Family Matters: Holiday Films The Kids Will Love

Friday, November 11, 2011

Anisa Raoof, GoLocalProv Family Expert

fm holiday films

Make it worth your while, and theirs: great new films for the holiday season

The holidays are full of films marketed to kids. Depending on your children's age or tastes, some are better saved for DVD rental or not worth watching. My family loves movies but not all—we want them to entertain, educate, and/or inspire us. Read our top holiday picks and fun homework worth doing prior to seeing the film.

Hugo

Opens in theaters: November 23, 2011
Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. Based on the award-winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by RISD graduate, Brian Selznick. An amazing combination of novel, picture book, flip book, and movie, this 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. This is one of my all-time favorite books and look forward to seeing how Martin Scorcese adapts to the big screen.  Genre: Drama/Adventure.  MPAA Rating: PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking.  Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Before the film: Read the book, then watch Georges Méliès old silent movies.

The Muppets

 Opens in theaters: November 23, 2011
With the help of three fans, The Muppets must reunite to save their old theater from a greedy oil tycoon. I loved watching the The Muppet Show on TV when I was a kid and still prefer old episodes to the feature length movies. The acclaimed TV series first aired in 1976 and lasted 2 seasons with 48 episodes in total.  Genre: Comedy . MPAA Rating: PG for some mild rude humor.  Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Before the film: Watch the TV series. Make your own puppets and put on a puppet show.

The Adventures of Tintin 

Opens in theaters: December 21, 2011
Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor. But someone else is in search of the ship. This film is based on the comic book adventure series first published in 1929 by Georges Remi (pen name, Hergé) and last published in 1986 after Remi's death. My sons are huge Spielberg and Tintin fans and this is the film they are most looking forward to seeing on the big screen.  Genre: Action/Adventure.  MPAA Rating: PG for adventure action violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking.  Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Before the film: Read the Tintin book series and explore the Tintin website; meet the characters and learn the history of the comic series. Draw your own Tintin adventure story.

We Bought a Zoo

 Opens in theaters: December 23, 2011
Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo. The film is based on a memoir by Benjamin Mee about how the author and his family used their life savings to buy Dartmoor Zoological Park, a dilapidated zoo, replete with 200 exotic animals facing destruction, in the English countryside.  Genre: Drama . MPAA Rating: Not rated yet.  Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Before the film: Learn about the Dartmoor Zoo that the movie is based on. Take a trip to a real zoo. Pick your favorite animal and learn how to care for it.

War Horse

Opens in theaters: December 23, 2011
Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend. Based on the children's novel, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, published in 1982 and the award-winning stage production of the same name.  Genre: Drama . MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence.  Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Before the film: Read the novel, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. Learn about World Wat 1 by reading books. See the Broadway stage production of War Horse or visit the Web site to see how the horses are depicted on stage. How is a stage production different than a movie?

The Secret World of Arrietty 

Opens in theaters: February 17, 2011
The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their daughter, Arrietty, is discovered. The Studio Ghibli film is based on the award-winning novel, The Borrowers, first published in 1953.  Genre: Fantasy/Adventure.  MPAA Rating: G.  Recommended for all ages.
Before the film: Read the novel, The Borrowers by Mary Norton, illustrated by Beth Krush. Create your own little people home with odds n' ends; bits of cloth, old matchboxes, bottle caps, and corks and thread spools. Learn more about the art and movies of Studio Gihbli by visiting the Gihbli Web site. Draw your own version of little people.