Movies suitable for preschoolers

[KBecks]

We like the idea of having family movie nights once in a while but haven't found many movies that are suitable for a toddler. We love Cars and the Curious George movie, and that's it.

Dave and I enjoyed Ratatoulle but Alek is not old enough for it. Same with Finding Nemo and Charlotte's Web, well Charlotte's Web might be OK.

We watched Dumbo and Pete's Dragon and they're both bad IMO.

Any suggestions?

[egoldber]

What did you find bad about those movies? The thing is different children are sensitive to different things. Movies that some kids really enjoy would frighten the pants off others.

Have you tried older movies like Mary Poppins and The Aristocats?

[KBecks]

I actually did not like Dumbo or Pete's Dragon as a child so I'm probably projecting my feelings onto the movies too. Both have drunk scenes which I think are confusing, and both are kind of drab and have mean characters, the Elephants on Parade song from Dumbo is psychadelic and just weird, and some of the scenes in Pete's Dragon are boring.

We had high hopes Alek would be ready for Ratatoulle but it's too scary and dark in the beginning and the kitchen staff is too bossy for him right now. I also think we're not ready for the Grinch, etc.

I'll look into the ones you mentioned, thank you! I'm also wondering about the Muppet Movies, although they may be a little boring, the Muppets are fun. There's also a Christmas one with some animals that live by the river and make a band that I'm trying to remember.

Dave rented Bambi too and I'm not going to let the kids see it yet.

[sarahsthreads]

There's also a Christmas one with some animals that live by the river and make a band that I'm trying to remember.
That would be Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. The Muppet Family Christmas movie is also nice.

A friend got me Babe and Babe, Pig in the City for Christmas, thinking that DD might be ready for those, but I'm going to watch them myself first because I can't remember them at all...

DD really enjoys some of the older Disney movies like Lady and the Tramp and Robin Hood. They had a different pace back then, kwim? She's also gotten into some of the Rankin & Bass movies - Rudolph, Frosty, etc, but at least Rudolph's a little on the scary side for her. She gets nervous about the monster scenes...doesn't stop her from asking to watch it over and over though!

Sarah

[ILoveLucy]

How about "The Wizard of Oz", "The Sound of Music", or "Annie"? I know there are scary parts, but overall great movies with uplifting themes.

[SnuggleBuggles]

If you skip the opening scene of Nemo is it ok? it was ds' favorite movie from like 18-24 months but I always skipped that. As he has gotten older he has become more afraid so won't watch it b/c of Bruce.

What about things like The Shaggy Dog, The Incredible Journey (2 dogs and cat get lost...Michael J Fox and Sally Fields do voices), Dr. Dolittle, Cheaper by the Dozen and other silly non animated movies?

Beth

[sadie427]

The Red Balloon, which is an old live-action kids movie, is good. We saw the penguin documentary (not Happy Feet, but the real one) when DS was quite young and he did fine. We just watched the Wallace and Grommit one with the three shorts and I think some of those might be ok for a toddler. Second Mary Poppins. There's a Winnie the Pooh movie DS likes, although I don't enjoy it all that much myself.

[hellokitty]

My kids can be really sensitive too, and my oldest son still cannot watch finding nemo w/o freaking out. Movies that they like are:

-Stuart Little
-Mary Poppins
-Polar Express (the broken toys scene is probably the scariest one, we sometimes fast forward through that part if the kids get freaked out, but they only freak out sometimes)
-Disney's robin hood
-Babe
-Disney's cinderella
-Cars
-Disney's bambi
-We also love the little bear movie
-Any of the beatrix potter movies are very gentle too

[KBecks]

Finding Nemo was too scary for me. :) I mean, I'm OK, but it's not what I'd have Alek watch. The sea turtles were cool though!

[kedss]

We found a DVD that has two Curious George Movies, plus Frog and Toad movies, both my 4 year old son and 3 year old nephews loved them. They aren't cartoons, but puppet animation from the 1980s(like Wallace and Gromit). There are also little movies about how they made them, and the boys liked watching them too..

We can't find the cartoon Frog and Toad movies, we think they are out of print.

http://www.amazon.com/Curious-George-Collectors/dp/B000BT994I

hth!

[ThreeofUs]

Finding Nemo was way too scary for DS. Pooh and Friends movies are some of our favorites, with George, Young Black Stallion, and some of the old Disney animal movies.

[kcandz]

My DC found Ratatouille too scary also - the old lady and the river part were too intense. It actually was not my intent for DC to see it, but it was on at someone's house. We have the DVD and will show the short film that is on there - the rat one, not the alien one. DC likes that.

Finding Nemo isn't just scary in the beginnning, I think the sharks are scary and the part in the dark is super scary. DC is very sensitive to scary stuff.

Have you tried the Winnie the Pooh movie - part of it has a weird dream that is similar to the one mentioned in Dumbo. DC doesn't understand what drunk means so just kind of rolls with it. I have no problem with showing Dumbo with that scene in it, but this is not the time IMO to show seperated from mom movies, which are Dumbo, Bambi, etc etc.

Regarding stuff that may be boring for you, the kids might love it. Or they may ask you to fast forward through it. That is what we do for some of Mary Poppins because it is quite long.

Have you tried the Wallace and Gromit short films? They are fun and about 30 minutes each. I second the rec for Lady and the Tramp.

My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service are really good for little ones.

[jhrabosk]

Glad you posted this b/c I've been curious, too about some other suggestions...

When my DD had her weekend EEG, DH rented The Tigger Movie and DD really liked it, so we bought it for Christmas. It's about an hour, so a good length. We also watched Monsters Inc that weekend and she LOVES it...asks for it all the time. We fast forward through what I consider to be the scarier parts (the two scenes in the "basement" and the one where Sully loses his temper and scares Boo).

I also just bought The Jungle Book...my mom has the storybook (Disney version) and DD really likes it. I want to watch it myself first though so that I can remember if there's anything scary.

Cinderella is a good idea...although I'm SO loathe to introduce the princesses...

And I have a friend whose kids love Mary Poppins.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I forgot to add George of the Jungle with Brendan Fraiser. I love that movie.

Beth

[Piglet]

We just started family movie night a few months back as a response to DS1 being petrified of movies. We figured that if we watched them at home he might realize they aren't so bad (he is very sensitive). So far we have watched:

Veggie Tales Jonah (our first attempt at making DS1 at ease with movies - it was very good)
Over the Hedge
Ice Age 2
Peter Pan (he thought it was thrilling, not scary - woohoo)
Muppets Wizard of Oz (we will be renting the other Muppet movies next - we all enjoyed this one a lot)
Curious George
Ratatouille
Shrek 3
Yellow Submarine (don't ask - both my boys adore this one and ask to see it again and again)

We are now trying to watch live-ish action movies as they tend to be less scary (i.e. Mary Poppins, Stuart Little). I think that Disney/Pixar really know how to pull at the emotions and it is too effective for the younger kids.
DS1 will not watch Finding Nemo for anything! He is totally scared to death of it.

Hope that helps,

[Piglet]

If you skip the opening scene of Nemo is it ok? it was ds' favorite movie from like 18-24 months but I always skipped that. As he has gotten older he has become more afraid so won't watch it b/c of Bruce.


Same here - DS1 watched it endlessly (as long as we FFed the opening) for the longest time when he was younger and now Bruce scares the pants off of him to the point that we can't even mention the movie!

[kijip]

What about the Harold and the Purple Crayon series that HBO put out on DVD? They are entertaining enough for adults (but maybe I just have simple tastes, I dunno).

[bubbaray]

You know, most Disney movies are still too long for DD#1. A lot of the classics have things in them I'm not crazy about at DD#1s age -- Bambi has hunting/guns & the fire scene, Peter Pan has a lot of fighting.

We've had more success with Dora, Winnie The Pooh, Clifford, Barney -- we have a lot of titles of each of these. DD#1 also recently started liking Little Einsteins, but she hated it at first.

Some of the newer Disney titles are shorter or have 2 movies on one disc, like Princess Enchanted Tales.

[Tondi G]

My little guy loves the Little Einsteins... might try those!

How about Toy Story and Toy Story 2?

My older DS's first love of Disney Movies was The Aristocats.

We like the Pooh movies... The Tigger Movie, Piglets Big Movie, Pooh's Heffalump Movie.

Lilo and Stitch is cute too

The Stuart Little live action movies might work for you.

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/01 and Aidan 5/05

[bisous]

We love having movie nights here!

I think it is great to be selective about the movies you show to your kids. Of course, everyone's standards are a little different.

Here are *my* favorite kids movies:

Lady and the Tramp
Babe
Many of the Winnie the Pooh episodes (the grand adventure can be scary)
Bambi (yes there is hunting but it is negatively portrayed and more symbolic than anything else so I'm okay with it)
Cinderella (my DS loves the mice)
Finding Nemo (IME this is the "Citizen Kane" of kids movies)
Homeward Bound
Wallace and Gromit
Milo and Otis (might make YOU cringe but it is a fave for the kids)
And I actually love Charlotte's Web as it provides a very sweet for me as DS fell in love with it during his hospital stay.

I also like all of the preschool directed videos and series. Off the top of my head I can think of Clifford and the Backyardigans that are really nice and appropriate for the littlest kids and I think parents will like them okay too. :)

Jen

[lizajane]

my kids absolutely love cinderella two. they laugh hysterically.

[August Mom]

I think videos with favorite characters are better than full length Disney features for the most part. We had a lot of Thomas and Franklin DVDs. Not sure how you feel about Christian videos/movies, but we have favorites in that genre - positive messages, not too long and nothing scary. The Hermie and Friends series by Max Lucado is great. Kurt Warner also has a couple out called The Good Sports Gang.

The only Disney movie DS really liked was Scamp's Great Adventure (the straight to DVD sequel to Lady & the Tramp).

He likes Cars and Curious George okay.

[Neatfreak]

Adding:

Meet the Robinsons - I can't quite put my finger on what about this film holds my 3.5 year old's attention, but she loves it. Maybe it's because the protagonists are kids? Anyway, I adore this Pixar film as well.

Bambi II - this sequel is really well done, and there are no guns and no one dies. There is one scary parts, IIRC, where a deer is chased by a pack of dogs. And both Thumper and Flower are in the film as well ...

[TahliasMom]

until 3, DD mostly watched preschool series (Dragon Tales, Clifford, Curious George) and still does but she's starting to get into movies.

Faves:
Dumbo
Nemo
The Rescuers
The Secret of Nimh
Charlotte's Web
Cinderella
Bug's Life
All 3 Shrek's
Alvin and the Chipmunks (just saw it in theater and will get it on DVD)
Ratotuille
Monsters Inc.
Curious George
Elmo's World
Little Mermaid
Tangerine Bear
My Friend Totoro

So so:
Meet the Robinsons' (made her cry, the beg of where the baby was abandoned freaked her out and so did the mean man)
Polar Express
The Jungle Book
Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (she loves Pooh IRL)
Cars (showing some interest)