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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
I haven't seen in it many years, but the animated version of "The Velveteen Rabbit" is pure poetry. And, of course, the book is lovely as well.
The official title, according to IMDB, is the 1984 "Little Ears: The Velveteen Rabbit." Narrated by Meryl Streep and music by George Winston? How can you lose??
My kids and I love Kiki almost as much as Totoro. A great list, and I'm enjoying reading the new suggestions.
A few more ideas:
The Blues Brothers. Great music from an era before "urban" always meant rap, and before "musical" connoted "High School Musical";
One, Two, Three. The rapid-fire early Sixties comedy starring Cagney as a Coca-Cola executive in a recovering Berlin, and a fine way to introduce your offspring to Billy Wilder's films.
Haven't seen this Miyazaki film mentioned yet here.
I think this one should top the Miyazaki list in terms of sheer adventure (though I haven't seen Totoro yet). It also does the usual bang-up job in creativity, and in transporting you into its world.
This is an excellent movie that my children, now in their 20's, still remember.
Please include The American Rabbit and The Brave Little Toaster, both very good newer animation and again favorites of my children,even now.
You can't go wron with a giant invisible rabbit! This has been my favourite film since I first saw it about age 8 -forty years ago. I watched it recently with a couple of my god-daughters, aged 12 and 10, and they were interested but didn't really get it. I'll try with my own daughter soon (she's just 4 now). The great thing about it is that it works many levels simultaneously. There's the surface humour, a bit slapstick and increasingly surreal, exquisitely delivered by Jimmy Stewart and the rest of the cast. But with emotional depths and resonances to each scene. I find something new every time I watch it.
I'll second the vote for Arsenic and Old Lace, for older kids anyway. My second favourite movie of all time! Bringing Up baby is no.3, but it's already on the list.
On the Muppet Question, my vote must go to Muppet Treasure Island. My daughter loves it, as do her mum and me. Muppet pirates! Tim Curry! singing skulls! A duelling frog! C'mon, it's the best!
"The Brave Little Toaster" was one of ours and my boys favorites when they were young in the early-mid 90's.
Another one that I didn't see, but might be too advanced for the youngest was "Hook"; the post Reagan & Thatcher retelling of Peter Pan with Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.
I just don't understand that.
I loved "The Incredibles" as much as my son did, if not more.
That would be the very definition of family-friendly, would it not?
Whale Rider is a must-see for every young person. Every Miyazaki anime should be on your list; but if you really have to choose one, I agree with My Neighbor Totoro.
Loved the BLT.
And, though it's against the rules, my daughters adore Disney's "Mulan." It was dismissed by as being too pc (read: the heroine isn't pining for prince charming, doesn't wear a Fairy Princess ball gown, and doesn't play kissy-face), but I think the story is compelling, and the message is powerful. It's as compelling a coming-of-age-quest-for-identity story as any. Mulan joins the army disguised as a boy. She's terrible at "boy stuff": fighting and tests of physical strength. But she figures out how to use her talents to advantage, and she doesn't give up because things are too hard. She is sometimes afraid. She makes mistakes. She loses friends. But doing the right thing (in this case, saving Imperial China from invaders) is more important to her than being liked.
The message is applicable to both boys and girls (in a way that Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, at al, aren't on their surfaces). Mulan may not be as marketable as all those other doe-eyed Disney Princesses (no poofy dress), but she's become a great role model in our house.
I loved the PBS version of the Anne of Green Gables series, and when I watched it as an adult I realized it is a good movie for growing girls-- she marches to her own beat, for better and worse.
Great list-- keep it up!
No Lilo and Stitch? No Pixar? Harumph.
Here are a few others:
Goshu the Cellist (in Japanese, but virtually no dialog)--a must for kids with creative tendencies. Beautiful animation, music...
Heidi--the wildly popular (everywhere but the US) 52-episode adaptation of the book--one of Miyazaki's first jobs. Fantastic storytelling. Another one is Marco, but it's more heavy-duty...for older kids.
Monty Python--My parents took me to see these a three-movie Monty Python marathon when I was a little kid and I loved it. Not for the squeamish.
Etre y Avoir--My son loved this one about a one-room schoolhouse in France.
Be Kind, Rewind--I thought this one was great for kids.
Rear Window--funny you should mention it... I remember my mom taking me to see this when I was around 10--the day that my dog died. Great movie, not such great timing.
Unique goodness from the late, great Harry Nilsson.
P.S. @HoneyBeeMarie: before you chastise contributors on their child-unfriendly choices, you might want to revisit your all-but-porn-title spelling of "Bed Nobs & Broomsticks"... which actually made me laugh out loud in its inadvertent hilarity. God bless, and THANK YOU!
Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding; My Best Friend's Wedding) made an absolutely enchanting version of J.M. Barrie's PETER PAN. The cast sparkles, and the visual and story nuances are so gorgeously presented that I've no idea why this gem didn't get more attention when it was first released. Definitely an often overlooked treasure for children of all ages, and especially the grown-up children! Enjoy ...
Uma Thurman naked riding in a clam shell. I think I became a man the first time I saw that. Good for boys on the cusp of puberty, it'll push 'em right over.
I raised mine to be literate and literary. The end result was that while we liked a great many silly films and light hearted stuff, we actually found that -- when the kids were a tad older -- "R" rated films were so much more . . . let me repeat, so much more . . . acceptable than PG-13 films.
However, let me first list some favorites of my family that did not make Andrew's list. Then I will explain the above statement.
The Man Who Would Be King based on the story of the same name by English jingoist Rudyard Kipling, made into a magnificent film by John Huston (who tried to film it for 30 plus years) with the perfect cast of Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Huston, Caine and Connery became great friends while making this film and the fun Caine and Connery (a man who loves to dress up) shows. A wonderful piece of adventure, acting and history, both real and imagined, in this great, great movie.
Antonia's Line, a feminist fantasy by Dutch filmaker Marleen Gorris, which is fine for slightly older tweens or kids whose parents raised them to be literate. At the end of war torn Europe, a woman and her daughter found a family. We liked it so much we paid twice to see the art house screening . . . and we were poor! Nudity and lesbianism are represented but this movie says more about family and give and take then most saccharine Hollywood movies.
Au Revoir, Les Enfants by Louis Malle. Again, for slightly older, more literate kids. While there are many idyllic scenes of mid-20th C French childhood, this is a Holocaust film and my kids cried (BTW, I taught my kids the Holocaust through film). The priest at the center of this film will teach your kids about heroism and nobility. Not to be missed.
Three Amigos. I said we liked silly films. Starring Chevy Chase, Martin Short and Steve Martin, this movie is about three silent film stars who believe the myth that they are heroes and so they become heroes. Watch for the husband of Mexican writer Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) in the cast. Funny, harmless, but, perhaps, with the message that you should believe in yourself, this is good movie for kids 8 and up.
----
Back to R rated movies. In the 60s, when foreign (therefore, suspect) films were making their mark, a Catholic priest, hitting against the Legion of Decency, commented that there were "Christ figures" to be found in films like Darling and Alfie. Christ figures were thematically big among Catholic intellectuals then. And theme is the key.
Many (not all) R rated movies have sophisticated themes. All too many PG-13 movies are more "objectionable in part (to borrow the language of the Legion of Decency)," than R movies.
Frankly, by dumbing down your movie choices for kids, you end up raising dumb adults who are poor citizens.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
