What are good documentaries to watch with my kids?
October 3, 2016 9:46 AM Subscribe
I watched Reel Injun with my kids and we loved it. We also liked the new Cosmos. One of us loved the Katy Perry biopic. What are other recent documentaries we might enjoy?
They need to be roughly PG-rated. I appreciate how Reel Injun handled the most grim parts of the subject; that's about as dark as I want to get, for now. Entertaining is good, funny is good, educational is good. Need to be legally available in the US, preferably on Netflix or Amazon, and in English. All sorts of topics are fine, but I'm more interested in people than in nature.
They need to be roughly PG-rated. I appreciate how Reel Injun handled the most grim parts of the subject; that's about as dark as I want to get, for now. Entertaining is good, funny is good, educational is good. Need to be legally available in the US, preferably on Netflix or Amazon, and in English. All sorts of topics are fine, but I'm more interested in people than in nature.
You might want to take a look at Buck, a 2011 documentary on US Netflix streaming, about Buck Brannaman, who inspired the "horse whisperer" book/movie. Granted, it's not a comedy, it's quiet and mellow and warm, and you'd know best whether your kids would be interested in watching Buck work with horses or not. Me, I was rapt, watching how well he gets along with them and they with him. It does talk about the child abuse he suffered as a boy, but the mentions felt PG to me, and he was saved from that by some wise and loving adults (his coach, his foster parents).
posted by theatro at 9:57 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by theatro at 9:57 AM on October 3, 2016
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is amazing.. Netflix.
posted by General Malaise at 10:03 AM on October 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 10:03 AM on October 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
How do you feel about Errol Morris? He's prolific and I think his stuff is universally great, though not universally kid-friendly. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is a favorite of mine, as well as "Stairway To Heaven", which was an episode of his TV series featuring Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who pioneered modern humane cattle slaughter techniques.
posted by contraption at 10:10 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by contraption at 10:10 AM on October 3, 2016
Big Blue Live From PBS is about the sea life of Monterey Bay. Very interesting!
posted by saradarlin at 10:16 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by saradarlin at 10:16 AM on October 3, 2016
Circus Dreams is a charming documentary about Vermont-based Circus Smirkus, a circus performed entirely by children (mainly teenagers). The kids compete for spots in the troupe, learn traditional circus acts including acrobatics, clowning, and juggling. and then spend a summer touring the show. We saw the circus perform on what was probably the hottest and most uncomfortable summer afternoon imaginable some years ago, the same year the documentary was produced, so it was even more interesting to see the backstories of the kids we watched perform that day. It's apparently only available on DVD, but well worth seeking out.
posted by briank at 10:32 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by briank at 10:32 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love To Be and to Have, a French docu about a one-room schoolhouse in rural France. Beautiful and sweet. May be a little slow for your kiddos, though. Spellbound is great too. Also Mad Hot Ballroom.
posted by bookworm4125 at 11:10 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by bookworm4125 at 11:10 AM on October 3, 2016
Check out all of the David Attenborough BBC docs...Life, Planet Earth, etc. All beautiful.
posted by Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific at 11:27 AM on October 3, 2016
posted by Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific at 11:27 AM on October 3, 2016
I asked a similar question a while back. Check it out.
posted by Dragonness at 11:44 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Dragonness at 11:44 AM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Another good one that the whole family can enjoy is Babies, a look at how life as a baby differs in several cultures: Japan, Mongolia, Namibia, and the United States. This one is readily available via iTunes and other on-demand services.
posted by briank at 12:00 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by briank at 12:00 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I was also going to recommend Jiro Dreams of Sushi but General Malaise beat me to it.
Another one we really enjoyed on Netflix is called The Short Game, about the best 7-year old golfers in the world. I can definitely see there being some good teaching moments in there.
posted by cali59 at 3:40 PM on October 3, 2016
Another one we really enjoyed on Netflix is called The Short Game, about the best 7-year old golfers in the world. I can definitely see there being some good teaching moments in there.
posted by cali59 at 3:40 PM on October 3, 2016
How We Got To Now (PBS link, but I have seen it on amz/netflix.
posted by fings at 6:00 PM on October 3, 2016
posted by fings at 6:00 PM on October 3, 2016
Ah, now that I am at a computer instead of my phone:
First, a few musical ones:
Good Ol' Freda about the woman who was head of the Beatles fan club.
Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey The band Journey wanted a new lead singer. They found him in the Philippines, via a recording on youtube.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin Down a Dream If you enjoy any Tom Petty songs, you'll be surprised how many you know.
Muscle Shoals The story of a small studio in Alabama where a number of famous musicians recorded.
Non music:
Twinsters A French 20-something Korean adoptee discovers she has a twin American sister.
Iris About a fashion Icon in her 90s.
A LEGO Brickumentary
posted by fings at 8:50 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
First, a few musical ones:
Good Ol' Freda about the woman who was head of the Beatles fan club.
Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey The band Journey wanted a new lead singer. They found him in the Philippines, via a recording on youtube.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin Down a Dream If you enjoy any Tom Petty songs, you'll be surprised how many you know.
Muscle Shoals The story of a small studio in Alabama where a number of famous musicians recorded.
Non music:
Twinsters A French 20-something Korean adoptee discovers she has a twin American sister.
Iris About a fashion Icon in her 90s.
A LEGO Brickumentary
posted by fings at 8:50 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Winged Migration is a great documentary, though there's not a ton of dialogue from my memory...
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is also quite interesting.
posted by hydra77 at 9:36 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill is also quite interesting.
posted by hydra77 at 9:36 PM on October 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
King Gimp is an inspirational documentary which won an academy award about a young man with CP who is an artist who paints with a brush attached to his head.
Keplinger was 13 when the filmmakers met him as part of their federally funded documentary projects on mainstreaming children with disabilities. The cerebral palsy means Keplinger has little control over the muscles of his arms, legs or mouth. He uses a paintbrush attached to his head to paint. He could neither speak nor dress himself when the filmmakers met him. "They recorded Keplinger's move from a state school for disabled children into Parkville High School. They filmed him moving from his mother's home into his first apartment. His first art show, his friendship with a young woman hired to help him with homework, his senior prom and his tears at his college graduation -- all were captured on film," according to The Baltimore Sun.
posted by maxg94 at 7:45 AM on October 4, 2016
Keplinger was 13 when the filmmakers met him as part of their federally funded documentary projects on mainstreaming children with disabilities. The cerebral palsy means Keplinger has little control over the muscles of his arms, legs or mouth. He uses a paintbrush attached to his head to paint. He could neither speak nor dress himself when the filmmakers met him. "They recorded Keplinger's move from a state school for disabled children into Parkville High School. They filmed him moving from his mother's home into his first apartment. His first art show, his friendship with a young woman hired to help him with homework, his senior prom and his tears at his college graduation -- all were captured on film," according to The Baltimore Sun.
posted by maxg94 at 7:45 AM on October 4, 2016
Flight of the Butterflies is about the research and discovery of the migration patterns of Monarchs.
Pandas: A Journey Home is about breeding pandas in captivity and then teaching them to live in the wild.
Swimming with Killer Whales is about Ingrid Visser's work with Orca in New Zealand.
Life on the Reef is a three part series about the Great Barrier Reef.
Dolphin: A Spy in the Pod is really good.
Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin is another good series about oceanic animals.
(We watch a lot of stuff about the ocean!)
posted by vignettist at 8:11 AM on October 4, 2016
Pandas: A Journey Home is about breeding pandas in captivity and then teaching them to live in the wild.
Swimming with Killer Whales is about Ingrid Visser's work with Orca in New Zealand.
Life on the Reef is a three part series about the Great Barrier Reef.
Dolphin: A Spy in the Pod is really good.
Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin is another good series about oceanic animals.
(We watch a lot of stuff about the ocean!)
posted by vignettist at 8:11 AM on October 4, 2016
Maybe a little too boomer-centric, but if you've got any musicians in the crowd, they might enjoy The Wrecking Crew, about all the LA studio musicians that really did the playing on the big hits from the 60s. On Netflix. (Maybe shows some smoking/drinking, I don't recall any real debauchery.)
posted by Bron at 2:59 PM on October 4, 2016
posted by Bron at 2:59 PM on October 4, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Among other really interesting things, there's a part where they have some ants perform various feats of strength, which is funny if you're into that sort of thing.
posted by phunniemee at 9:53 AM on October 3, 2016