Child-friendly Movies / Movies for Kids

(Ok, I admit it: too much TV is bad. Read about the pitfalls here and let’s get on with the story, deal? :-) )

In our household, we have a tradition: Friday night is movie-night. It’s when we... ok, ok, I admit it... it’s when we all eat in front of the TV. Friday night is when we climb down the stairs to the basement TV room, together with a picnic blanket, water supplies and four dinner plates. (What are the TV rules in your family?) 

When the kids were 2.5 and 4.5 years old, selecting a movie suitable for the whole family was rather tricky. The 2-year old wanted to watch Maisy. The 4-year old wanted My Little Pony. The two adults wanted anything except Maisy and My Little Pony. Over the years, the adults increased their list of exceptions by:

• Thomas the Tank Engine
• Barney (the Beetroot Blob)
• Dora
• Pooh Bear, the Disney version, including
• Lumpy.

In desperation, we turned to

• the Barbie movies (which can be watched once by a normal adult without hurting the TV... too much)
• the animated Flintstones
• The Jetsons
• Asterix
• but not Tintin (the 4-year old gobbled it up even though she didn’t understand it, but the 2-year old got bored and wandered off to watch Maisy), and
• (surprise!) The Princess Bride.

Of course, there were also the usual suspects:

• The Incredibles
• Monsters Inc
• Madagascar
• but not Finding Nemo, because of the upsetting beginning.

It’s easier now, two years later. The 2.5-year old is now 4.5. He cried during the volcano scene in Madagascar 2, not only when the hero got threatened, but also when the baddie fell in, but he can sit through Mamma Mia, Monsters vs Aliens and laugh his head off during The gods must be crazy.

Meanwhile, the 6-year old and I get to go on mother-daughter dates to see Confessions of a Shopaholic.

What kids’ movies can you recommend? We’re out of ideas for this Friday....

PS: I found a useful guide to movie ratings here.