000

Hi David, What a great idea for a posting. It is terrific to have such a good guide to children’s movies. While mine have grown up, I do have a grandchild who is almost three and look forward to showing him some of these movies when he is a little older. He does already have a few favorite television characters on shows for very young children but will benefit I am sure from seeing some of these. Thanks for thinking of doing this post. It will be a great guide for parents (and a few grandparents!) How lucky your daughter is to have parents who know so much about film to choose good ones for her to watch. Not to mention parents who watch her reactions to particular films as closely as you seem to be doing.

By: David Ross

David Ross — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:01:17 +0000

I look forward to seeing “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.” I too was a child of the suburbs, and I quite agree that there’s “an element of strangeness and adventure” to be found there. I suppose, from the kid’s perspective, there is strangeness and adventure everywhere; certainly I did not find the suburbs sterile and suffocating. One note: somebody has screwed with the audio in the version of “Lifted” we linked to. I find that many of the Pixar pieces on Youtube have this problem. I’m not sure why people are so eager to fiddle with perfection.

By: K

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:09:55 +0000

Nice piece, David. I would caution more sensitive religious parents that Totoro encompasses Miyazaki’s Shinto animism which correlates roughly with western fairies – from a pagan viewpoint. It is a delightful story which shouldn’t be harmful if it is treated as a “fairy tale”.

By: Jennifer Baldwin

Jennifer Baldwin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:20:15 +0000

David, I wonder what your thoughts are on “The Adventures of Pete and Pete,” an old Nickelodeon show from the early 90s that I think is one of the best kids shows of the last twenty-five years. It’s definitely got an indie/hipster/ironic vibe about it that would seem to scream “liberal!”, but I think ultimately the show is a celebration of the traditional family and suburban life. It’s off-beat and weird, yes, but “Pete and Pete” captures perfectly what I found to be true growing up in typical suburbia: That there’s an element of strangeness and adventure to be found in the suburbs, that it can actually be fun growing up there. By showing this side of suburbia, “Pete and Pete” undercuts the typical leftist argument that the suburbs are only full of conformity and repression.

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Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:02:16 +0000

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