Films for kids

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Wed August 4th, 2010, 12:34 am

The original fairy tales were written for adults, not children. Hence their frequent unsuitability.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Wed August 4th, 2010, 10:15 am

I remember not being scared by the Disney films of the 60s and 70s, but a young friend was petrified by the whale in Pinocchio, and also had to be removed from the cinema due to something in Jungle Book, can't remember what. I'd probably find them scarier now!

I agree that the original fairy tales are very dark, in fact quite gothic in some cases. My mum remembers being terrified by the witch in Snow White.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Wed August 4th, 2010, 12:33 pm

My kids loved "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with Gene Wilder. My daughter became fascinated with the ballet "The Nutrcracker" with Mikhail Baryshinikov. I had taped it from TV and she watched it everyday. A couple of Christmases ago, I gave her a DVD version. The only film I remember my kids having a fearful reaction to was "American Tail" with Fievel the Mouse. It wasn't the storm, the cats, etc. My daughter was afraid because Fievel got separated from his family and she had a nightmare the night we had seen the film. She's now 29 and lives all the way across the country in Seattle, so she no longer has separation anxiety!

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Wed August 4th, 2010, 1:14 pm

As twee and obnoxious as they are for adults to watch, and as much as I hate feeding the Barbie industry, my youngest still loves all of the Barbie direct-to-video movies. She begs for each one that comes out... I think the most recent one she asked for was Barbie and the Three Musketeers. The Barbie movies play around with these stories much the way that Disney does with fairy tales, but kids usually love them. The mention of the Nutcracker was what made me think of it, actually. The first one my oldest ever watched was Barbie and the Nutcracker, and they've nagged me to collect each and every one that comes out.

Another film my youngest likes is The Waterbabies. It was one of those $5 DVDs that I picked up at the local grocery store and I was surprised by how much she liked it.

Lastly, another really good one, if you can find it (I doubt it's available in Europe), is the Notes Alive adaptation of Dr. Seuss' My Many Colored Days, with the Minnesota Orchestra performing. We used to play it for nap time.

SarahWoodbury · Post by **SarahWoodbury** » Thu August 5th, 2010, 3:40 pm

Curious George (animated) is one of the most perfect, loving little kid movies I have ever seen. Sweet as all get out.

My kids were scared by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and most of the Disney movies. When my eldest kids were little, The Lion King came out and we made the mistake of letting them watch it. Horrible. My six year old was afraid of the Winnie the Pooh and still won't watch them. Disney Pooh completely ruined the real Pooh with artificial conflict in the plots and scary scenes.

In a little while, she might like the Toy Story movies (the second one is the best). Monsters, Inc. is good too. And Mulan--a great heroic girl. The Emperor's New Groove is very funny for adults too.

And even if you aren't of a religious bent, the Vegie Tales are for the most part great. "Lord of the Beans" is a favorite in our house.

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Thu August 5th, 2010, 6:19 pm

[quote=""SarahWoodbury""] The Emperor's New Groove is very funny for adults too.
[/quote]

"Groove" is one of my favourite animated movies of all time! It just makes me laugh and smile every time I see it! "WRONG LEVER"!

SM

Ash · Post by **Ash** » Thu August 5th, 2010, 11:04 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""]The original fairy tales were written for adults, not children. Hence their frequent unsuitability.[/quote]

No - at that time period, it was just entertainment. Children were considered little adults, and weren't rushed away when the adult stories were starting up.

Oh, Dr Seuss is wonderful - there is a collection of three that includes Green Eggs and Ham, that is just delightful.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Fri August 6th, 2010, 4:10 am

[quote=""SarahWoodbury""] And Mulan--a great heroic girl. The Emperor's New Groove is very funny for adults too.

And even if you aren't of a religious bent, the Vegie Tales are for the most part great. "Lord of the Beans" is a favorite in our house.[/quote]

Oh, I liked Mulan. The sequel isn't so great. The Emperor's New Groove was a funny one. It even became a TV series as well.

'Lord of the Beans' is the only Veggie Tales I've seen.