15 Jun 8 Great Animated Movies to Watch with Your Kids
Animated movies should reflect old fairy tales, meaning that they need to provide a metaphorical insight into the realities of the world to young children who’s minds devour information, actively trying to make sense of the world around them and develop an adequate code of ethics to follow. A good story needs realistic portrayal of the complexity of human emotion, the proper social etiquette, the intricacy of interaction between humans, the importance of having compassion and a strong sense of morality. The old stories also contained warnings against evil people and they showed clear causality between the actions the heroes take and the faith that befalls them. All this was offset by leaving enough room for hope – by showing the hero prevailing against all odds, just by the sheer power of his ability, intelligence, cunning, bravery and conviction.
In the same vein, a good children’s film needs to cover a range of emotions, interactions, personalities and situations, to grab the viewer and take him on an emotional and exiting ride at the end of which we see our heroes develop and grow as human beings, learning important facts about life, love, friendship, the importance of empathy towards others and the realization that they too have needs, wants, fears, worries and hopes. A lot of modern films, keeping up with current trends, seem to try and shelter children from the realities of life and the diversity and complexity of coexisting with other people on this tiny planet of ours. They just make them laugh, don’t show them that bad things happen, don’t teach them about responsibility and give them a sense of entitlement instead of a sense of accomplishment.
If you are looking for more than just the vaguely sentimental explosion of colors and clichés that modern children’s films and cartoons have become, than this is the perfect selection for you.
Toy Story trilogy
Toy Story was the first major motion picture that was entirely computer-animated, and the two sequels feature updated visuals that help immerse the audience into the fantastic world. It is a world where toys have personalities and interesting lives when no one is watching, and they face a lot of the challenges that we as humans do. Throughout the trilogy, we find important themes such as feeling rejected and obsolete, existential crisis, developing strong bonds with friends, making sacrifices for the ones you love, helping out those in need, personal growth, the ever changing nature of life and so on. It is a true emotional roller coaster, and a great way to spend a few hours with the kids during the weekends. As the movies came out quite a few years apart, there was more than enough time to develop more complex, coherent stories that can be followed chronologically as the characters learn lessons, grow and face new challenges. The movies still captivate and entertain after many viewings, making them ideal for movie marathons that will keep your kids glued to the TV.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
The story follows Nausicaa, a princess named after a character from Homer’s Odyssey, as she tries to help preserve what little is left of civilization in the post-apocalyptic world. She opposes the militaristic Tolmeika kingdom that seeks to reawaken a thousand year old weapon of mass destruction in order to eradicate the mutated insects of the Toxic Forest. An old prophecy in the Valley of the Wind states that one day, a hero will arise that will unite man and nature once more, and Nausicaa, being the emphatic and caring princess that she is, seeks to find a way for the humans and insects to coexist. She is joined on the adventure by sword master Yupa and a young man named Asbel. This is a story about love, coexisting peacefully with nature and creatures fundamentally different than us, devoting yourself to something greater and striving to achieve compromise. The movie has a strong, devoted female protagonist and teaches good moral lessons while providing great entertainment throughout. It is a creation of a famous director and animator Hayao Miyazaki and the cast of voice actors in the English version is exceptional, including names like Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman, Shia LaBeouf and Mark Hamill, which add greatly to the overall quality.
The Incredibles
A family of superheroes forced into hiding, mascaraing as an ordinary family and keeping their powers secret in a world where the use of super powers is prohibited. This is a story dealing with subjects such as marriage, parenting, family dynamics, midlife crisis, reaching one’s true potential and being different than others. The world of superheroes is threatened by a powerful enemy seeking to further his megalomaniac goals, and the family has to join forces and use all their powers and skills to save the world. It is a very fun story that deals with some surprisingly mature subjects in a very skillful way, giving a realistic view into family dynamics and the problems of each member – the young child, the teenager, the stay-at-home mom who gave up an existing career to take care of her kids and the aging, but still powerful dad that is forced into a quiet suburban life and a soul-crushingly boring job. It shows that problems within the family are quite commonplace and can be resolved with a bit of teamwork. This is truly a movie for people of all ages.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Another masterpiece from the great Hayao Miyazaki, this is a story of a beautiful young girl transformed into an old lady by a curse, who crosses paths with a powerful, narcissistic and egocentric young wizard, who turns out to be a bit insecure and goodhearted deep down inside. The girl’s only chance of regaining her youthful appearance lies with the wizard, so she joins him at his mechanical and magical moving castle. As they go on an adventure together, they both learn about the other and grow fonder of each other through time. It is a magical tale of adventure, romance, learning to look past appearances and a willingness to help others in need. The movie also showcases the difficulty of remaining within the realms of pacifism in a complicated world. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by British novelist Diana Wynne Jones, and has been nominated for an Academy Award. Howl’s Moving Castle is a great little movie for the whole family.
Wall-E
As always, Pixar manages to produce a beautiful story and bring deep emotion to inanimate objects. A small robot designed to compress waste materials into cubes – much like a trash compactor on treads – works tirelessly on Earth, which has long since been abandoned by humans and is now a huge lifeless waste. Another robot, the more technologically advanced and heavily armed EVE, is sent to Earth by the remaining humans on board a huge spaceship, the Axiom, to search for signs of life. Wall-E falls in love with EVE, follows her back to the spaceship and a great adventure ensues. The characters are very limited as far as conveying their thoughts vocally goes, so a lot is expressed through body-language and a few simple sounds. Wall-E is a cautionary science-fiction tale at its core, but it provides the audience with a lot of excitement, action, comedy and plenty of little romantic moments. The movie keeps you thoroughly entertained as it plays at your heart strings and never gets too moody or dark. It is a good balance of lighthearted physical comedy, beautiful visuals and warm, fuzzy feelings, making it a perfect family film.
My Neighbor Totoro
At this point someone might suggest that I should just marry Miyazaki if I love him so much, but the truth of the matter is that the man simply won’t stop making masterpieces that appeal to children and adults alike. In Japan, some thirteen years after WWII, a university professor moves to the countryside with his two daughters so they can be closer to their mother who is recovering in a nearby hospital. The youngest daughter, Mei, befriends a woodland spirit named Totoro and eventually it reveals itself to her sister Satsuki as well. The girls interact with the wood spirits as they settle into their new life, going through fun and humorous moments as well as some sad ones. Overall, it is a somewhat lighthearted movie that does a great job of portraying the little girls and a child’s world of imagination interspersed by mundane realities. My Neighbor Totoro is a very warm, slow-paced film that will move you.
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These animated movies stand out from the many simplistic adventure tales and regurgitated storylines, borrowed from well-known children’s stories and fairy tales. All of these movies have a fun, colorful exterior and a warm, though-provoking deeper layer. They will help bring the family closer together, spark your child’s imagination and help you teach them important life lessons.
