Aric's Family Movies Picks

[aric]

With all the nasty stuff that I post (Hee hee!), I thought it might be refreshing to post something more family-oriented. So, I am posting my picks for my favorite family films.

Holes
For once, Disney didn't make a crappy live-action movie. This is in no small part due to the fact that the guy who wrote the book also wrote the screenplay. It's extremely faithful to the spirit of the book - or at least, so I hear since I didn't actually read the book.

I liked the entire vibe about fate that surrounded Stanley Yelnats. All the subplots and strands were tied nicely together. All in all, this is one family film that I would see again. I don't rave very often about non-science fiction or non-anime films.

However, I must caution you. This isn't all roses and wine. There are some scary, tragic, and dark moments. I like it that the movie didn't pull punches when it comes to describing the world kids actually live in. There's bullying and there's mean adults. There is actually an even more intense subplot in there, but I won't bring it up here. You should see it yourself. It involves the origins of Kissing Kate Barlow. It's quite shocking and unfortunately very true in those days - perhaps even in some parts of the country today.

All in all, it's a smart family film that doesn't whitewash childhood or reality. It makes the assumption that kids are a heck of a lot smarter than adults give them credit for. There's some odd and fantastic elements, but not enough to detract from the movie. In fact, it provides some nice levity. I strongly recommend this film.

Kiki's Delivery Service
Holes centered largely around boys. Girls can certainly enjoy it, but I thought it might be good for them if I critiqued another, more girl-oriented, film.

This one is distributed by Disney. It's actually an example of Japanese animation, or anime, that's quite family-friendly.

It's an intersting coming of age story for girls. There's no real action in the traditional American sense. There's no villain or antagonist either. It's about a witch named Kiki who moves away from home and has to make it on her own in the big city. By "big city," I mean something like Stockholm, not Chicago.

Now, there may be people who object to this movie because the main character is a witch. However, there's no malice or evil-ness here any more than there is in the Bewitched TV series. People who might continue to object due to some asinine religious reasons are, quite frankly, zealous morons. Social conservatives have been asking where all the family films are. Well, here it is.

I must also recommend the animation. It's excellent. The flying sequences are particularly awesome.

My Neighbor Totoro
Another Disney-distributed anime produed by the same people who made Kiki's Delivery Service. Like the previous film, this one has no antagonist or evildoers. Sorry Dubya. This is geared towards extremely young kids no older than eight.

It's about a family that moves out to the countryside. The kids explore their surroundings and discover totoros, which are some kind of forest spirits. I would imagine the same people who oppose Kiki's Delivery Service and Harry Potter would find this film offensive and un-Christian as well. These folks can go screw themselves. This movie (actually, almost all the movies I mention here) are quality family films.

The Monster Squad
A little bit of indulgence on my part. I loved this film when I was little. It's about a group of kids who discover a plot by Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Mummy, and Frankenstein's Monster (yeah, you heard me) to plunge the world into Darkness. The adults don't believe them, so they have to take the monsters down themselves. It's violent and scary. Exactly what a monster movie should be. Kids are the protagonists here. I wouldn't recommend this for extremely young children. For those kids who are eight and up, however, it's all good.

Dinosaur
I mention this because we are a dinosaur-oriented board. I love this movie. The computer animation was great. I also like the message about teamwork. Another good film by Disney. Whodathunkit!

The Land Before Time
Yeah, this one is really old, but it's still good. The paleontology is a bit off in this film. T-Rexes along side Apatosaurs? Yeesh. Anyway, it's a great adventure movie. It doesn't pull punches either considering what happens to Little Foot's mom... I saw it when it first came out. It's a classic.

That's all for now. I'll post more when I think of it.

Feel free to post your own recommendations as well.

- Aric

[Vorchia]

The only movies I know from that list are Dinosaur and LBT. I never was a LBT fan though I've seen one of the movies when I was little and I gave one to my little borther at one point. I've seen Dinosaur, I really liked the Carnotaurs but the Iguanodons were downright scary. I mean, I understand the need to cute-i-fy in a kids movie but Iguanodons with lips?? (And the monkeys and the grass and the 'doggy' dino.) Aaaaarghhhhh. The movie was ok though, even with the obligatory inescapable 'happy end'.
I don't watch a lot of movies, I usually wait for them to appear on TV. I don't have anyone to drag to the cinema except for my little siblings.

[Christopher]

Pretty good list. I've seen four of those (Holes, Kiki's Dilivery Service, Dinosaur, and of course the land before time).

Holes was one of the few things from Disney I actually liked. I used to watch Kiki all the time (not recently, though). Dinosaur, I can't remember anything about, and LBT was pretty good.

I would suggest some of my favorite movies, but it seems you want family films here, so that knocks most of mine out.

[aric]

Here's more movies.

The Rocketeer
I haven't seen this often, but I thought this movie got the feel of the Golden Age of airplanes down pretty well. It's about a farm boy who finds a jetpack. It was created by the government and Howard Hughes when it was stolen by Nazi agents. Somehow they lost it and the hero uses it to fight the Nazis.

It gets intense at some times, but it's a fun movie. It's still good for kiddies.

Dick Tracy
This is largely for older kids due to the sheer amount of violence towards the end where Big Boy's gang and the police shoot it out. In any case, it has that great comic book feeling. Even if you don't know about the Dick Tracy comic strip, it should still be fun to watch.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Another great kid's film. It mixes live action characters interacting with animated ones such as Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. It has an interesting mystery plot and the gags are great. Not to mention all the cameos made by various cartoon icons. Interestingly, that's the last film where Mel Blanc does the voice for Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig before he died.

Babe
It's about a talking pig who helps a farmer win a sheep dog competition. It's really sweet. There are a couple of intense moments, especially when one of the animal characters die. However, it's a very good film and everybody should see it. Note: this is NOT the same movie as Gordy. That one was a steaming pile of coprolite.

E.T.: The Extraterrestrial
About a boy and his pet alien. The only real meanies are the government guys who try to take ET away. By and large, it's a modern classic. I'd be very surprised if nobody actually saw this. Always a good choice for family entertainment.

That's all for now. I'll post more some other time.

- Aric

[aric]

Flight of the Navigator
Another interesting little film put out by Disney way back in the 1980s. It's about a boy who gets thrown into the future by some wayward alien spacecraft. Both must escape the clutches of the government. It's a really fun movie to watch. It's a bit short on plot, but that's okay. It's not really that important. The special effects are notable in that they're an early use of computer graphics. They still look fairly good.

The Last Starfighter
A teen who excels at a starfighter arcade game is recruited into a real starfighter force. The game is a recruitment tool to see who has the talent to pilot the fighters. It's a bit old, and the versions put out there have faded quite a bit. Still, it's interesting to watch. The premise is fun. Also, there is extensive use of computer graphics when it comes to the space scenes. It's a bit cheesy now, but compelling from a film history point of view.

Space Camp
I remember seeing this a long time ago. Unfortunately, i can't seem to catch it on TV anymore. I don't think it's being shown at all nowadays. A shame. Anyways, IIRC, it's about a group of kids who get launched into orbit aboard the space shuttle and have to find there way back to earth. I loved it as a kid. It helped me love space flight and eventually science fiction.

D.A.R.Y.L.
Not the best of films in the list, but I thought I'd mention it. It's an oldie and goodie. You might catch it occasionally on the Disney channel or something. Anyway, it's about an artificial kid who has a CPU integrated into his brain. He explores emotions, humanity, etc. All the cliches about the differences between machines and us. Not impressive, but I would tune into it just to see the eightes atmosphere again. It's particularly prevalent in this film. It sort of screams "Eighties!"

Wargames
I love this movie. It's about a computer-adept who hacks into a government mainframe and accidentally sets off a computer that wants to start World War III. Perhaps the first movie to show what people could actually do with computers long before the movie Hackers ever came out.

The Neverending Story Parts I and II
I don't know why I didn't mention these before. Their rather classic in terms of kids' films. I'm assuming most people know about these two movies. If you don't, then go out and watch them.

A Christmas Story
Hee hee! I love this film. I tune into the marathon on TNT every Christmas Day. I try to catch it as many times as I can. I never get tired of it. It's about a boy and his Red Ryder BB Gun! I don't have to explain more. Watch it!

Now, these are only the family-oriented films I've seen personally. I'm sure I've seen more. I'll list them when I remember them. Anyway, there're more movies out there than I could ever have watched personally. Remember, feel free to contribute entries into this thread. If you want to share your movie list but it doesn't fit in with the subject of this thread, then always feel free to start your own.

- Aric

[Azonthus]

Dude, how could you forget the Princess Bride! And then there's my favorite movie of all time, Swan Lake. It's a really, really old anime version that was done in the 70's. I own three of the four copies I've ever seen out there (fourth was at a video rental place back in Colorado, but they're out of business now), but it's majorly worth it if you can get your hands on it. Also, try to get an anime version of The Little Mermaid, done by Starmaker films. This one is 100% true to the Hans Christian Anderson story and is quite intense. I was seriously crying at the end of it. I've only been able to watch it once because it is so intense, but it's an awesome story.

[aric]

admin said:

Dude, how could you forget the Princess Bride!

For the very simple reason that I don't like that movie. If I wanted to see fantasy, I'll skip the froufrou stuff and go straight for Conan the Barbarian.

;D

admin said:

And then there's my favorite movie of all time, Swan Lake. It's a really, really old anime version that was done in the 70's. I own three of the four copies I've ever seen out there (fourth was at a video rental place back in Colorado, but they're out of business now), but it's majorly worth it if you can get your hands on it.
Never seen that either, though my cousin might have seen more contemporaqry versions of it. I'll have to ask her about it.

admin said:

Also, try to get an anime version of The Little Mermaid, done by Starmaker films. This one is 100% true to the Hans Christian Anderson story and is quite intense. I was seriously crying at the end of it. I've only been able to watch it once because it is so intense, but it's an awesome story.

Once? Hmm.. That might warrant a view.

Anyway, I just came back from Wally World and was reminded of two fairly good movies. I'm talking about the two Ewoks movies. I saw both and liked them very much. It's one of the few examples of 80s-era Star Wars audiovisual stuff that wasn't the movies.

- Aric

[Vorchia]

aric said:

If I wanted to see fantasy, I'll skip the froufrou stuff and go straight for Conan the Barbarian.

Frou frou stuff? I hadn't heard that one before. LOL
I didn't dislike the movie, it has a good level of insanity.

admin said:

And then there's my favorite movie of all time, Swan Lake. It's a really, really old anime version that was done in the 70's.

It sounds scary. Hey I thought the breakthrough of anime in western tv shows was something of this decade? I'm no fan of anime over other drawing styles. The only Swan Lake movie I know is this 'barbie' DVD I have once been forced to watch while babysitting... *shudder* And yes its actually just as bad as it sounds.

admin said:

Also, try to get an anime version of The Little Mermaid, done by Starmaker films. This one is 100% true to the Hans Christian Anderson story and is quite intense. I was seriously crying at the end of it. I've only been able to watch it once because it is so intense, but it's an awesome story.

I don't cry for movies. Well okay I cry when watching 'The color purple' and I had a hard time not crying when watching ROTK in the cinema.
I like the LOTR movies (its not what you think, its not about Legolas, sorry Leggy) and of course Jurassic Park!

ET is good too, Babe was ok, the rest of the movies I've never seen. I did see one of Lucas's older movies, but it wasn't about Ewoks, it was a fairytale called 'Willow'. It was ok too, it has a few hillarious moments in it.

[aric]

vorchia said:

Frou frou stuff? I hadn't heard that one before. LOL I didn't dislike the movie, it has a good level of insanity.

It never appealed to me. However, I'm sure others will like it.

vorchia said:

It sounds scary. Hey I thought the breakthrough of anime in western tv shows was something of this decade?

I recall Speed Racer and Voltron coming out around this time. Maybe Astroboy as well. In the 80s, I remember Star Blazers and Robotech.

vorchia said:

I'm no fan of anime over other drawing styles. The only Swan Lake movie I know is this 'barbie' DVD I have once been forced to watch while babysitting... *shudder* And yes its actually just as bad as it sounds.

LOL! Barbie! Hahahahahahaha!

vorchia said:

ET is good too, Babe was ok, the rest of the movies I've never seen. I did see one of Lucas's older movies, but it wasn't about Ewoks, it was a fairytale called 'Willow'. It was ok too, it has a few hillarious moments in it.

I would have put Willow here, but I think it's a little TOO violent for family viewing. A lot of people get skewered and mauled in that movie. Of course, if your kids can handle that kind of stuff, then I guess it can be family fare.

Heh. I saw the movie Predator when I was about eight or nine. I thought it was cool, but one of my cousins didn't like having to watch Jesse Ventura's chest explode into a cloud of red gore while we were eating dinner.

;D

- Aric

[Vorchia]

aric said:

LOL! Barbie! Hahahahahahaha!

Oh yes, now you know what kind of stuff I have to go through in real life when babysitting other people's children... lol Sadly enough I have also been forced to watch Barbie Rapunzel. (Which, for reasons beyond me, involved a highly annoying bright purple dragon-hatchling.)
Note to self: must introduce child to LBT for sake of own sanity.

aric said:

I would have put Willow here, but I think it's a little TOO violent for family viewing. A lot of people get skewered and mauled in that movie. Of course, if your kids can handle that kind of stuff, then I guess it can be family fare.

Not neccesarily, my brother and his friend begged to see Jurassic Park at age nine then kept making me fast forward to to the 'action' scenes because it was 'so boring'.
I'll bet they wouldn't sit and watch Willow either, they only like those extremely violent crappy Japanese import TV shows which near continuous fighting.
Thats another reason why I don't like anime, its mostly mindless violence (TV, movies, games) and sex (internet, games, magazines). There is a small quantity of anime (art on the net mostly, maybe some movies like the one Az mentioned) which is neither but it is rare. I will however admit that among the trash good anime art CAN be found, for instance on Dev Art but it takes careful searching.

[Buttercup]

Actually, as far as Anime is concerned, if we are speaking of films that would require a little adult supervision, there is Princess Mononoke. It is a little dark for younger viewers but it plays on a young girl who is raised by wolves (Not Jungle Bookish at all!) An evil physical sickness spreads amoung animals and humans where she lives. It is an extremely complicated film for me to describe but once you see it, I reccommend twice to catch everything, you might be surprised. I highly reccomend it because it also plays on the interdependencs of every living thing within an ecosystem and how much can change form one species gatting sick. Watch it and let me know what ya'll think, i would be curious to find out.

[aric]

vorchia said:

aric said:

LOL! Barbie! Hahahahahahaha!

Oh yes, now you know what kind of stuff I have to go through in real life when babysitting other people's children... lol Sadly enough I have also been forced to watch Barbie Rapunzel. (Which, for reasons beyond me, involved a highly annoying bright purple dragon-hatchling.)
Note to self: must introduce child to LBT for sake of own sanity.

Would they allow you to bring your own stuff for the kids to see? Or do they strictly control that? You could take some of the suggestions made here.

vorchia said:

aric said:

I would have put Willow here, but I think it's a little TOO violent for family viewing. A lot of people get skewered and mauled in that movie. Of course, if your kids can handle that kind of stuff, then I guess it can be family fare.

Not neccesarily, my brother and his friend begged to see Jurassic Park at age nine then kept making me fast forward to to the 'action' scenes because it was 'so boring'.
I'll bet they wouldn't sit and watch Willow either, they only like those extremely violent crappy Japanese import TV shows which near continuous fighting.

True. There are kids (like me, well like how I USED to be, that is) who are accustomed to movie violence.

However, there are others who, for all intensive purposes, are delicate little flowers. I wanted to list films that would have broader appeal.

vorchia said:

Thats another reason why I don't like anime, its mostly mindless violence (TV, movies, games) and sex (internet, games, magazines). There is a small quantity of anime (art on the net mostly, maybe some movies like the one Az mentioned) which is neither but it is rare. I will however admit that among the trash good anime art CAN be found, for instance on Dev Art but it takes careful searching.

Maybe I should start an anime thread...

buttercup said:

Actually, as far as Anime is concerned, if we are speaking of films that would require a little adult supervision, there is Princess Mononoke. It is a little dark for younger viewers but it plays on a young girl who is raised by wolves (Not Jungle Bookish at all!) An evil physical sickness spreads amoung animals and humans where she lives. It is an extremely complicated film for me to describe but once you see it, I reccommend twice to catch everything, you might be surprised. I highly reccomend it because it also plays on the interdependencs of every living thing within an ecosystem and how much can change form one species gatting sick. Watch it and let me know what ya'll think, i would be curious to find out.

Hee hee! I love this film. It's one of my favorites from Miyazaki.

The sickness that buttercup is describing is the loss of nature's spirituality and man's connection to that supernatural element. As humans become more industrialized, as symbolized by Irontown, they lose their divine relationship that humans once had with the animals and forests. To feed their industrial growth, they have to cut down the forest, but this angers the forest spirits and it saps the spiritual essence of both the animals and plants. It comes to a point where it's man versus nature.

It's funny, but when this movie first came out people thought it was a family film because it was distributed by Disney. I wonder how people reacted in the theaters when they saw Ashitaka dismember one samurai and decapitate another within a span of three minutes.

- Aric