Kevin's Watch

I thought I would start this topic for all of us who have kids (or just like fid movies)
I have a 3 year old and have been looking for alternatives to Disney/Pixar stuff. Having said that, my daughter loves Incredibles, Lilo & Stitch, etc... (which I do too, thankfully). But also looking for more options.

A couple which i have 'recently' discovered that we all liked are:

Kiki's Delivery Service
Milo & Otis

Kiki's is an animate movie my Miziaki (Spirited Away & Howl's Moving Castle to name a few). This one is pure magic with absolutely nothing objective in it whatsoever, ... AND it is still very entertaining. Surprising I know. The animation is excellent as always, the characters are funny, and the situations very interesting. There are no bad guys, no world apocolypce, no kidnappings or even gun play ... yet somehow this is a fun movie for parents and kids.

Milo & Otis is an interesting one. My wife picked it up 'cause it was $9 (Canadian!) and is a live action movie featuring a cat and a dog. Narrated, it is about the life of these two cute animals who share an unlike friendship. Apparently it took 4 years to make, and shows a maticulousness in its storytelling and images. I thought it was pretty entertaining and the cute factor is there. And the adults watching may finds themselves asking (as I did), "Wow, how did they get those animals to do that?"
My guess is a little coaxing, training and 4 years in the making....

Any other good ones?

My oldest son, Justin, is now 5. He discovered Thomas the Tank Engine a couple of years ago, right about when he was about 2 and a half years old. He loves that show. We took him to see Thomas in Chatanooga a couple of years ago, too.

My youngest is now 18 months, and he loves to watch it, too.

I like it cuz the wooden set that we bought him for Christmas a few years back is very durable and expandable. And what can I say, I like trains...

The show itself is fun and clean, and teaches morals and values.

our grandson loves Veggie Tales. on dvd or cd.
www.bigidea.com/

I haven't really gone to kids movies, other than Disney/Pixar and Harry Potter ones. Would you be interested in the older classics? Such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?

Adrien's top 3: A Bug's Life, Wallace and Grommit-Curse of the Were-Rabbit and the Polar Express (not counting Toy Story 1 & 2, Bob the Builder and Clifford the Big Red Dog).

After my 5 year old saw Willy Wonka (I rented it for him when Charlie & the Chocolate Factory was newly released), he loved it. Willy Wonka still holds a kind of magic for me after all of these years.

But not so for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

After Justin loved Willy Wonka, I thought that the natural progression would then be to get him Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I loved that movie when I was a kid. But after watching it again with Justin, I had completely forgotten how long of a movie it was, or how much of a musical it was. It definately lost a lot of the luster for me from when I saw it as a child, and Justin didn't care for it that much, either.

Musicals are OK, a lot of the animated classics have great musical segments. But CCBB's music was lame, even for my 5 year old.

It's not a movie but everyone with young kids should check out a cartoon series called "Magic School Bus".

And it's not about magic either it's a science show.
My 6yo daughter has been watching it for a few years now.
It's pretty amazing how much stuff she picks up from that show.

It's been out a while and can be found in every store.
We get them from the library.

www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/home.htm

My grandkids always liked Stewart Little and (a classic, but goodie) Aristocats.
Lion King is an old favorite of theirs (and mine).
These are just to name but a few...

Toy Story I & II
a Bugs Life
Shrek I & II

all movies the kids love that adults can enjoy.

All great picks, many of which my little one loves. But I think I may try some older 'classics'. My dad gave us 'Hans Cristina Anderson' last year, but she was too young to appreciate it (2 years).. so I may try it again.
OH! I just remembered on in my huge VHS collection...

Anyone ever seen the 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (or something like that). It's a live action movie based on a Dr.Susse story. The visuals are great and some of the scenes I recall are hilarious. I'll have to dust that off...
And HL Tolkein, it's funny you mention the magic school bus .. it has slipped in to the eraly morning view on the kids channel we allow her to watch for about 45 minutes while we feed her and dress her in the morning. And although I like the stories and adventures they get in to, I am not a fan of the animation. Yucky. Having said that, my daughter loves it. So, there is Todd's World followed by Magic School Bus...

Emmit Otter's Jugband Christmas
any of the older Charlie Brown movies.
the Incredible Mr. Limpett

I remember Milo and Otis, it never got as wide a release as it should have, I thought. I remember my Mum liking it because it was narrated by Dudley Moore.

any of the Muppet Movies are great.

Usivius wrote:And although I like the stories and adventures they get in to, I am not a fan of the animation. Yucky. Having said that, my daughter loves it. So, there is Todd's World followed by Magic School Bus...

Hahaha...
I feel the same way about the animation.
But remember, to a 5 year old it doesn't matter.

Anytime my daughter mentions or knows something that I find interesting or I'm surprised that she knows about it at all and I ask her where she learned that, I expect "school" but usually it's "magic school bus".


My kids also liked the new Garfield.
I thought it was poor but they were laughing and it's very safe for kids so what do I know.

Then there's "The Master of Disguise"

www.imdb.com/title/tt0295427/

This is a great kids movie.
Lots of fun, my kids 6 and 3 laugh alot through it.
No violence worse than a fake slap.
It's kinda cool how they did it.
I mean, there *are* bad henchmen that chase the good guys but there's no guns or crashes.
Dana Carvey said that he wanted to make a movie safe for his own kids and he did it.
(A lot of Watch members hated it though but then again they aren't 8yo)

Don't forget:
The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins for your girl either, Usivius.
And if she likes SuperHeroes you might want to check out the DVD release of Wonder Woman from the '70s.
Yes, I had to go back 30 years to find a positive strong superheroine rolemodel for my daughter!
But those DVD's are fun and easy on my eyes too.
Did you know that one of Wonder Woman's powers on that show was to calm and befriend any animal?
I didn't but my daughter picked up on that right away.

My daughter, huge princess fan at five but not so much now, also loves the many Barbie movies that are out now.

The animation is pretty good and the storys are sweet, SWAN LAKE, RAPUNZEL, THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER we saw and liked.

Thanks again all. Great suggestions HLTolkein. She got her first Barbie movie last week (Nutcracker) and a Strawberry Shortcake video. But I never thought about the Dana Carvey movie. I don't like him, but I have heard many people say exactly what you did. So maybe we will give it a try ("Am I too turtle for the Turtle Club?... Turtle turtle....")

It's funny, I watched Mary Poppins last year and forgot how LOOONG that movie is --- 2 and half hours! But lots of fun. I'll dust that one off too.

My wife is overly sensitive about content. I am a little more 'liberal' feeling that as long as I am watching with her and 'explaing' things, it's fine. I like Powerpuff Girls, for example....

Finding Nemo. Any reason it would not be included in this discussion? IMO, it's a better than either Shrek movie.

Nemo is great,
as was Master of Disguise (Turtle, Turtle)
Super Friends was cheesy, but kid friendly.
and at a later age, introduce the kids to world of Syd and Marty Kroft.

he Kroft Super Show! GOD i remember that. sort of .....
<tips head back with a distant look and allows mind to go back some 30-odd years.....>

thehub.capcollege.bc.ca/~sstubbs/krofftsite/