Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Six Good Movies for Kids Under 8
I’m not sure when it exactly happens, but at some point,
kids develop enough of an attention span to sit through an 80-minute movie.
This allows parents some reprieve from the early-childhood diet of 20-minute
cartoons and even shorter YouTube videos. Fortunately, some movies geared for
kids manage to be pleasing to parental palates while also engaging,
entertaining and even inspiring young viewers.
Here are several films that are entertaining for parents,
appropriate for young grade-schoolers, and which also offer positive portrayals
of adoption issues. I’ve reviewed each of these films in full; click the
hyperlinked titles for the full review.
Why not pick one or two of these to watch together this
weekend!
1.
Big Hero 6 – This Disney/Marvel superhero origin
story is fun and fast. When the young protagonist, Hiro Hamada, is faced with
the traumatic loss of his brother, he processes it realistically and healthily.
He keeps his brother’s memory alive through honorable work. Big Hero 6 will
keep kids and adults engrossed, while encouraging creativity, acceptance of
loss, forgiveness, honor, and perseverance. Adoptive and foster families can
also notice how Hiro honestly addresses his feelings regarding the losses he’s
experienced, and how he manages to move forward. ****
2.
Ernest and Celestine – This French film was
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (Frozen ended up
winning the award that year). It’s the story of a bear and a mouse – two
creatures from cultures that fear each other. They overcome a rough start to
become friends, and then a sort of family. Watching this movie feels like
reading a favorite children’s book. It encourages friendship and understanding.
It has a fairy-tale feel without being scary very often. Adoptive and foster
families can also notice how Celestine the mouse enjoys hearing the story of
how she and Ernest became a family. ***1/2
3. Frozen – OK, your kids might have seen this one
already once or twice. Let it go. In Frozen, two sisters who have lost their
parents demonstrate how powerful sisterly love can be. The film cautions young
girls from being swept off their feet by charming but manipulative boys, and
also encourages people to embrace who they are and acknowledge their feelings,
rather than keeping them packed away. Adoptive families may resonate with the
bond between the sisters which is threatened and then strengthened by the
difficult circumstances they’ve experienced. Adoptive families may also
resonate with the film’s depiction of secrecy as something which causes rather
than prevents pain. ****
Despicable Me 2 – Former super-villain Gru is
now a doting, caring, and nurturing adoptive father to Margo, Agnes, and Edith.
He has found new employment – as a super-villain-stopper. In one of the
funniest scenes, Gru has dressed up as a fairy princess for one of his
daughter’s party. She knows that it is him, and thanks him. Agnes, Gru’s
youngest daughter, wishes for a mother. A school project requires her to recite
an ode to her mother, which she finds difficult, being the daughter of a single
dad, with no knowledge of her birthmother. What I like most about this one –
other than the fact that it is entertaining – is how adoption is just a normal
part of life. The Gru family is a healthy, functional, close family that just
happens to have been formed by adoption. Sometimes, life goes like that.
Adoptive families can also notice how hard it is when school projects don’t
quite fit the experiences of their children (family trees come to mind), and
can prepare to address these issues with sensitivity. ****
5.
The Tigger Movie – Winnie the Pooh’s bouncy
friend Tigger has often sung that the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is…
“I’m the only one.” In his own movie, though, Tigger wonders why he is the only
one, and where the other Tiggers might be. His friends try to cheer him up, and
have some good ideas (supporting him), and a disastrous one (tricking him), and
ultimately Tigger runs away. He doesn’t find the other Tiggers, but is able to grasp
how dearly his friends love him, and he ultimately accepts them as his new
family. Adoptive families can notice how Tigger’s feelings of loss and longing
are real and valid, and can encourage their young viewers to be honest about
their feelings, too. **1/2
6.
Kung Fu Panda 2 – This excellently entertaining
film features Po, a Panda, who learns at long last that he was adopted by his
father, a goose named Mr. Ping. Amidst the work of defending his community, Po
embraces his heritage as a Panda while also embracing his identity as the son
of a goose. Adoptive families can also notice how hard it was for Mr. Ping to
share Po’s story with Po, but also notice that the story was helpful to Po’s
understanding of himself. ****
Those are my six picks for kids under 8. Please weigh in
below with your thoughts.
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Is there any chance you have an updated post for this category? More recent movies?!!! We continue to hit hard places when the ages are so much older! Thank you for doing this work - it's so so helpful!
ReplyDeleteHi Adi!
DeleteThanks so much for the kind words, and for the suggestion to update this list. I'll work on that -- in the meantime, Kung Fu Panda 3, Zootopia, and the Doc Mcstuffins Baby McStuffins storyline (for even younger kids) are 3 fairly recent ones that come to mind as very positive...