Disney movies -- anything appropriate for 3-year-olds?

[Meli65]

The other day we watched a video at my mom's house that featured just the songs from good old Disney movies -- Jungle Book, Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty, etc. and I'll admit it brought back happy childhood memories. I think ds would enjoy the animation and songs, but as I recall almost all of those movies have things in them I don't want him seeing right now -- most notably, dead or missing parents.

I got Lilo and Stitch out of the library because it was something I was interested in seeing (Elvis songs and Hawaiia!) but was shocked to find it full of guns and violence : Ds thought it was "too scary," and wanted to know why Lilo's friends were running away from her, and "where's her mom?" I kept fast-forwarding to see if there was anything we could watch together and there wasn't. I love how he is sensitive to things like this, and don't in any way want to make him immune to them.

So, is there ANYTHING out there by Disney that is little kid-friendly? Thanks!

[Elphaba]

Aristocats. Its from 1964. We love it. There's some violence -- a horse and some cats beat up a nasty butler; a cat and her kittens are catnapped by said butler. Its funny and not scary, for us anyway. My 3yo is very sensitive but loves this movie.

She also likes Mary Poppins, particularly the carousel scene.

Oh, Robin Hood is good too, the animated version with the fox as the lead.

Most of the other Disney stuff is too intense for her. I stick to stuff made before I was born.

[bugmomma]

How about the goofy movie? Or Dumbo...is Nemo too much?? My 2 year old LOVES "MEMO"....

[Tracy]

one word.
Nemo.

[Meli65]

Re: Nemo,

in the words of ds:

Too scary!

He doesn't like the shark or the pelican. It's too bad -- he got a copy for his second birthday and we haven't seen it yet -- I hear it's great! I figure one of these days he will get into it and then I'll get sick of it.

In Dumbo, doesn't he get taken away from his mother? I seem to remember big elephant tears somewhere....

I loved The Aristocats, Mary Poppins, and esp. Robin Hood as a child -- am putting them on my inter-library loan search!

[annakiss]

Dumbo does get taken away from his mother, there are indeed big elephant tears.

I love Nemo. My son's actually watching it right now. We need to just buy a stupid copy instead of getting the free kids rental once a week at the video store.

Aleks likes Cinderella. Don't know if you're anti-princesses.

He also loves Peter Pan, but there is fighting in that and the crocodile and of course the whole "Redman" song, which just ticks me off.

Aleks must just really like the scary stuff. It's all pretty much scary now that I think about it. How about trying one of the sing-along songs videos? Or maybe Melody Time? Those are Disney movies but they're all fun, singing stuff. hth

[owensmom]

Oh geez, I cry big elephant tears just thinking about Dumbo, no way he is going to watch that one! And the beginning of Nemo, doesn't the mom die or disappear or get taken or something? I actually start the movie after the credits, so I only saw that part once.

The think I hate is he likes Toy Story, doesn't find it scary, but they call each other idiot and stupid and say shut up. Ack.

[liawbh]

It's neither Disney, nor animated, but my son's absolute fave until he was about 4 was Babe the Pig.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is good. I haven't seen Lady and the Tramp for a while, but I don't recall anything too scary. Maybe someone with younger kids knows?

[StillForest]

Got several of the ones that DD enjoys....just want to add Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's an old Disney with lots of singing and some great dance scenes. Still has the all too typical Disney problem of the Missing Mother Anyway, DD loves it and we sing the songs all the time.

She also really likes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Sound of Music, and the Wizard of Oz.

Can you tell that I'm a child of the 60's??

[Viola]

Bambi-mother gets killed, absentee father
Nemo-mother gets killed but at least he has a loving father
Snow White-no mother, wicked stepmother
Cinderella-no parents, wicked stepmother
The Rescuers - no parents, wicked orphanage woman
Sleeping Beauty-Maleficent turns into a scary creature
Fox and the Hound-tension between the fox and the hunter and later the hound.
Lady and the Tramp - nothing too bad, not so nice cats, Lady feels outcast when the new baby comes. Mother doesn't breastfeed.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians-Cruella deVille wants the dalmatians for their fur.
Little Mermaid - no mother, scary seamonster, teen marriage
Beauty and the Beast - no mother, scary wolves
Mulan - war
Oliver and Company - cat gets abandoned
Toy Story - no father
Bug's Life - scary grasshoppers
Monsters, Inc. - scary monsters

Hey, what about the Sword in the Stone? Or Pete's Dragon? I don't think I've ever seen Aristocats or Black Cauldron and I can't think of any others right now.

[ledzepplon]

I hate to rain on a parade, but Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory has that scary tunnel boat scene. I remember hiding behind my dad's bug armchair as a kid when that part came on because it scared the heck out of me. I think it's better suited to slightly older kids who can handle the scary parts.

[Meli65]

bad dreams

Ds woke up last night with terrible bad dreams, the worst ever. He couldn't go back to sleep for at least a half hour. I blame myself and that darn Stitch.

I was thinking about Lady and the Tramp, too -- I have fond memories of that one (I too am a child of the 60s! -- I wish they still showed these movies in the theaters because it was so much fun to go as a kid).

Babe's good, but we have to fast-forward through the early scary scenes.

And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Excellent call.

[SharonAnne]

I don't recommend the Black Cauldron; although it's one of MY all time favorites, way too scary for a youngun. Think dead things pouring out of a cauldron, and a cute fuzzy creature throwing himself in said cauldron to save the day.

[Elphaba]

Lady and the Tramp scared my dd. I thought it would be pretty benign, but the nanny that comes to take care of the baby when the parents abandon it for a month is ^%$#* mean, and her Siamese cats are malevolent. Lady has some troubles that can be frightening for little sensitive kids.

Nemo scared her, too. The Borders we used to shop at had it on every time we came in, and I had to turn it off because she would just be sobbing after seeing bits of it.

Monsters Inc. we tried but there are some scenes toward the end that are terrifying.

Babe upset her because of the mean daddy dog. Our dog is a border collie, and I think it was just too close to home to see a black and white dog act so viciously. Other than that it was good. Well, except for the scenes where it looks like Babe is going to be butchered.

[annakiss]

The hound dog also gets hit by a carriage in Lady and the Tramp. They changed it so he lives though.

[sweetfeet]

On Nemo I start it on the second scene so she doesn't see the family get killed. She says "sad" when she sees Marlin in the "opening" scene. She is addicted to that movie though.
I like Aristocats. The butler dumps them and they find their way home.
Oh and Dumbo is so sad. Even Sophie bawls during the scene where Dumbo is being cradled and swung in his mother's trunk and the song Baby of Mine is playing. Such a tearjerker.

[mirlee]

If you can find them, we have the Classic Disney cartoons on DVD. They did a whole series of black and white Mickey Mouse and then the Color cartoons. They also produced DVDs of Donald Duck and Goofy. Leonard Maltin does a lot of the introductions and talks about the historical siginifcance of the 'toons, and in some cases, explains why things are the way they are in the cartoons because some appear to be racist judged by today's standards. Most of it is just slapstick humour.

Ds enjoys these. If you can find them, they cam in metal cases and were supposed to be collectible.

[sweetfeet]

Mirlee your post reminded me of the "Merry Melodies" tapes that she watches at my mils house. They are older Disney cartoons mostly set to music. She loves them.

[mirlee]

Oh, that just reminded me, meghan, of the Silly Symphony set Disney did! This one is great!

Oh, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are good. For Fantasia, you will want to skip Night on Bald Mountain and Sorcerers Apprentice. If you do Fantasia 2000 you have to skip the end sequence about death and renewal and Sorcerers Apprentice which is included here as wel.

[journeymom]

Black Caldron is right out, because it rated PG, not G. I made the mistake of renting it for then 5 y.o. dd and thought, "Wow, this is the darkest, scariest Disney movie I've ever seen! What's going on?" I hadn't even looked at the rating, assumed it was rated G.

I didn't see Dumbo till I was an adult, and it's just as well. What a sad story! The sad mom scene and the black crows doin' their little politcially incorrect suthern song and dance, and I put that movie in the back of the cabinet.