Movies

A sickening majority of children’s movies have male leads, and many have exclusively male casts (I’m looking at you, Pixar!) A young girl might just conclude that her doings and adventures are of no interest to anyone. Cast that misperception aside with films where girls are in the center of the action.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Like many of Miyazaki’s films, a young girl is the main character: Kiki, a 13-year-old witch in training, who begins a delivery service that takes advantage of her ability to fly.

Kit Kittredge

A plucky young girl helps her mother run a boardinghouse in Cincinnati during the Great Depression, and through her resourcefulness, ends up writing for a big city paper and solving a mystery.

A Little Princess

When Sara’s diamond magnate father dies while she’s away at a girls’ school, her fortunes abruptly reverse themselves and she’s forced to become a scullery maid. Yet her kindly, princesslike nature never falters.

Annie

An orphan finds a family in a place she never expected in this classic musical set during the Depression. Warning: might ignite a passion for jazz hands.

The Parent Trap

A pair of separated twins meet by chance at a summer camp and decide to play a trick on their divorced parents. Both the 1960s version with Hayley Mills and the remake with Lindsay Lohan are charming.

Traditional fairy tales are so creepy. And that’s why we love them. The eye-gougings, the princes that suddenly turn into ravens, the witches burnt to death in ovens, all of it speaks to something primal within us. Adaptations of classic fairy tales by Disney and others tend to dumb down their violent and scary aspects, creating something fluffier and less offensive, but somehow less compelling as well.

The Storyteller, a television series directed and produced by Muppeteer Jim Henson in the late ’80s, does no such sweetening. Each of the nine live-action 22 minute episodes retells a traditional folk tale, usually German, and is narrated by the great John Hurt, practically unrecognizable in his fantasy makeup but retaining his customary gravitas. The tales themselves are also given a majestic weight, with screenplays by Oscar winner Anthony Mingella, and fantastic character actors such as Brenda Blethyn, Miranda Richardson, and Jennifer Saunders (years before Ab Fab). Both acting and production values are of such top quality that each episode is like a mini-movie instead of a disposable kids’ show.

And what tales, full of horrific happenings! Sapsorrow, a Cinderella-like tale in which a princess is ordered to marry her own father; the Luck Child, in which an infant is thrown bodily off a cliff (and survives!). You may not recognize the narratives, but you will recognize their mythic weight. Oh, and speaking of myths, there’s a second four-episode Storyteller series that takes on Greek myths. Both the original Storyteller and the Greek myths version aired on NBC, and, in the late ’90s, on HBO. These days both are available on DVD, as well as free for Netflix members on Netflix’s Watch Instantly.

Why are so many children’s cartoons voiced by adults putting on fake kid voices? It only takes two minutes of ultra-whiny PBS faves Angelina Ballerina and Calliou before the voices begin drilling maddeningly into your head. That’s not what you need when you’re trying to take five minutes for yourself.

British export Rubbadubbers is both gentle on parents’ ears and beloved by kids. Though the stop-motion characters are indeed voiced by adults, they’re not shrill or whiny. Instead, the characters speak in whimsical Scottish burrs or loose, pleasant English accents that lend a pleasant loopy spice to their imaginary adventures.

Parents will also enjoy the Rubbadubbers‘ setting: a giant bathtub. All the characters are bath toys (well, almost all. Robot Reg is actually a bedroom toy but he likes playing with the bath toys), and they announce the (never-seen) arrival of the children of the house with the joyous time “Bathtime scramble!” Hmm, I wonder how many parents have gotten their kids into the tub with this same call?

Rubbadubbers airs regularly as part of PBS Sprout’s Sunny Side Up show at 9am EST daily. There are also free Rubbadubbers games and videos available at sproutonline.com, and several Rubbadubbers DVDs. Oh, and they’re available for free instant viewing online for Netflix members.

Uma Thurman’s character Eliza Welch doesn’t fit the typical New York mom stereotypes. She’s not a sanctimommy (although a blogger calls her one) with a holier-than-thou attitude, organically stocked pantry and belief that chocolate is an addictive drug. Nor is she a hire-a-village (nannies, tutors, life coaches) type. And that’s refreshing.

Eliza is simply another harried parent trying to make it through the day with all the pieces of her family intact. Motherhood takes us through “a day in the life of Eliza” as the SAHM blogs, gets ready for her daughter’s birthday party, navigates playground politics, wades through her cluttered apartments and tries to find a parking spot, a few sample sale bargains and her identity. Oh, yeah - she’s also attempting to land a new writing gig to help her return to some semblance of her pre-kids self. In a nutshell, although she sports a series of beyond-horrendous moo moos, Eliza is a woman with whom many of us can identify. Thurman has some touching moments with ER alum Anthony Edwards, who plays her onscreen DH. And Minnie Driver has comedic kick as Thurman’s BFF. But the standout scene belongs to newcomer Arjun Gupta as the easy-on-the-eye, Indian messenger who delivers so much more than just an envelope (not what you’re thinking!). Spoiler alert: It’s one hell of a dance scene.

Motherhood manages to hit the high and low notes of parenting, plus many in between, sans the saccharin and nary a housekeeper in sight.

Motherhood opens today in NY, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco and Boston.

Why are so many kids’ movies so scary? Forget about Disney until your child is at least five or extremely stoic. Even Pixar’s gentler flicks are filled with horrors: mother fish who swim away and never come back (Finding Nemo), scary neighbors who like to make hideous creatures from toys (Toy Story). Watching a movie’s no fun if it results in nightmares for days afterwards.

The Scholastic Storybook Treasures collection is much sweeter stuff. These animated and live-action versions of classic tales are a thrill for kids whose parents have read them the book versions of tales like Strega Nona, Where the Wild Things Are, and Good Night, Gorilla. The stories are gentle enough for toddlers, but lively enough for preschoolers, and even grade schoolers. They come in many collections: James Marshall fairytales, scary stories for Halloween, stories about trains, buses, and cars. But once you get hooked on them, you’re going to want to shell out for the big kahuna: 100 stories collected into 16 oh-so-worth-it DVDs, or 881 glorious minutes when you can allow your child to watch something without having your finger hovering over the fast-forward button on your DVD player.

Scholastic Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics (Scholastic Video Collection), $89.99

For every woman who squirmed her way through the anti-feminist messages in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ponyo is sweet relief. Based loosely on the same Hans Christian Andersen tale, Ponyo is a goldfish princess whose fierce determination to be with the human Sosuke causes a tsunami. Ponyo must then restore the balance between humankind and nature, saving Sosuke’s small fishing village.

The girl-power themes are many: Ponyo herself is a strong female character, while her mother the ocean queen is both powerful and kind. Most important of all, Ponyo is the center of the story, making a hero’s journey and not just fighting for her man.

Helmed by Hayao Miyazaki, this film is aimed at a younger audience than his Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle. Kids as young as five will be able to appreciate the gentle fable, and the violence is subdued enough that all but the most sensitive won’t be frightened.

Ponyo is in theaters nationwide.

Watching a movie with a young child can be a dicey proposition. What can seem like a harmless kid flick can contain scenes of animal torture (The Secret of Nimh, Babe: Pig in the City) or snuffing (Bambi), the death of parents (practically every Disney flick ever made), and a host of other horrors. If you have a sensitive kid, you’ll want to know in advance what you’re going to see.

That’s where Commonsense Media comes in. Like a Consumer Reports for kids’ media, Commonsense rates movies, games, books, music, TV shows, and websites for parents. What might give parents pause? What age is it intended for? What might parents want to discuss with kids? Commonsense flags anything that might be worrisome, including violence, sex, cursing, and consumerism.

Parents can look up particular movies or games by name or age group, or get ideas for what to consume from Commonsense’s lists of recommended media picks.

Pictured: Rodents are sucked down a vent to their deaths in The Secret of NIHM.

The age of modern parenthood has brought us a lot to be thankful for on a superficial level: Baby Einstein videos, the Diaper Genie (and successors), and strollers that come in colors other than black, gray and navy. But perhaps the mother of all inventions is the portable DVD player, guaranteed to provide Junior with hours of entertainment on planes, trains and in automobiles. Here are some new DVDs to give your player a workout this summer and beyond.

He lives in pineapple under the sea and just celebrated his 10th anniversary. He is, of course, SpongeBob. In the title episode (a new one) “To Squarepants or Not to Squarepants,” SpongeBob has shrunk his last pair of square pants and can’t find any additional pairs in the local stores. (Guess they don’t have Google in Bikini Bottom.) Will anyone recognize America’s most famous sponge without his pants? This DVD contains eight episodes in all.

The sassy 6-and-3/4-year-old, who can accessorize like no celebrity pig since Kermit’s gal pal, Miss Piggy, makes her full-length DVD debut. Olivia contains one new episode plus three others new to DVD (eight episodes total). See how our attention-loving heroine reacts when she’s cast as “Cow #2″ in the school play after Francine gets the lead.

Never have buttons seemed so scary. This Tim Burton-esque film isn’t for every kid. In this stop-action, animated movie, Coraline, dissatisfied with her life, enters an alternate universe with an Other Mother and Other Father, who at first appear to be model parents. But all is not as it seems. Hence, the movie’s tagline: Be careful what you wish for. Not for the child who is easily spooked. Three-D version available.

Coming soon …

Newsflash: Each train is finally getting its own voice! (It’s about time.) Thomas, Percy, et al. help save new friend Hiro from the scrapyard in this animated movie. Special DVD features include a Thomas & Spencer racing game and a Thomas & Friends Bedroom Makeover. (Coming 9/8)

British icons Wallace and Gromit long ago catapulted themselves into in an elite category of children’s entertainment - the much-sought-after realm of cross-generational appeal. Translation: you’ll actually enjoy their films. In Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, a British Academy Award winner for Short Animation, W & G open a bakery called Top Bun. But their timing’s not so great. A murderer is targeting all the bakers in town. Gromit must discover the identity of the Cereal Killer before BFF Wallace becomes his next victim. This is the dynamic duo’s first, new half-hour adventure since 2005.(Coming 9/22)

Once you’ve watched the Pixar oeuvre, and recycled all your favorite childhood movies, what’s left to watch that’s worth watching? A whole bunch of movies from the ’80s and ’90s that you probably missed, that’s what. One 1995 gem is The Indian In the Cupboard, an adaptation of the fantastic children’s fantasy novel by Lynne Reid Banks. In both, a boy named Omri receives a secondhand cupboard and a plastic Native American doll for his birthday. He discovers that an old key fits in the cupboard’s lock, and that when he puts the Native American doll in, it comes to life and turns into a Iroquois warrior named Little Bear.

But Little Bear is no storybook Indian, and his creator is thrown into turmoil. What debt does he owe Little Bear for bringing him to life in a world of giants? How can he keep Little Bear safe and happy in a dangerous world, and keep the secret of his magical cupboard to himself when he’s the youngest in a family of pushy, nosy brothers? The young actor who plays Omri, Hal Scardino, is wonderfully natural and his conflicts gripping and real. And Native American rapper Litefoot, who plays Little Bear, is dignified and shown respect, and gets to debunk some Native American stereotypes (for instance, he doesn’t live in a teepee and he’s never heard of a cowboy).

The Indian in the Cupboard is great for kids aged 7 and up; there are some realistic scenes of another brought-to-life small Native American dying that may cause younger kids some pause, but there’s little else to offend.

As far as adults are concerned, there are three types of children’s movies: those you sleep through or work the BlackBerry, those you tolerate and those you actually enjoy. When the movie is by legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, you can bet the film is going to fall into that last category.

Miyazaki, who brought us the Academy-Award winning Spririted Away plus other gems, including Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky, now introduces PONYO to the U.S. The top film in Japan in 2008, PONYO was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid and tells the story of an overzealous goldfish (Ponyo), her quest to become human and the special friendship she develops with the five-year-old boy who discovers her in his Japanese coastal town. The English-language cast includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey and Betty White. Noah Cyrus (younger sister of Miley) voices the title character and Frankie Jonas (”The Bonus Jonas” related to you know who) the five-year-old boy Sosuke who befriends Ponyo. Visually captivating, much of the movie takes place underwater with the ocean depicted as a living presence. In fact, as with his other films, Miyazaki manages to weave in an ecological component reflective of his commitment to preserving the Earth. Pretty deep for a kids’ movie.

Hey, there’s a reason this film has grossed more than $165 million worldwide so far.

PONYO opens this Friday, August 14th.

View PONYO trailer at disney.go.com.

Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios