Movie Talk: "Hidden Gems For Kids"

I've recently been talking with a friend who wondered about my possibly writing reviews from a parental perspective, pointing out aspects of films that might or might not be appropriate for young viewers in, say, their teens. I totally agree that this is a perspective on reviews that parents have every right to have. The problem is, even at my advanced age, I've never been married and never had children, so writing from that perspective would be tricky, to say the least. (And I haven't actually been a teen myself since around the stone age.) Since I do believe people who want that in their reviews have every right to be served in that way, however, I will include a link after the end of this posting that will connect you to a site that does just that. Hopefully, it will give folks exactly what they're looking for. And since, in my opinion, what's fitting for smaller kids hasn't changed that much over the years, I've decided to include a "Movie talk" today listing ten of the better movies of the past 15 years aimed at that audience. And since everybody already knows about Disney and Pixar and such, I've decided to concentrate on movies that weren't chart-topping blockbusters, that you might have missed. And by the way, if you really do want comments of a "family" nature, feel free to suggest it. I don't know that I'm really qualified, but Id be willing to try if there's really any interest.

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"The Secret Of Roan Inish" (1995). John Sayles takes a break from adult films to give us one of the most charming and enchanting children's fables in years. A young boy disappears while looking for the island of the Silkie, a strange creature not exactly seal-like but not quite human, either, and his sister goes in search of him, not prepared for the wonder she will find. Inspired by an Irish folk legend, "The Secret Of Roan Inish" has more of the genuine feel of a fairy tale on film than any other movie I can think of, as well as a sister ready to risk anything to save and protect her brother. Parents AND kids should be able to appreciate that.

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"The Indian In The Cupboard" (1995). A lot of children's movies have involved children's relationships with unusual beings, and this is a prime example (and one of the better ones) as a young boy befriends the spirit of a native American brave in, yes, his cupboard. The film actually has a good deal more respect for native American culture and traditions than most movies for adults, and some good lessons about friendship. Of course, a real sense of wonder and adventure doesn't hurt, either.

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"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1996). Well SORT OF a true story. Based on the true story of two girls in England who claimed to have taken actual photographs of real fairies (they later admitted faking them, but this film takes the position that the photos were real), the story has a great deal of charm and magic throughout. Not to mention some fine acting from Peter O'Toole as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harvey Keitel as Harry Houdini, both of whom arrived to investigate the girls' story. The movie is almost enough to make you actually believe in fairies, at least for the length of the film.

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"The King Of Masks" (1999). This film from China (yes, there are sub-titles) is about a period in Chinese history when girls weren't valued very highly. A young girl disguised as a boy gets adopted by an old street performer who wants to pass on his art of mask performance to a son, and reacts badly when he finds out his child's true gender... until he gets in trouble and finds his daughter does have some value after all at rescuing him. A delightful story about valuing those who don't seem to have value and about the importance of relationships between old and young. Seriously, don't let the sub-titles keep you away. This is a winner.

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"The Iron Giant" (1999). Director Brad Bird hit the big time when he went to Pixar and made "The Incredibles", but he started out at Warner Brothers with this hand-drawn animated story of a young boy who befriends an alien robot sent to Earth as a weapon of war, and who decides that's NOT what he wants to be. Very funny, touching and featuring an authentic 1950's period setting, "The Iron Giant" is ultimately about how a person has it within their own power to decide what they really are, no matter who tells them what they're "supposed to" be. And it's another charming story of friendship. Voice performances by Jennifer Anniston, Harry Connick Jr., John Mahoney of "Frasier" and, of all people, Vin Deisel as the Iron Giant.

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"Princess Mononoke" (1999). From Japanese master animated Hayao Miyazaki (available in both sub-titled and English-dubbed versions). This is an action-packed story focusing on Miyazaki's favorite theme: the ways in which we do harm to our planet and nature, and the ways in which it might be saved in spite of us. And it's filled with a multitude of fascinating creatures, magical happenings and more. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is that there really are no villains: even the characters our heroes are fighting against are merely trying to help people in the only way they know how.

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"Saroja" (2001). From Sri Lanka (with sub-titles), this children's film has more to say, more effectively, about the folly and stupidity of war than most adult films have ever managed to accomplish. Two young girls befriend each other in spite of belonging to separate sides in a war (not that they would have cared if they had known). But their parents and other adults care, and the friendship won't be easy. The children have a lot to teach the adults about the futility and pointlessness of their actions, if only the adults could be able to listen. Especially poignant post-9/11 and Iraq.

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"Spirited Away" (2002). Another great one from Miyazaki. This "Alice In Wonderland"-style tales tells about a young girl and her parents who wander into an enchanted amusement park just over the border of an enchanted land. When her parents are put under a spell, the girl has to cross the land looking for allies who will help her defeat the forces who enchanted her parents and are trying to prevent them from escaping. Filled with all the magic and mystical creatures of "Princess Mononoke", with the addition of a brave heroine who cares enough about her parents to risk her life to rescue them.

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"Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit" (2005). Nick Park's short films about the dim-witted but likable Wallace and his much smarter dog, Gromit, have chamred audiences for years and won several short-film Oscars. Their first feature does the same on a larger scale, as a strange gigantic rabbit-like creature menaces their small town and it appears to up to Wallace & Gromit to stop it. The feature, like the short films, is made in an old-fashioned claymation style, and children should be every bit as captivated by it as they are by the latest high-tech digital wizardry.

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"Bridge To Terabithia" (2007). Based on the modern classic children's novel, this film is about subjects such as friendship, seeing the wonder all around us in the supposedly mundane "real" world, and the importance of imagination. A young boy becomes friends with a female schoolmate and the two of them create the imaginary real of Terabithia, where they have amazing adventures. Alert to parents: it's also a story about coping with loss in a very real-world way, but after all, better to have the kids prepared for that sort of thing than to have it catch them by surprise.

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Well, hopefully, that will give you some good ideas. And hopefully if you're looking for more detailed ideas about appropriate films for young audiences, the link below will be of help to you. AND, hopefully Hubpages will eventually get a feature that lets you change the TITLE of your hub after publication so I don't have to leave typographical errors in it like the one in this title (oh, well) .Happy movie watching!