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There is simply too much, andlets face ittoo of much of it is junk.
(And, if the soundtrack is something we dont mind hearing on repeat, all the better.)
Best of all, these classicsand soon-to-be classicsare so good, you wont mind watching them, too.
Quality time and quality viewing?
Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Now thats a win-win.
(Exhibit A!)
Derring-do meets a moral fable all kids could learn a thing fromwithout the stealing part.
Photo: ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
First, it has a little-girl protagonist and some wonderful dog acting.
Second, its musical numbers are stillveryexciting.
I Think Im Gonna Like It Here!Lets Go to the Movies!!)
(If youre like,What?
Should kids today know who those people are?My answer to you is yes.
(You probably dont remember that this was the era ofThe Fox and the HoundandThe Black Cauldron.)
(You could do a lot worse than simply making your way through his filmography.)
teen who looks exquisitely dressed for a Cure concert.
Its a wacky plot with an even wackier origin story.
Horror director Stuart Gordon came up with the storyline and had to convince Disney to give him a shot.
But I want the audience to think they might die.
Plus, this was Robin Williamssfirst animated role.
The animal actorstrained for seven weeksto hone their movie star performances prior to shooting.
(Smore of what?!)
When he showed up, we were like, [Darth] Vader is here!
I learned a lot about improv from him, she said.
One rule of thumb?
The duo set out on a misadventure, navigating the gummy depths of Pizza Planet and Sids demented lair.
Things take a turn when news surfaces of her fathers reported death while at war.
The storyline itself was quite controversial.
Fitzhughs book waschallengedby a school board in Ohio in 1983 for being a bad influence on children.
Ill admit thatIwas influenced: Harriets passion for writing fueled my early scribblings.
Justice for Wormwoods!)
And I am a little snooty about adaptations, generally speaking.
But these two versions nail it.
(Danny Devito as the aforementioned Mr. Wormwood is similarly spectacular.)
Both of these are well worth a watch.
(Just check that you read the Roald Dahl book as well.
There is the sweeping Rodgers and Hammerstein score, which is (controversial opinion?)
so much better than the one in Disneys 1950 version, lovely as that is.
Also, the costumes and set pieces are completely ridiculous.
Its just wholesome, romantic (and racially diverse!)
With a postmodern feminist approach, a new story is born, and with it fantastical costumery.
Who can forget the long-awaited ball scene where Danielle reveals herself to the court in all her winged splendor?
Case in point:The Parent Trap.
(Dare I say it, it might even be better.)
But Lohan sells it.
Behind him starbursts of color appear and he closes his eyes in bliss.
I watched it with my then 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds and each of them was rapt.
(Youll have to do a little reading aloud of subtitles for the pre-literate in your audience.)
At its core this is the story of a dreamer who accomplished incredible things.
I confess that I liked these movies even more than my kids didbut they were agreeably swept away.
There is pedigree here.
The director is none other than Guillermo del Toro, in full goofy, lowbrow, genre-filmmaking mode.
that desperately needs him, and vice versa.
Its impossible to pull your eyes away from the stunning technicolor scenery where Mexicos lush culture sits center stage.
The award-winning film won the Oscars for best animated feature and best song (forUn Poco Loco).
The film tooksix years to completewith7 million lightsin one scene alone.
Theres a bittersweet ending, but an important lesson in the octopuss eventual death.
The motion picture took home anOscarfor best animated feature at the 93rd Academy Awards.
You get the idea: theres a range.
Their charmed lives start to wear off when their mythical casita starts to show its cracks.
Heartwarming and inspiring, the family comedy offers a refreshing stance on what it means to be yourself.
