tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post6178406454382088371..comments2023-12-20T16:39:22.881-08:00Comments on The Playful Spirit: Movie KeepersLady Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11020623415811439210noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-46324834843190665812010-04-27T08:22:33.745-07:002010-04-27T08:22:33.745-07:00I'm getting some wonderful suggestions on the ...I'm getting some wonderful suggestions on the OGrownups list and, with their permission, am reposting here so I can keep track!<br /><br />Sarah Biddle:<br />I'm not sure if I should share here or on your blog site, but here goes!<br /><br />We also love Matilda - one of the few movies that is just as entertaining<br />for the adults as well as the kiddos. (Ditto The Princess Bride.)<br /><br />The Adventures of Milo and Otis - I recommend without reservations, great<br />movie with a live dog and cat having adventures, all narrated by Dudley<br />Moore. You can rent or I've seen it at Target for $5.00!!<br /><br />Movies by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki - Ponyo was a recent release<br />here in the states, but our other favorites are My Neighbor Totoro, and<br />Kiki's Delivery Service. These would be good for younger children - he has<br />some other movies, but they deal with slightly more mature themes and can<br />have some scary stuff - still good for older kids. (I rent them at Netflix)<br /><br />For anyone with girls - we LOVE the Barbie movies. They are generally much<br />better than the Disney Princess movies. In all of the movies Barbie is an<br />independent minded character who actively pursues her goals and solves her<br />own problems using her mind. She is never waiting for a prince to rescue her<br />(she even rescues him occasionally) - all the while she remains very<br />feminine without any of today's "Girls Rule" kind of attitude. (They do<br />sometimes have little, side-kick animals who talk a sort of gibberish baby<br />talk I find annoying, but Darcy thinks they are very funny.)<br /><br />However, not all the Barbie movies are equally good. <br />My favorites are: The Princess and the Pauper<br /> Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus (set to Beethoven's<br />6th)<br /> The Nutcracker<br /> The Three Musketeers<br /> A Mermaid Tale<br />The rest of the movies are good, but not up to the caliber of these five. I<br />have not watched Thumbelina (I think it has an environmentalist message) or<br />A Christmas Carol (ditto altruism) but I would be interested to hear if<br />anyone else has seen these and what you think.<br /><br /><br />Happy movie viewing!!<br />Sarah<br /><br />I forgot to mention in the Barbie movies there are occasional, minor “blunders” – like saying an evil character is behaving selfishly…<br /> <br />Princess and the Pauper also has a flawed view of economics, but we have found these flaws have offered great opportunities to discuss these issues with Darcy. I actually like that it provides us the chance to deprogram some of this stuff before it sinks in too far.<br /> <br />[Another friend recommended the Barbie movie, Twelve Dancing Princesses as particularly good too.]<br /><br />Daniel Casper:<br />The Great Mouse Detective - Sherlock Holmes for kids, with explicit message to value the mind<br />Case Closed - Anime with young detective (again, Sherlock Holmes for kids, crimes do include murder).<br /><br />Oh yea, Antz has a theme of people determining their own path and not adhering to a caste system.<br /> <br />There's also a movie called Vitus which is about a boy genius who has to protect himself from his misguided parents (that's something for a young teen). The romance sub-plot is the only esthetic flaw of the movie.Lady Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020623415811439210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-11562765435825477112010-04-26T12:56:04.472-07:002010-04-26T12:56:04.472-07:00Megan: You know, Mary Poppins was in the same cat...Megan: You know, Mary Poppins was in the same category as The Sound of Music i.e. I liked it and my son just wasn't grabbed. When I thought about it from the parenting perspective, I saw these pros and cons.<br />Pros: The kids want to help find their new nanny and take the action of writing an advertisement. Mary Poppins doesn't scold and although she can be a bit demeaning, she generally doesn't try to force the kids. There's the general attitude that it doesn't take much (just a spoonful of sugar) to make things better and it's clearly implied that it's worth the effort.<br />Cons: Lots of tangents that can be confusing (like the tea party on the ceiling with the idea that laughing can make you float or the navy man that shoots fireworks and a cannon off his roof). An ambiguity about important things, like loosing a job, being worth brushing off with silly words and jokes. A family situation that takes lots of explaining (patronizing dad especially). <br /><br />So, there's lots of opportunity for confusion in the movie and I think that's why it never really captivated my kiddo. The music is delightful though and I'm often found singing "Lets go fly kite" when it's sunny and breezy :)Lady Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020623415811439210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-82489354073867771682010-04-26T12:01:42.376-07:002010-04-26T12:01:42.376-07:00What about Mary Poppins? It's been a while sin...What about Mary Poppins? It's been a while since I've seen it, but some of the things I remember include finding ways for both parties to be happy (Mary fits both the father's qualifications as a nanny and the children's), finding ways to make everything fun, and (for the father) recognizing the value in relationships. I would love a short review from someone who's seen it more recently than I have.Megan Rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-34522843258640520732010-04-26T09:22:55.809-07:002010-04-26T09:22:55.809-07:00Wow, OK, the movie is ordered and the book + audio...Wow, OK, the movie is ordered and the book + audio book placed on hold at the library... I'm excited about meeting Matilda :)<br /><br />My husband and I stopped purchasing TV service a few years before my son was born, so we've had the same experience of building a quality video-library. It seems like videos are favorite gifts to purchase off wish lists too, so if there are birthdays or holidays coming up and I want to expand the library, I usually just do the research and update the list and wind up with a gift that makes both me and my son happy :)Lady Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020623415811439210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-85696033089760869712010-04-26T09:03:39.150-07:002010-04-26T09:03:39.150-07:00Amy, building a video library is exactly what we d...Amy, building a video library is exactly what we did with Livy from the beginning to handle the bad stuff that I don't like on TV. We don't have cable, so she is always watching movies that I am okay with (though she has received some I don't absolutely love). Now she does watch TV some at her dad's house, but I like that when she sometimes goes on a TV watching bender, she is watching things I feel okay about.Kelly Elmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10102128866306605457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-19089817611213666632010-04-26T09:01:25.132-07:002010-04-26T09:01:25.132-07:00Yes, Rachel, that is the Matilda I'm talking a...Yes, Rachel, that is the Matilda I'm talking about. We LOVE it! It is a great Rohld Dahl book, as well. The movie is actually pretty faithful to the book.Kelly Elmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10102128866306605457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-46857427515432418582010-04-26T07:10:43.695-07:002010-04-26T07:10:43.695-07:00We're watching The Sound of Music right now. W...We're watching The Sound of Music right now. We're only halfway through (it's way too long for a 3-year-old) and I can't remember how it ends, so I don't know yet if I'd give it a wholehearted endorsement. But Sam is loving the music and I'm finding Julie Andrews' character to be marvelously benevolent and admirable.<br /><br />I recently decided that it is time to start building a video library for Sam, so that when she does watch video, she'll have plenty of good choices instead of the junk on TV. Thanks for this timely list!Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16540136429022445258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-56101573390672758462010-04-26T02:55:09.771-07:002010-04-26T02:55:09.771-07:00We love Matilda (that one), too. There is some ser...We love Matilda (that one), too. There is some serious suspense whenever the evil Miss Trunchbull is on screen, but it is a wonderful movie. <br /><br />I had forgotten all about the Rescuers Down Under - that was another favorite of my now older children. <br /><br />Great list.Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12178771612031280593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-62993889910807693302010-04-25T22:56:04.349-07:002010-04-25T22:56:04.349-07:00Kelly: I remember loving the Parent Trap and we do...Kelly: I remember loving the Parent Trap and we do own it. I don't think I've tried it with my son yet, but he's getting the concept of camp and I bet he'd love it. Thanks for the suggestion!<br /><br />I've never heard of Matilda. Is this the one you're talking about?<br />Product Description from Amazon:<br />See the world from a kid's-eye view with Matilda, a modern fairytale that mixes hilarious humor with the magical message of love. Mrs. Doubtfire's Mara Wilson stars as Matilda, a super-smart little girl who's woefully misunderstood by her parents (Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman), her brother, and an evil school principal. But with the help of a brave best friend and a wonderful teacher, Matilda discovers she doesn't have to get mad to get even.Lady Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020623415811439210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1066815446051662.post-69561338629166575462010-04-25T22:51:11.099-07:002010-04-25T22:51:11.099-07:00We love the old and new Parent Trap and Matilda. ...We love the old and new Parent Trap and Matilda. Have you seen either of those?Kelly Elmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10102128866306605457noreply@blogger.com