Seeking diversity in family movies
May 22, 2016 8:22 PM Subscribe
Appropriate for elementary school age kids. Looking to expand our repertoire of movies that feature families with same sex relationships, racial diversity, disabilities visible or not. This does not need to be the focus of the movie, just present.
The Boy With Green Hair
posted by brujita at 9:40 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 9:40 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Big Hero 6
posted by k8t at 9:46 PM on May 22, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by k8t at 9:46 PM on May 22, 2016 [4 favorites]
Zootopia, kind of.
posted by k8t at 9:49 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by k8t at 9:49 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
-Paranorman has a same-sex relationship. (It's kinda a "twist" but there.) And it's a fantastic movie. Could be kinda scary for sensitive kids.
-Home
- Finding Nemo is kinda all about his fin (and single parent dad) - though it's not humans.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:51 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
-Home
- Finding Nemo is kinda all about his fin (and single parent dad) - though it's not humans.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:51 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Duma was a terrific family movie. Also the Disney remake of Around the World in 80 Days (with Jackie Chan) was surprisingly fun. Both of those movies depend on what age in elementary school though - probably 8 and above is about right depending on the kids.
posted by jcworth at 9:57 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jcworth at 9:57 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Quest for Camelot
posted by Small Dollar at 10:06 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Small Dollar at 10:06 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Up
posted by bq at 10:08 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 10:08 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not films, but Adventure Time & Bravest Warriors tackle all these!
posted by fritillary at 10:13 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by fritillary at 10:13 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
For upper elementary, Breakfast with Scot is really sweet (if you're okay with a few bad words... I think someone says douchebag at one point... nothing stronger is coming to mind. The character it's applied to is, indeed, a douchebag). Gay adoptive dads, genderqueer kid, racially diverse friends...
posted by bibliotropic at 10:18 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by bibliotropic at 10:18 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
Treasures of the Snow.
posted by michaelh at 10:27 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by michaelh at 10:27 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Anne Droids is a series made by Amazon, but does a terrific job here. Single parent families, same-sex families, racial diversity, even size diversity. And the lead character is a girl scientist.
posted by Threeve at 10:29 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Threeve at 10:29 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
TV and not movies, but seriously, Steven Universe. That show is saying things about consent and healthy relationships/unusual relationship structures and gender identity that I haven't even seen adult shows touch.
posted by ActionPopulated at 11:35 PM on May 22, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by ActionPopulated at 11:35 PM on May 22, 2016 [7 favorites]
Holes.
And any of the Studio Ghibli ones for at least not being totally male dominated.
posted by taff at 12:33 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
And any of the Studio Ghibli ones for at least not being totally male dominated.
posted by taff at 12:33 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
Wandering Oaken, the shopkeeper in Frozen, throws to his family in the sauna where we see his husband and their four kids. (The director has confirmed it was deliberate, the strapping dude is Oaken's husband, but it's not verbally called out because of the international market.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:08 AM on May 23, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:08 AM on May 23, 2016 [4 favorites]
I was going to say Breakfast With Scot with the suggestion that you watch it first. There's a thread running through the plot where one of the adults isn't out that I could see as either confusing or sending the wrong message to younger kids.
(FWIW, I think gender non-conforming is a better description of Scot than genderqueer. We don't actually hear a whole lot about his identity, but what we do hear is "boy". Now, granted, he's a 9 year old in a movie/book written by cis adults.)
posted by hoyland at 4:37 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
(FWIW, I think gender non-conforming is a better description of Scot than genderqueer. We don't actually hear a whole lot about his identity, but what we do hear is "boy". Now, granted, he's a 9 year old in a movie/book written by cis adults.)
posted by hoyland at 4:37 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I also thought of Breakfast with Scot - it's a sweet film. Older kids could definitely handle the bit about one of the main characters not being out (the movie discusses it as a bad/difficult thing).
posted by jb at 5:39 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jb at 5:39 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
How to Train your Dragon and the sequel
posted by ReluctantViking at 5:43 AM on May 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by ReluctantViking at 5:43 AM on May 23, 2016 [5 favorites]
I would suggest Sounder, but prescreen it, and I would say age 12+ in general (though I know some 10 year olds who would be fine with it).
posted by gudrun at 6:45 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 6:45 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Emperor's New Groove is one of my faaaaaaavorites. And you really don't see a lot of other animated movies featuring a pregnant lady!
Also, although there IS a Hey Arnold! movie, it wasn't super great. But Hey Arnold! the TV show was fantastic, diverse, and is one of the only big children's TV shows I can think of other than Sesame Street to focus on kids growing up in the city and some of the unique issues they might run into.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:50 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, although there IS a Hey Arnold! movie, it wasn't super great. But Hey Arnold! the TV show was fantastic, diverse, and is one of the only big children's TV shows I can think of other than Sesame Street to focus on kids growing up in the city and some of the unique issues they might run into.
posted by helloimjennsco at 7:50 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wreck-It Ralph, for a character with a disability who's fine that way thank you very much.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:29 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:29 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Jurassic Park 2
If it isn't too scary, Dr. Malcolm's daughter shows up. She's black. He's not.
posted by Michele in California at 11:10 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
If it isn't too scary, Dr. Malcolm's daughter shows up. She's black. He's not.
posted by Michele in California at 11:10 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
The 1997 live-action version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
posted by cadge at 3:30 PM on May 23, 2016
posted by cadge at 3:30 PM on May 23, 2016
I came here to scream STEVEN UNIVERSE a lot
posted by gusandrews at 8:34 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by gusandrews at 8:34 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:36 PM on May 22, 2016 [11 favorites]