Family Night movie recommendations - Page 2

[isaoma]

Originally Posted by flowers

My Neighbor Totoro is a lovely story without villains or scary stuff. I heard about it here and it has turned into a family favorite.

This looks like a great movie, they didn't have it at the library, but I'll try netflix.

I have noticed that many East Asian (Chinese, Korean and Japanese) storytells and modern stories for young children are much milder than Western ones.

Thank you!

[proudmamanow]

I would 2nd Mary Poppins..it is a huge favourite around here. We also LOVE Franklin the Turtle--great values. As a rule we do not do tv, but we do occasionally do movie nights with Franklin or Thomas the Tank Engine. We are considering watching the first 2/3 of Sound of Music with her next (until the wedding) as she loves Julie Andrews .
I would 2nd the cautionary note though, dd is easily freaked out and we prewatch all movies and vet things carefully.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

I ADORE Totoro, but I did want to point out that for very sensitive little ones, there are a few scenes where Satsuki confronts the idea of her mom dying. Now, she doesn't die, but she is in a hospital and it's kind of lingering in the background until the end. Mei (little sister) also runs away at one point and they insinuate that she may have drowned.

It may all go right past a little one (my 2.5 year old doesn't seem to notice), but my almost 5 year old always wants to curl up in my lap during those parts and is noticably on edge. Despite this they both adore it and it's one of those movies DH & I don't mind watching with them because it's just so magical and well done. I may even love it more than them! Just wanted to make you aware of the sensitive parts.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

Oh, and I forgot you mentioned the Planet Earth series. There are certain parts that are great for kids (my oldest loves putting on a tutu doing her bird of paradise dance) but there are a few scenes where predators do what they do best. You could fast-forward through those parts or explain it to them. It's not overly graphic, but you can certainly tell what happens. It's a beautiful series though.

[NicaG]

Singing in the Rain! You can fast forward through the parts that aren't singing and dancing. Ds loves that movie--if we're watching, he'll ask to see the dance numbers over and over. It's fun for grownups too!

Ds also loves the Cars movie. I don't generally like "kid" movies, especially anything to do with Disney, but I actually really like Cars. It's got some problems, but it's pretty fun to watch.

[CaraboosMama]

We do family movie night w/ pizza most Fridays too Our 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old love the older disney movies (Shaggy Dog, Cat from outer space, etc). We watched Annie recently which had a few more scary/upsetting elements than I remembered: Milo and Otis is another fave. Kids in Mind Movie Ratings is another website that has greta detailed descriptions of anything potentially objectionable so you can make an informed decision on videos you haven't previewed.

[DevaMajka]

Moving to Media

[moonyoungi]

this is not really movie...BUT our family is huge fan of Jeff Corwin series...
It's quite funny and educational at the same time. Plus, Jeff Corwin is cute... Can I say that here...?
see if you can get it from the library or netflix it.

[mojomom]

Something my dd loved to watch at that age and watched over and over was "Linnea in Monet's Garden". It is animated and it is about a little girl who with her friend Mr. brook's walk thru the gardens that inspired Monet's paintings. It is a really sweet story and kept my dd's attention and something we all enjoyed watching.
We do family movie night but my kids are older 11 & 7, we have been enjoying watching movies dh and I liked as kids like, The Explorers, Flight of the Navigator, Last starfighter, Goonies. it is fun for all of us.
Enjoy your movie nights!!

[myjo]

I apologize if this was mentioned before since I didn't read the whole thread, but Whale Rider is beautiful. It's best for kids between 8 and 12 I think.

[Schrody]

Kristin's Fairy House is a very sweet film that's completely appropriate for any age. My kids really liked it and they liked the books that go with it.

For a two year old, I'd probably stick with tv shows aimed at preschoolers. Movies are so long and so often contain stuff that you might not be ready to expose her to. Things like Little Bear, Zaboomafoo, Richard Scarry's Busy World and the PBS or NickJr. shows will probably appeal to her more than the movies aimed at ages 5 and up.