We like to sometimes snuggle up on cold winter afternoons for a film but I am really struggling with getting the right type! both mine (nearly 6, and 4 1/2) are very easily terrified/traumatised by anything which involves anything mildly ‘dark’..peril, trauma, violence… and are particularly sensitive to anything where a child (animal or human) is separated from its parents/loved one ..Ice Age was a BIG Mistake! Dumbo had them in hysterics..BOLT was even worse! its amazing how most of these things seem to be included in every single film! Mary Poppins was a big success last week..they do like singing and dancing so that went down well..phew!
So does anyone have any recommendations for nice family films :o)
I have a DS like that so we have tended to stick to DVDs of old tv progs eg Mr Benn, Bagpuss or the feature length films for tv progs out now like The Thomas Films. They bore me to tears though so will be interested in other peoples suggestions!
Madagascar is a big hit here, and Surfs Up, Cars. A lot of the pixar ones, maybe Toy Story 1 (definatley not number 3, we went to the cinema to see that and we all left traumatised!). Ige Age was also a no go here too!
mummyk, we have the same problem with our almost 6.5 yo and 4yo and I’m afraid our solution is we don’t watch any story-based films. They even baulked at watching a Brambly Hedge with some “mild peril”, so we stick to things without that sort of thing. Yes it means we may have to watch 4 “Abney and Teal"s in a row but there we go, that’s where they are at! They did enjoy Mary Poppins and pretty much managed the Snowman over Christmas. We have things like Stuart Little and Babe and other films that have been recommended but we (DH and I) will have to make time to watch them one evening before showing them. We were told Cars would probably be OK, not the sequel though.
To be honest I’m fine with them preferring to listen to stories on CD or similar, at least we can sit by our woodburner and listen to them! But I’ll watch here to see what other people recommend.
Cars was ok here as well, not tried cars 2 yet. The snowman and Raymond Briggs Father Christmas but not the right time of year really, one of the wallace and gromit ones was ok but I can’t remember which one!
Really hard to think of films without some kind of even mild peril. Every film I think about I can think of something that would possibly not suit a sensitive child. Can they watch nature type films - or are they a no-no as animals may be eaten or hunt others?
The Japanese ones are probably the mildest, think someone has already suggested Ponyo above. Another one is My Neighbour Totoro, although you my want to watch it first to check it’s suitable for your child. We also liked Kiki’s Delivery Service, lovely story to the film - quite empowering for young girls. Again, check what you think though. I’m writing as a parent of a child that isn’t affected by mild peril so not sure what more sensitive children would like.
Really hard to think of films without some kind of even mild peril. Every film I think about I can think of something that would possibly not suit a sensitive child. Can they watch nature type films - or are they a no-no as animals may be eaten or hunt others?
The Japanese ones are probably the mildest, think someone has already suggested Ponyo above. Another one is My Neighbour Totoro, although you my want to watch it first to check it’s suitable for your child. We also liked Kiki’s Delivery Service, lovely story to the film - quite empowering for young girls. Again, check what you think though. I’m writing as a parent of a child that isn’t affected by mild peril so not sure what more sensitive children would like.
Yeah some of the Japanese ones are quite dark. Grave of the Fireflies had me in tears.
Yeah some of the Japanese ones are quite dark. Grave of the Fireflies had me in tears.
Yeah, it’s hard to guess what other peoples children would and wouldn’t like, some of the others are darker and more peril, lovely films but not for some.
Just remembering something one of dd’s friends and her younger sister watch a lot (the friend is quite sensitive to peril) is Lost and Found - Olover Jeffers. I hear it’s a nice dvd, although I haven’t seen it. I remember reading the book in the past but can’t remember that much either, maybe check it out on amazon or similar for synopsis/reviews.
Don’t let them watch Cars 2, its really not as nice as the first - oil barons and missiles!
With regard to the Japanese films, I would suggest you watching them without the kids first. We were recommended not to watch Ponyo as my eldest has/had fear of water
