You can look at the screen again now, honey
September 21, 2010 4:34 PM Subscribe
What are some engaging films for both younger kids and adults that are mostly free of scary tension or evil villians?
I'm essentially asking the same question that The corpse in the library asked here -- but that was more than a year ago, and maybe some of you didn't see that question the first time, so maybe we can expand on it. (We are going to try some things that were suggested there, like School of Rock.)
My five-year-old son is similar to the child in the original question. Although some conflict or sadness in a movie's plot is okay, any scenes that feature the main characters (or anyone, really) in serious physical danger or emotionally wrenching situations (ie, kids or animals losing their parents or getting hopelessly lost) is pretty much out. Needless to say, our attempts at The Wizard of Oz and Spirited Away had to be stopped within the first few minutes.
We've been having Family Movie Night for a while now, and some things have worked better than others. His favorite was the Curious George movie (surprisingly watchable), and a few other good ones have been Ratatouille, Kiki's Delivery Service, Singin' In the Rain, and The Aristocats.
Borderline were some other Pixar, Disney or Miyazaki films: My Neighbor Totoro (scary creatures, possibly dying mom), The Jungle Book (menacing snake and other animals), Chicken Little (too fast-paced & chaotic), The Little Mermaid (Ursula!), A Bug's Life (more villains & tension), Babe (pretty dark), Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (many tense scenes, though my son loves the characters).
Oh, and this week we tried The Love Bug, which has Herbie crashing several times in ways -- that if he were a real talking car -- would be pretty fatal. And he gets cut in half at the end! Not a hit.
Actually, most Pixar films besides A Bug's Life have fared somewhat well -- the Toy Story trio, Wall-E, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo -- even though they all had brief times when our son had to turn his head away or bury his face in our laps, the films were overall engaging enough that he liked them in the end. But we've run through all of those except The Incredibles and Up.
We actually haven't tried many documentaries, other than planetarium presentations (did I mention he loves space)? Scenes of animals ripping apart other animals or freezing to death in the snow probably won't go over well. But he loves reading kid encyclopedias and other fact-based books, so we're open to ideas.
He does watch a few TV shows -- he likes Sid the Science Kid and Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He loves space and animals and appreciates things that are goofy. We have The Cat from Outer Space in this week's Netflix queue -- we'll see how that fares. We'll probably also try A Hard Day's Night, though some of the jokes will likely fly over his head.
We know that for kids, there's some value in watching characters overcome difficult situations -- but for now we're seeking movies that have minimal "must bury head in parents' laps" moments. We're willing to allow some mild PG content (semi-bad words, kissing) if the rest of the movie is kid-friendly. We're open to almost anything -- modern, classic, animated, live-action, foreign, musicals -- as long as it's engaging for both kids and grownups. Suggestions?
I'm essentially asking the same question that The corpse in the library asked here -- but that was more than a year ago, and maybe some of you didn't see that question the first time, so maybe we can expand on it. (We are going to try some things that were suggested there, like School of Rock.)
My five-year-old son is similar to the child in the original question. Although some conflict or sadness in a movie's plot is okay, any scenes that feature the main characters (or anyone, really) in serious physical danger or emotionally wrenching situations (ie, kids or animals losing their parents or getting hopelessly lost) is pretty much out. Needless to say, our attempts at The Wizard of Oz and Spirited Away had to be stopped within the first few minutes.
We've been having Family Movie Night for a while now, and some things have worked better than others. His favorite was the Curious George movie (surprisingly watchable), and a few other good ones have been Ratatouille, Kiki's Delivery Service, Singin' In the Rain, and The Aristocats.
Borderline were some other Pixar, Disney or Miyazaki films: My Neighbor Totoro (scary creatures, possibly dying mom), The Jungle Book (menacing snake and other animals), Chicken Little (too fast-paced & chaotic), The Little Mermaid (Ursula!), A Bug's Life (more villains & tension), Babe (pretty dark), Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (many tense scenes, though my son loves the characters).
Oh, and this week we tried The Love Bug, which has Herbie crashing several times in ways -- that if he were a real talking car -- would be pretty fatal. And he gets cut in half at the end! Not a hit.
Actually, most Pixar films besides A Bug's Life have fared somewhat well -- the Toy Story trio, Wall-E, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo -- even though they all had brief times when our son had to turn his head away or bury his face in our laps, the films were overall engaging enough that he liked them in the end. But we've run through all of those except The Incredibles and Up.
We actually haven't tried many documentaries, other than planetarium presentations (did I mention he loves space)? Scenes of animals ripping apart other animals or freezing to death in the snow probably won't go over well. But he loves reading kid encyclopedias and other fact-based books, so we're open to ideas.
He does watch a few TV shows -- he likes Sid the Science Kid and Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He loves space and animals and appreciates things that are goofy. We have The Cat from Outer Space in this week's Netflix queue -- we'll see how that fares. We'll probably also try A Hard Day's Night, though some of the jokes will likely fly over his head.
We know that for kids, there's some value in watching characters overcome difficult situations -- but for now we're seeking movies that have minimal "must bury head in parents' laps" moments. We're willing to allow some mild PG content (semi-bad words, kissing) if the rest of the movie is kid-friendly. We're open to almost anything -- modern, classic, animated, live-action, foreign, musicals -- as long as it's engaging for both kids and grownups. Suggestions?
Have you considered "Ponyo", the most recent Miyazaki? It's on Netflix Watch Instantly right now, IIRC, so you could take a lot before showing the kids.
posted by maryr at 4:40 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by maryr at 4:40 PM on September 21, 2010
Aardman, the studio who make the Wallace and Gromit movies, have a television series called Creature Comforts. They consist of clips of recorded interviews with regular people which have been used as dialog for various animal characters.
Maybe The Muppet Show?
(Yes, neither of those is a movie, but they're available on DVD and good for kids and adults.)
posted by ecurtz at 4:44 PM on September 21, 2010
Maybe The Muppet Show?
(Yes, neither of those is a movie, but they're available on DVD and good for kids and adults.)
posted by ecurtz at 4:44 PM on September 21, 2010
I come here to second Muppet movies. What about musicals like My Fair Lady?
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 4:45 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 4:45 PM on September 21, 2010
Mary Poppins?
posted by coupdefoudre at 4:45 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by coupdefoudre at 4:45 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Have you considered "Ponyo"
Even I thought Ponyo was scary.
posted by hermitosis at 4:48 PM on September 21, 2010 [5 favorites]
Even I thought Ponyo was scary.
posted by hermitosis at 4:48 PM on September 21, 2010 [5 favorites]
Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Doesn't have any scary villains, just a funny/mean older brother. Although there are some teens that chase them around for a couple scenes.
posted by np312 at 4:51 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by np312 at 4:51 PM on September 21, 2010
Cars, or as my son calls it, "The Movie Cars." Or, for TV the new PBS Kids show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:00 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:00 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Have you tried some of the older Disney movies. Things like The Absent Minded Professor, That Darn Cat or the original Shaggy Dog are pretty mild and while they do have "Bad Guys" they tend to be more bungling than malicious.
One thing that helped my son was watching the Munsters. Seeing traditional monsters acting like a family and being silly helped calm some of his fears.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:01 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
One thing that helped my son was watching the Munsters. Seeing traditional monsters acting like a family and being silly helped calm some of his fears.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:01 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I did forget to mention the Muppets movies -- he really liked The Muppet Movie, though the depressing part of The Muppets Take Manhattan (they're failures, their Broadway show will never make it!) went on way too long for him. I liked it, though.
He saw Ponyo in the theater with his dad -- he was just four at the time and thought it was pretty but a little scary. We'll probably try it again in a few years.
We haven't seen Mary Poppins, though some people in the earlier thread said it had some scary scenes.
TV or variety shows like "The Muppet Show" or "Creature Comforts" will probably work very well for us -- thanks! -- though we're interested in films with longer plots too.
My Fair Lady or Wimpy Kid may be worth a go.
Thanks so far!
posted by lisa g at 5:01 PM on September 21, 2010
He saw Ponyo in the theater with his dad -- he was just four at the time and thought it was pretty but a little scary. We'll probably try it again in a few years.
We haven't seen Mary Poppins, though some people in the earlier thread said it had some scary scenes.
TV or variety shows like "The Muppet Show" or "Creature Comforts" will probably work very well for us -- thanks! -- though we're interested in films with longer plots too.
My Fair Lady or Wimpy Kid may be worth a go.
Thanks so far!
posted by lisa g at 5:01 PM on September 21, 2010
While it pains me to say this, I don't recommend the Muppet Movies for your kid (maybe when he's older!) Nearly all of them have some SERIOUSLY scary and stressful stuff - Kermit nearly getting his brain scrambled, Big Bird getting birdnapped, Kermit getting hit by a car, etc. At least read through the plot summaries on Wikipedia before trying them out on him.
I think some of the Sesame Street specials may be more okay for him - it looks like there's a series of "Big Bird goes to $PLACE" movies that are probably pretty low-key. But I'd stay away from Muppets proper for a few more years.
posted by athenasbanquet at 5:02 PM on September 21, 2010
I think some of the Sesame Street specials may be more okay for him - it looks like there's a series of "Big Bird goes to $PLACE" movies that are probably pretty low-key. But I'd stay away from Muppets proper for a few more years.
posted by athenasbanquet at 5:02 PM on September 21, 2010
Response by poster: Cars went over pretty well. And thanks for the suggestion of older live-action Disney movies, TooFewShoes -- I bet some of those would work.
posted by lisa g at 5:04 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by lisa g at 5:04 PM on September 21, 2010
Any of Tati's trilogy (Mt Hulot's Holiday/Mon Oncle/Playtime) is completely delightful.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
MISTER Hulot!
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by ethnomethodologist at 5:07 PM on September 21, 2010
Various old Disney kids' fare (think Hayley Mills) might suit this bill. What about Summer Magic? The Parent Trap? Bedknobs and Broomsticks? Mary Poppins? That Darn Cat?
Looks like you've already tried Singing in the Rain, but I can think of a bunch of other mid-century musicals that'd work. The Sound of Music especially, despite one very mildly scary Nazi scene.
On the documentary front, I'm partial to The Life of Birds. I think there's one episode about birds of prey that you might skip, but Attenborough really has you rooting for the predators in that one, anyway.
posted by Bardolph at 5:10 PM on September 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
Looks like you've already tried Singing in the Rain, but I can think of a bunch of other mid-century musicals that'd work. The Sound of Music especially, despite one very mildly scary Nazi scene.
On the documentary front, I'm partial to The Life of Birds. I think there's one episode about birds of prey that you might skip, but Attenborough really has you rooting for the predators in that one, anyway.
posted by Bardolph at 5:10 PM on September 21, 2010 [3 favorites]
Seconding old Disney movies. Also, my son (who found seeing kids *get yelled at* in movies really scary) loved some of the old TV series available on DVD: especially My Favorite Martian (with Bill Bixby) and Get Smart. Any Abbott and Costello movie. Newer movies he enjoyed are Bedtime Stories, Daddy Day Care and George of the Jungle.
posted by evilmomlady at 5:19 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by evilmomlady at 5:19 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you want shorts, the people who did Wallace and Gromit also have a very cute series called "Shaun the Sheep".
posted by fings at 5:21 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by fings at 5:21 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is a longshot, but... "Support Your Local Sheriff". There's a bad guy, but he's too funny to be scary. As with any western there are a couple of one-on-one shoot-outs, but they're over too fast to be scary, and anyway they're played for laughs, too. And though the final shootout lasts a long time, there are joke scenes all through it. It isn't terrifying.
It is, for my money, one of the funniest movies ever made. And while there are a few things in it that may not make much sense to a little kid (e.g. there's a brothel in the town, though we never see anything funny going on there) most of the humor should be accessible.
I guess the thing that happens that might most scare a kid is that at one point Prudy Perkins' dress catches on fire and she doesn't notice it. But that only lasts for a few seconds and nothing bad happens because of it.
It has an amazing cast: James Garner, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, and Bruce Dern.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:25 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
It is, for my money, one of the funniest movies ever made. And while there are a few things in it that may not make much sense to a little kid (e.g. there's a brothel in the town, though we never see anything funny going on there) most of the humor should be accessible.
I guess the thing that happens that might most scare a kid is that at one point Prudy Perkins' dress catches on fire and she doesn't notice it. But that only lasts for a few seconds and nothing bad happens because of it.
It has an amazing cast: James Garner, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, and Bruce Dern.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:25 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
When I was a kid who was afraid of scary movies, my favorite was Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Adventure. It does have a few villains and scenes where the Chipmunks are being threatened, but it's played in a way that's more humorous than ominous so it didn't freak me out. However, I think I was a bit older -- maybe seven -- when I first watched it.
posted by unsub at 5:27 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by unsub at 5:27 PM on September 21, 2010
My kids (2, 4 and 7) loved Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and I loved watching with them! -AJ
posted by Alaska Jack at 5:35 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by Alaska Jack at 5:35 PM on September 21, 2010
Pixar Shorts, excluding Jack-Jack Attack, Mater and the Ghost Light, and Lifted. It's nice they are collected on one disc.
Would you be interested in older cartoons, like the ones featured by the King of Cartoons on Peewee's Playhouse? Somebody might be able to help you find compilations. I recollect that they are fairly tame, by today's standards.
posted by jabberjaw at 5:36 PM on September 21, 2010
Would you be interested in older cartoons, like the ones featured by the King of Cartoons on Peewee's Playhouse? Somebody might be able to help you find compilations. I recollect that they are fairly tame, by today's standards.
posted by jabberjaw at 5:36 PM on September 21, 2010
I'd be hard pressed to remember anything borderline frightening in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." Actually, a lot of those slapsticky road-race type movies don't have any frightening villans, and the stakes/dangers seem pretty low (both physically and emotionally). I think this is equally true of "Cannonball Run" or Tony Curtis's "The Great Race." I may be wrong, but are these types of movies worth a look-see?
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:42 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:42 PM on September 21, 2010
Scary scenes in Mary Poppins? I honestly can't recall any, and I thought it was one of my favorites! Guess I'm just looking at it as an adult now, though.
My brothers really liked all things Little Rascals when they were young - not sure how young, though. The newest movie was fun and funny for me, too.
posted by coupdefoudre at 5:45 PM on September 21, 2010
My brothers really liked all things Little Rascals when they were young - not sure how young, though. The newest movie was fun and funny for me, too.
posted by coupdefoudre at 5:45 PM on September 21, 2010
If you want a documentary, Ants: Nature's Secret Power is one of the coolest and best I've ever seen. It's incredibly interesting. I don't think there's much ant carnage--a bear tries to break into a hill but gets sprayed with ant-acid, it shows an ant getting trapped in a pitcher plant for a little while, and at the end they fill up a colony with cement to see the tunnels. But those scenes don't last very long. The focus is primarily on how AWESOME, clever, and industrious ants are. It's definitely worth watching.
posted by phunniemee at 5:47 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 5:47 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
My kid's older now, but still hates tense movies. We made it through Nanny McPhee Returns a few weeks ago.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:47 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:47 PM on September 21, 2010
I have a suggestion of one you should avoid, based on the opinions of several other Moms I was talking to last month: The Princess and the Frog.
Apparently the supernatural elements in the movie really freak out small children (understandable, since kids need to feel their parents are All-Powerful and will protect them from harm. And, come to think of it, parents need to feel that way, too, when it comes to their kids).
I think some of the older Disney classics, like The Fox and the Hound, Lady and the Tramp, or The Aristocats might be good choices for you.
posted by misha at 5:54 PM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Apparently the supernatural elements in the movie really freak out small children (understandable, since kids need to feel their parents are All-Powerful and will protect them from harm. And, come to think of it, parents need to feel that way, too, when it comes to their kids).
I think some of the older Disney classics, like The Fox and the Hound, Lady and the Tramp, or The Aristocats might be good choices for you.
posted by misha at 5:54 PM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh, I see you mentioned The Aristocats! Sorry about that.
posted by misha at 5:57 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by misha at 5:57 PM on September 21, 2010
Damn shame, that will probably put Up out of reach. Despicable Me possibly as well.
Before they can get corrupted by the life action thing, there's the animated Tintin shorts, both versions. Villains are pretty cartoonish. Check the books if in doubt.
Tough age.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:57 PM on September 21, 2010
Before they can get corrupted by the life action thing, there's the animated Tintin shorts, both versions. Villains are pretty cartoonish. Check the books if in doubt.
Tough age.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:57 PM on September 21, 2010
Maybe a Looney Tunes collection -- some of them have frame stories that turn them into movies.
Mary Poppins has the sad scenes with the bird-lady and the terrifying run on the bank.
Iron Giant has a very sad bit near the end.
Ratatouille?
posted by freshwater at 6:02 PM on September 21, 2010
Mary Poppins has the sad scenes with the bird-lady and the terrifying run on the bank.
Iron Giant has a very sad bit near the end.
Ratatouille?
posted by freshwater at 6:02 PM on September 21, 2010
Children of Heaven is a very gentle story about a brother and his sister looking for his stolen shoes. The downside is that it's in a foreign language, so you'd probably have to explain a bit about what's going on.
I'll excerpt part of Roger Ebert's review here:
I'll excerpt part of Roger Ebert's review here:
"Children of Heaven'' is very nearly a perfect movie for children, and of course that means adults will like it, too. It lacks the cynicism and smart-mouth attitudes of so much American entertainment for kids and glows with a kind of good-hearted purity. To see this movie is to be reminded of a time when the children in movies were children and not miniature stand-up comics.posted by jasonhong at 6:04 PM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
The movie is from Iran. Immediately you think kids would not be interested in such a movie. It has subtitles. Good lord! Kids will have to read them! But its subtitles are easy for 8- or 9-year-olds, who can whisper them to their siblings, and maybe this is their perfect introduction to subtitles. As for Iran: The theme of this movie is so universal there is not a child who will not be wide-eyed with interest and suspense.
Here's another longshot: Sergeant Frog (aka "Keroro Gunsou").
It's a gag series. Each half hour episode is divided into two quarter-hour pieces. Sometimes they're two halves of longer story, but usually each one stands alone. As the series goes on it accumulates characters and canon, but there isn't any plot or long term story. It's run for 330+ episodes in Japan so far. The first 51 eps are dubbed in English and available for sale here.
If your boy was old enough to read, I'd recommend the Japanese soundtrack along with subtitles. But the English dub should be fine for a pre-reader.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:21 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's a gag series. Each half hour episode is divided into two quarter-hour pieces. Sometimes they're two halves of longer story, but usually each one stands alone. As the series goes on it accumulates characters and canon, but there isn't any plot or long term story. It's run for 330+ episodes in Japan so far. The first 51 eps are dubbed in English and available for sale here.
If your boy was old enough to read, I'd recommend the Japanese soundtrack along with subtitles. But the English dub should be fine for a pre-reader.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:21 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nthing the old live Disney features. Avoid the animated features. Other pre-1960 live musicals should work.
Are the goofy old b-movies too much? How about Abbot & Costello and all of those films that made Shirley Temple independently wealthy? There's also the Chaplin stuff.
posted by SMPA at 6:24 PM on September 21, 2010
Are the goofy old b-movies too much? How about Abbot & Costello and all of those films that made Shirley Temple independently wealthy? There's also the Chaplin stuff.
posted by SMPA at 6:24 PM on September 21, 2010
athenasbanquet: "it looks like there's a series of "Big Bird goes to $PLACE" movies that are probably pretty low-key."
Follow That Bird!
posted by IndigoRain at 7:01 PM on September 21, 2010
Follow That Bird!
posted by IndigoRain at 7:01 PM on September 21, 2010
I was a summer camp counselor for years and learned a few hard lessons about dramatic tension being too much for little ones (spent weeks apologizing for The Never Ending Story).
The Secret Garden has no proper villains and is generally pretty lovely.
The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is also fun for the younger set.
You guys might also be able to enjoy High School Musical together.
Our summer camp also loved a ton of the old Disney live actions everyone suggested, especially: The Love Bug, Mr.Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Apple Dumpling Game.
posted by Saminal at 7:15 PM on September 21, 2010
The Secret Garden has no proper villains and is generally pretty lovely.
The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is also fun for the younger set.
You guys might also be able to enjoy High School Musical together.
Our summer camp also loved a ton of the old Disney live actions everyone suggested, especially: The Love Bug, Mr.Hobbs Takes a Vacation, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Apple Dumpling Game.
posted by Saminal at 7:15 PM on September 21, 2010
Follow That Bird!
i thought Follow That Bird was SO sad as a kid - the part where he gets taken by the circus and they put him in a cage and he sings that song about being blue? Gaaaaah. Of the Sesame Street movies, I seem to remember Big Bird in China as being the least traumatic (Bird Bird in Japan has the vaguely creepy situation with the moon lady and Don't Eat the Pictures has the Egyptian kid measuring his soul in front of Osiris or whatever - eek).
I also was very distressed by the first 5-10 minutes of so of The Secret Garden - the part where they have to burn her dolls because of cholera (?) - after that it should be ok.
Would Honey I Shrunk the Kids be alright or is there something particularly scary in that one that I'm forgetting?
posted by naoko at 7:38 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
i thought Follow That Bird was SO sad as a kid - the part where he gets taken by the circus and they put him in a cage and he sings that song about being blue? Gaaaaah. Of the Sesame Street movies, I seem to remember Big Bird in China as being the least traumatic (Bird Bird in Japan has the vaguely creepy situation with the moon lady and Don't Eat the Pictures has the Egyptian kid measuring his soul in front of Osiris or whatever - eek).
I also was very distressed by the first 5-10 minutes of so of The Secret Garden - the part where they have to burn her dolls because of cholera (?) - after that it should be ok.
Would Honey I Shrunk the Kids be alright or is there something particularly scary in that one that I'm forgetting?
posted by naoko at 7:38 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
These are based off decades old memories, but...
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (not a Disney film, but stars Don Knotts).
The Apple Dumpling Gang
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (might be too long a runtime, though you could probably split it over two nights).
Around the World in 80 Days, the 1956 version with David Niven. Again, may need to be split over two nights.
posted by fings at 7:38 PM on September 21, 2010
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (not a Disney film, but stars Don Knotts).
The Apple Dumpling Gang
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (might be too long a runtime, though you could probably split it over two nights).
Around the World in 80 Days, the 1956 version with David Niven. Again, may need to be split over two nights.
posted by fings at 7:38 PM on September 21, 2010
Marx brothers' movies and Laurel & Hardy movies. Kids don't get all the jokes but there's enough funny things happening that they don't care and they have a blast.
posted by storybored at 8:01 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by storybored at 8:01 PM on September 21, 2010
The Secret of Roan Inish
posted by vitabellosi at 8:15 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by vitabellosi at 8:15 PM on September 21, 2010
My kids have loved Planet Earth, as mentioned above. They also really like what we call "The Dave Movies": There Goes a Bus, There Goes a Monster Truck, There Goes a Motorcycle, There Goes a Helicopter, and so on ad infinitum. Also the "Big" Series from Little Mammoth Video: The Big Hotel, The Big Newspaper, The Big Train Trip, The Big Aquarium...
We found non-fiction to work very well for avoiding disturbing tension.
posted by not that girl at 8:25 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
We found non-fiction to work very well for avoiding disturbing tension.
posted by not that girl at 8:25 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
There are websites that give these types of ratings:
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/
http://www.parentpreviews.com/
http://www.parentstv.org/
You can look up a movie to see the ratings for violence, sex, language and behavior to see if you think a movie might have elements your son wouldn't like.
posted by CathyG at 8:37 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
http://www.kids-in-mind.com/
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/
http://www.parentpreviews.com/
http://www.parentstv.org/
You can look up a movie to see the ratings for violence, sex, language and behavior to see if you think a movie might have elements your son wouldn't like.
posted by CathyG at 8:37 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
I babysit a 5 year old girl who doesn't like tense or scary movies. Singing in the Rain is her FAVORITE, but she also loves watching Pippi Longstocking.
posted by Swisstine at 8:54 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Swisstine at 8:54 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks so much to everyone who's answered so far! It's hard to mark anything as best answer until we've screened some films for the Tiny Critic, but we will definitely be checking out a whole lot of these. I also appreciate CathyG's list of resources.
(Oh, and our son reads well enough to handle simple subtitles -- though dubbed foreign movies are probably still a little better right now. But he did enjoy the totally crazy Belgian movie A Town Called Panic, with subtitles, and understood the plot as well as the rest of us in the theater -- which is to say not at all, since it's the most delightfully incomprehensible movie ever.)
posted by lisa g at 9:08 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
(Oh, and our son reads well enough to handle simple subtitles -- though dubbed foreign movies are probably still a little better right now. But he did enjoy the totally crazy Belgian movie A Town Called Panic, with subtitles, and understood the plot as well as the rest of us in the theater -- which is to say not at all, since it's the most delightfully incomprehensible movie ever.)
posted by lisa g at 9:08 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Seconding the original Parent Trap. Also recommend The Reluctant Astronaut.
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:12 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:12 PM on September 21, 2010
You can watch the first few episodes of Sgt. Frog online for free here if you want to check it out. It's the Japanese version with subtitles.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:53 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:53 PM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
My kid is similar. She fled The Red Balloon and Happy Feet, and hid under her seat through much of The Wizard of Oz and Up. Hell, she couldn't make it through an audio version of Alice in Wonderland after the part where the little lizard loses his writing slate or some detail I can't recall.
Things she's loved (that I've been able to tolerate watching too):
Electric Company DVDs
Muppet Show DVDs
The Music Man
The Sound of Music
Bednobs and Broomsticks
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (although maybe there was a scary moment there?)
Mary Poppins
Ponyo
Some Wallace and Gromit (Were-Rabbit was too scary, I think Wrong Trousers was too?)
Word Girl (TV show)
Scholastic videos of picture books - these aren't even really animated, just stills of the book illustrations with someone reading the story in the background
Yellow Submarine
A Hard Day's Night (she liked but lost interest partway through)
Monster's Inc.
I've experimented with documentaries with her and she mostly loses interest.
She's also enjoyed watching random Bollywood clips from YouTube. There's a couple theaters nearby that show Bollywood films and I'm going to try taking her to one soon. Speaking generally, they run long but are also mostly not so scary with lots of singing, dancing, and awesome costumes.
posted by serazin at 12:16 AM on September 22, 2010
Things she's loved (that I've been able to tolerate watching too):
Electric Company DVDs
Muppet Show DVDs
The Music Man
The Sound of Music
Bednobs and Broomsticks
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (although maybe there was a scary moment there?)
Mary Poppins
Ponyo
Some Wallace and Gromit (Were-Rabbit was too scary, I think Wrong Trousers was too?)
Word Girl (TV show)
Scholastic videos of picture books - these aren't even really animated, just stills of the book illustrations with someone reading the story in the background
Yellow Submarine
A Hard Day's Night (she liked but lost interest partway through)
Monster's Inc.
I've experimented with documentaries with her and she mostly loses interest.
She's also enjoyed watching random Bollywood clips from YouTube. There's a couple theaters nearby that show Bollywood films and I'm going to try taking her to one soon. Speaking generally, they run long but are also mostly not so scary with lots of singing, dancing, and awesome costumes.
posted by serazin at 12:16 AM on September 22, 2010
Oh, right, we watched several Chaplin movies together and were both rolling on the floor laughing. The premise of The Kid was too upsetting for her though.
posted by serazin at 12:18 AM on September 22, 2010
posted by serazin at 12:18 AM on September 22, 2010
Seconding fingo's recommendation for Shaun the Sheep. Many episodes are available through Netflix instant, and would be absolutely perfect for your son. You'll probably enjoy them too -- we love them in our kidless house because they are beautifully made and absolutely charming.
posted by melissa may at 12:33 AM on September 22, 2010
posted by melissa may at 12:33 AM on September 22, 2010
Not a movie but our neighbour's son used to love watching my Popeye the Sailor DVD.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:54 AM on September 22, 2010
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:54 AM on September 22, 2010
Harold Lloyd movies?
I know that one of your first criteria was no animals being left on their own, but the original movie of The Incredible Journey is reasonably tame. The premise of the animals being left on their own is dealt with early and the villains are.. animals.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:40 AM on September 22, 2010
I know that one of your first criteria was no animals being left on their own, but the original movie of The Incredible Journey is reasonably tame. The premise of the animals being left on their own is dealt with early and the villains are.. animals.
posted by MuffinMan at 5:40 AM on September 22, 2010
There is a great movie that meets your requirements, called Koyaanisqatsi. It is intended as a critique of modern society (the word means life out of balance) but it is highly abstract, contains absolutely no violence, and can be seen purely as a visual experience rather than as sociology.
posted by grizzled at 6:18 AM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by grizzled at 6:18 AM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
I still have nightmares of the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Shaun the Sheep is fabulous. Also, we found some fun DVDs at our library about firefighters and their station and trucks.
Netflix's Watch Instantly feature is great for this stuff, but I'd definitely preview -- we turned on "Madeline" yesterday and my 4.5 YO thought it was too scary.
posted by mdiskin at 6:22 AM on September 22, 2010
Shaun the Sheep is fabulous. Also, we found some fun DVDs at our library about firefighters and their station and trucks.
Netflix's Watch Instantly feature is great for this stuff, but I'd definitely preview -- we turned on "Madeline" yesterday and my 4.5 YO thought it was too scary.
posted by mdiskin at 6:22 AM on September 22, 2010
I haven't seen it yet, so maybe there's a shark attack or bank heist that I don't know about, but I'm planning on watching Babies with my kids. My understanding is that the PG rating is because of (avert your eyes!) breastfeeding.
Meanwhile Toy Story 3 gets rated G despite a terrifying and gratuitous scene that goes on forever and had kids running to the lobby in tears. grumble grumble adults today grumble grumble
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:34 AM on September 22, 2010
Meanwhile Toy Story 3 gets rated G despite a terrifying and gratuitous scene that goes on forever and had kids running to the lobby in tears. grumble grumble adults today grumble grumble
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:34 AM on September 22, 2010
Last night we streamed For All Mankind through Netflix. It's a documentary about the moon landing. Our 3.5 and 4.5 year olds were riveted and full of questions.
posted by Dragonness at 7:08 AM on September 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Dragonness at 7:08 AM on September 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
How about the Charlie Brown movies?
Unless Lucy counts as a scary villain.
posted by Lieber Frau at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2010
Unless Lucy counts as a scary villain.
posted by Lieber Frau at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2010
Some of the answers here may help, though you would have to filter for scariness.
posted by Artw at 11:55 AM on September 22, 2010
posted by Artw at 11:55 AM on September 22, 2010
From the answers above, Mary Poppins is a favourite without our 3-almost-4 year old now. it does have a couple of *slightly* scary scenes (just a few tiny moments really - a barking dog, a grabby banker) but no bad guys as such, and it has a bonus of being utterly charming for adults as well.
She also liked the sound of music, but that has bad guys in it - in fact I was asked about this:
3-year old: "Daddy, does the sound of music have bad guys?"
me: "History's greatest bad guys!"
Yeah, my humour is a little lost on her at times.
posted by Artw at 12:03 PM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
She also liked the sound of music, but that has bad guys in it - in fact I was asked about this:
3-year old: "Daddy, does the sound of music have bad guys?"
me: "History's greatest bad guys!"
Yeah, my humour is a little lost on her at times.
posted by Artw at 12:03 PM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
My 5 year old son doesn't like the deer killing part in Iron Giant, but the other night he was watching Swamp People with me and as they were wrangling a gator, he shouted at the TV "Shoot him in the head!". Point is, kids are weird.
posted by ducktape at 12:04 PM on September 22, 2010
posted by ducktape at 12:04 PM on September 22, 2010
Oh, and we now have a Superfreinds DVD, which is full of stories in which there is next to no conflict and the bad guys turn out to be misguided and everybody is freinds at the end. We kind of hate it now, but the kid loves it.
posted by Artw at 12:13 PM on September 22, 2010
posted by Artw at 12:13 PM on September 22, 2010
Pingu - makes my son crack up laughing - these are shorts which we originally watched on You Tube, but there are at least three compilations available on Netflix Watch Instantly right now.
posted by tr_tex at 1:04 PM on September 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by tr_tex at 1:04 PM on September 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey is a favorite of my four year old nephew but it's a real hoot for adults too. It's all about the beat - from the great Taiko drums of Japan, to the church ringers in England, the elegant sharpness of flamenco, the wackiness of STOMP, the tight choreography of the marching band, the amazing vocal rhythms that Indian percussionists use to train themselves, the urban dance rhythms of South Africa and Brazil, the master djembe drummers of Ghana and so many more. None of the performances last for more than two or three minutes which is great for short attention spans. At the same time, the glorious colors of a dozen different countries and their costumes are a wonderful feast for the eyes and will likely have the tykes spellbound.
posted by storybored at 6:49 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by storybored at 6:49 PM on September 23, 2010
Just following up: based on the recommendation here, we watched Jack Black's School of Rock. It's a fun movie, but it was a bit old for my kids, ages 8 and 5. The language was a bit strong compared to what they hear on a daily basis (it was a subject of many remarks from them, and they aren't particularly sheltered).
posted by bluedaisy at 12:17 PM on December 23, 2010
posted by bluedaisy at 12:17 PM on December 23, 2010
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posted by hermitosis at 4:40 PM on September 21, 2010 [3 favorites]