1) Because I was bored 2) Had nothing better to do 3) Had this on my mind for some time now. It’s the time of year again. The air is getting colder, kids are starting to get out of school for their breaks, and parents are frustrated, trying to find ways to keep their kids occupied for the next few weeks, especially during Christmas. One way you can keep the little brats distracted is by watching movies, which means it’s that time of year again for Hollywood to release their films directed not for kids, but for parents who want their kids to shut up for two hours. When I was a kid, there were a number of films that I would watch ever day. Hell, I’m nineteen years old, and I still watch a lot of these films. They made my childhood great, and the messages that they were trying to tell us are as powerful today as they were years ago. However, lately, Hollywood appears to have become lazy. They decided to replace substance for bright sounds, loud noises, and pop culture references every three seconds. These movies serve only one purpose, which is to keep a noisy kid distracted long enough for the parent to remember why murder is a bad idea. However, I believe that these movies should have no reason to exist, and are insulting to little kids. What do I mean? Well, look at the re-boot of the “Alvin and the Chipmunks†franchise, releasing their third movie, “Chipwreckedâ€. The title alone screams “unimaginative, uncaring, and down right repulsiveâ€. The first movie was bad, and I couldn’t even last ten minutes with the second one. It all just hopes that your kids are stupid enough to fall for the cuteness of the chipmunks and get excited over a PG-cover of a rated-X song they heard on the radio just a few minutes ago. Other movies that seem to think kids are down right stupid are: Kung-fu Panda, Happy Feet, The Polar Express, the live-action Grinch, and anything that is from Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. Now, thankfully, there are a few movies out there that actually care about their audience. They don’t think that kids are stupid at all; they know what kids can handle and what they can see. It has good messages, and it has depth and story telling that even adults can even understand (it’s like they’re saying right to the adults “yeah, this is a kids movie, but look at all this cool stuff that we did, just for you, you good parent you.). So, what are these good movies you may ask. Well, I got a list of my favorite movies for kids, that can be enjoyed by anyone. Before I do begin, I would just like to state that the majority of the movies on this list are animated. Animation is a popular medium for kid’s movies, especially the really good and creative ones. There are also a few anime titles here, and I would like to note that I am an anime fan. I don’t see animation as something just for kids; it’s a medium of movie making that opens many doors to creativity. 5. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) Released stateside with an English dub in 1997, Disney released this gem created by Hayao Miyazaki, a very big name in the anime business. This is probably one of my favorite Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli films that I have seen, and is the one that is probably the most appropriate for young children. The story revolves around a witch named Kiki, who decides to leave home in order to find her calling in life. The voice acting is simply superb, especially when it was done in the nineties, where most English dubbing companies really didn’t put a lot of effort into their dubbing. Well, of course it was done by Disney, so I guess that’s the reason why it’s so good and it has a lot of big named stars. What gets me is the message of individuality. Like Kiki in the movie, many kids have trouble making friends, especially if they just moved to a new town or are simply seen as “differentâ€. I know this is terrible to say, but little kids are terrible, TERRIBLE, people. They will love you to death, but if you do one thing wrong, it’s straight to the gallows with you! It not only shows the kids that it’s okay to be different, but it also teaches that those who are different from you are also people. It took it’s message seriously, and didn’t resort to overplayed kid’s movie cliches to make it entertaining. You sympathized and loved the main characters because you could relate to them. 4. Toy Story 3 (2010) To me, Pixar doesn’t have any terrible movies. Yes, there are some of their movies that I don’t quite enjoy (“Finding Nemo†for example) but that does not mean the movies are not good. For me, Toy Story 3 is telling all modern kid’s movie makers to get their act together and make an actual “good†movie. Toy Story was already an existing franchise; they were going to get a good amount of money from the box offices, regardless of whether the movie was going to be good or bad, and the makers of the film knew that. They could of just half-assed the film, play to what little kids are distracted by, and make a lot of money afterwards Instead, they took the film seriously, and wanted to tell a story that was worth telling. This is definitely one of the darkest kid’s movies I have seen in a long time though. It deals with a theme that not a lot of kids movies deal with these days: abandonment, and how to cope with it. Sooner or later, a kid is going to have to be abandoned by someone, let it be saying goodbye to a good friend or deal with death. It also plays on something that I think is very important (and is done a lot better in a film later on this list) for kids to learn: family isn’t just people who you are related to, it’s the people who you allow into your lives. You feel for these toys, wanting them to have the happy ending that they deserve. 3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) I can remember the day when I went to go see the first Harry Potter movie in theaters. I can even remember one year where my teacher read us the first book in my elementary school class. There is a particular magic to Harry Potter and the world that J.K. Rowling created all of those years ago. Sorcerer’s Stone is another movie where an outsider is brought into a world that he is unfamiliar to. While he does have a few friends who admire him because he was the one who defeated You-Know-Who, he does have a few friends who simply like Harry because he’s Harry (Ron became friends with him before he knew his name or noticed the scar). He is even antagonized for what he is famous for, which again supports my notion that little kids are horrible, terrible people. In this particular story, the strength of friendship upstages everything seen. The movie shows kids how to chose your friends, the ones who will always have your back. It also shows that popularity isn’t everything, and some people will hate you because you chose to do the right thing sometimes. It gives the kids a mirror of what growing up will be like (especially in school) and what to do in certain situations. For a fantasy film about witches and wizards, it was a very realistic view on how the real world really is. One more thing that adds to how well I like this film is that it is based off a novel, and a good, well known novel at that. It was a near perfect adaptation from the film, which I commend Chris Columbus for. He made perfectly sure that everything was correct. It’s one of those movies, that, after you read it, it makes you go “i want to read the book to see how it happened thereâ€. Movies and books like this are what get young kids hooked on reading, opening up their minds to new worlds and their own abilities at creativity. 2. Summer Wars (2009) This is probably a movie that none of you have heard of. Besides what is show on kid’s networks, there isn’t a whole lot of anime broad casted in the United States (which gives in to the lie that animation is only for children). This is a very under appreciated film, having many good reviews to its name, and won many awards in Japan. The dub that FUNimation did for it was also very well done. The movie pins itself onto a family who is going through its own crisis as well as showing their involvement on countering a cyber-terrorist. This is the movie that really shows what it means to be a family. The first act of this movie is showing the members of this really large family coming together. It gets you to start feeling for these characters, and makes you feel like you’re a part of this big family. Coming from a big family that has huge gatherings such as the ones in this film, it does show an honest look at what happens when a family comes together. This movie’s main message is family, plain and simple. However, it also tells you that family are those who you hold most dear, the ones who you know are always for you no matter what. Nothing about Summer Wars is ground breaking and it is filled with many cliches told in this kind of story. The reason why it’s so high on the list is because of the emotional rollar coaster it takes you on, and how well the story is told. The movie isn’t all about the family; it’s also about a story of how a math genius tries to take down an evil program from basically destroying the Internet. Both of these stories could have worked as their own films, but it works best with both. I really do recommend this movie, because there really is something there for everybody to enjoy. 1. The Lion King (1994) This was my absolute favorite movie as a kid. There are so many reasons why I enjoy this movie then and now. A Shakespearean story. A fantastic musical. A well paced story. There are many who try to imitate the magic that movies such as these bring to an audience, and they fail to do so. It carries every theme that I listed from each movie above, and so much more. To me, the biggest theme in the movie is following your heart’s path. Simba is taught from a young age that he is meant to be King. However, after the stampede accident, he made a choice and left his pride, but that was where he learned many important life lessons. In the end, he chose the path that he wanted to follow, not once set up for him because of other influences. There is not much else I can say with this movie. It has everything for everyone out there. This was Disney at their best, and the story behind the making of this film is even more inspiring. They didn’t think their central audience were dumb as bricks, as many other kid’s movies seem to think now. The genuine feeling you get watching this movie can be felt at any age, and is powerful everytime.
