Magical movie

[rainbow dancer]

We are planning a movie night for our playgroup of mostly two and three year olds. We wanted it to be a magical night and are looking for a magical non-scary movie.
Any suggestions?
Thanks a lot!!!

[Jennifer3141]

Neverending Story?

[NoHiddenFees]

My Neighbor Totoro. It might be a little worrisome because the mother of the two main characters is in a sanitorium, and they worry about her. But if you tell the kids up front that the mother will be fine and that someone gets lost (but found, and not at all hurt), it should be OK.

[paint-the-moon]

I can't think of any for little ones that young ... so many of the enchanted stories do contain scary parts.

What about considering doing a dress up party and have them pretend play as fairies, elves and such?

The movies that came to mind were Laybrinth, Willow and Ever After ... but none I'd recommend for kiddos that young. Neverending Story sounds good but it still has some parts I wouldn't want my little one that age seeing (but we don't do TV period, so I'm a bit biased there. ). What about an animated movie?

I really like the idea of making it magical by letting their imaginations and creativity take bloom instead of sitting them in front of the TV. Okay, there I go again with my no TV bias. Sorry.

[tqoe62]

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH!
It's wonderful!
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory or Willy Wonka (the original version with Gene Wilder)
FERN GULLY!

[widdlelou]

Fern Gully may be better than the never ending story. Though I totally love that movie and can quote almost every line, the part with the wolf is very scarey and then when the earthquake happens and its very very sad when Artex dies in the swamp of saddness. I think that may be for older kids (5 or 6 or so).

[ex-stasis]

Yeah I was pretty much traumatized by the Neverending Story when I was 7 or so... dreaming about the wolf and about Artex dying. I second My Neighbour Totoro!

[earthmama369]

I love the Neverending Story, but we haven't shown the horse drowning or wolf chase scenes to DD (2) yet.

She loves Fern Gully and the scary scenes there don't seem to bother her at all -- maybe because they're animated? She also likes Dark Crystal.

They aren't as much of a movie, persay, but The Magic Schoolbus and season 1 Fraggle episodes are out on DVD now and DD LOVES those.

[mamabeca]

If you really want NON-SCARY, I'd stick with traditional Winnie the pooh, or maybe the Little Twins. Those are truly not scary. As in ther eis NOTHING scary that happens, except pooh does get stuck in the rabbit's hole. The Little Twins is a nice series of shorts, so you could watch one and then have a pillow fight break and then watch the next one, etc. We have the dvd's, but our library carries them, too. Have fun!

[fuzzypeach]

Definitely My Neighbor Totoro!

[swebster]

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[AmyC]

What about Kristen's Fairy House? Does that seem like the right kind of "magical"? It's only 40 minutes long, which might be a plus, too.

There's also the Little Bear Movie out on DVD. I don't know that it would be considered magical, but Little Bear is a big pretender (lots of fantasy) and the show is pretty calm. Not sure about the movie itself. Some of the television episodes are available on DVD, grouped sort of thematically. You might find some of the fanciful episodes (flying to the moon, spending time with a mermaid, etc.) in that format. Granted, that is not a movie. And the episodes are short. But maybe an option to consider. The Halloween disc might have some possibilities. (I'd have to look at the individual listings to make specific recommendations....)

[AmyC]

There's also The Red Balloon (might not be the best option, though), and I'd recommend Raymond Briggs' The Bear. It's simple, (nearly) wordless, has an expressive musical score, and definitely is magical (involves a fantasy journey with a polar bear and the Big Dipper....) At 25 minutes long, it might be the right "size" for your audience. According to amazon, the VHS version is the "wordless narrative," and the DVD version has added narration. Go for the original wordless version!!

I haven't seen or read The Snowman, also by Raymond Briggs, but that might be magical, too.

[rainbow dancer]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I will look into all the options and see.
Thanks again!!!!!!

[AmyC]

Hey, revive this thread and let us know what you pick!

[allye]

Labrynth the one with David Bowie... I LOVED that movie as a kid
Neverending Story
Ferngully the last rainforest

[sunnysideup]

Originally Posted by AmyC

I haven't seen or read The Snowman, also by Raymond Briggs, but that might be magical, too.

This is really good. It's short-- 25 minutes or so --but great. Very magical.

[beanma]

for that age -- there are books that have been adapted to the screen too. dh rented a series of Eric Carle stories turned video. they were really sweet.

we love "My Neighbr Totoro", too, but it's long...

[mariposa2]

I second the Snowman and Totoro, they are favortes here

[sept04mama]

The Snowman is PERFECT! My boys love the music and they really think Snowmen are magic now.

My boys are almost 2 and 3.