My Neighbor Totoro

My Advice: Try

General Cautions:

I don’t know if a lot of people will care but there is some Eastern religious content. Also a bath scene with dad and two girls. Brushes lightly on the topic of death.

My Kind of Synopsis:

The film starts with a family of three moving to a new country home. There’s dad (Tatsuo), Satsuki (11), and Mei (5). Right away Satsuki and Mei are entranced by the house with its acorns falling from the ceiling and the little black creatures that run away when a room is opened.

We then find out that Satsuki and Mei’s mom is in the hospital. We’re not told what’s wrong with her, just that she can’t come home. They go to visit her at the hospital some and Satsuki, being eleven, writes her mom letters about everything that’s happening at the new house.

One day while Satsuki is at school, Mei follows a trail of acorns and discovers a little white creature that looks almost like a rabbit. She follows it intently and ends up near a huge camphor tree. She follows the rabbit like creature (and another larger one that joined it) through a hole in the roots. She lands on a huge version of these creatures. It’s taking a nap but Mei is able to wake it up long enough to learn that it’s called Totoro.

The rest of the film follows the relationships between Mei, Satsuki, and Totoro. Satsuki takes care of Mei a lot because her father works far away at the University. Satsuki is also jealous of Mei getting to see Totoro until she sees him herself. Both girls trust Totoro completely; they have been told that he’s the spirit that guards the forest.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – She seemed to relate with Mei (maybe cause they’re about the same age) and loved Totoro and the smaller Totoros. She also really loved the cat bus.

CarKid – Watched this film more intently that I’ve seen him watch anything (other than Cars). He also really loved the cat bus, he said “Cat bus” over and over again.

SharkBoy – Didn’t seem as interested as the other two especially toward the end of the film.

Recommendations and Why:

This is an excellent movie for small children. Usually with a film you have to keep track of the plot from start to finish, this film you don’t. It has a story, certainly, but it doesn’t have as structured of a plot as other films. This makes it great for smaller children cause they don’t have to keep their attention focused to understand what’s happening at any given moment.

It’s also a good movie for adults. It captures a sense of childhood that not a lot of films manage. It’s nice to be able to watch this film and understand what it’s like to be with these young characters.

Maleficent

My Advice: Try ~8+

General Cautions:

There are a lot of scary parts to this movie. There are several battle scenes and they all involve magic of some kind which makes them even scarier.

My Kind of Synopsis:

The wold that Maleficent grew up in was separated into two kingdoms: the human land and the Moors (a magical kingdom full of fairies and other magical creatures). These two kingdoms were wary of each other because of past wars. The creatures of the Moors viewed the humans as greedy and selfish. Maleficent got to know a human boy anyway. His name was Stephan and they were in love, until he disappeared.

The King of the human land decided he wanted to take over the riches of the Moor. He marched his army up to the boarder and they charged. Maleficent called on her friends to help her keep the army out. They succeeded and Maleficent greatly wounded the King. Seeking revenge, the King told his knights that whoever killed Maleficent could marry his daughter and be King when he died.

Stephen had told Maleficent that one day he would live in the castle. He was now there working as a servant to the King. He heard what the King said to the knights and wanted to be King. He sought out Maleficent and burned off her wings. He became King. Later, when his daughter was born, Maleficent came and put a curse on her that could only be broken by true loves kiss.

What the Kids Say:

None of the kids I ask questions to saw this film. From the children in the theater I gathered that they liked it. They were a bit older and I didn’t hear any screaming but I did hear gasps and giggling.

Recommendations and Why:

This film is basically for children. It has magic and wonder along with its touching story line. It has a wonderful lesson about true love. The only problem is it’s scary. There are only a couple parts that are very scary but that’s enough.

There are some wonderful things for adults in this film too. If you’ve seen Disney’s Sleeping Beauty there is a lot for you to think about as you’re watching this film. I don’t want to spoil it with any specifics so I’ll leave it at that.

Wreck it Ralph

My Advice: Try

General Cautions:

Mild drinking, violence (with anything related to Hero’s Duty and Cy-Bugs), comic violence, name calling and fake cussing.  The Cy-Bugs are kind of scary.

My Kind of Synopsis:

Ralph is a bad guy.  His video game has been plugged-in at the arcade for 30 years.  He is an outcast.  He is lonely and he just wants to feel like he belongs.  During an argument with another member of his game, it is said that if Ralph wins a metal he can move out of the dump and live in the penthouse.  Ralph sets out to try and change his position in life.

Ralph learns that there is a new game, called Hero’s Duty, where you win a metal by climbing a building and fighting bugs.  He steals a uniform and goes into the game hoping to get the metal.  He gets the metal but also unleashes a Cy-Bug on a candy themed racing game called Sugar Rush. (The Cy-Bug is very dangerous and could destroy the game.)

While in Sugar Rush, Ralph’s metal is stolen by a little girl.  They form a reluctant alliance.  Each needs something that only the other can give them.  Ralph later learns that Vanellope is in a similar situation to him.  Another alliance is formed between Ralph’s game’s good guy, Fix-it Felix, and the main character of Hero’s Duty.

The two groups go through various adventures.  Felix and Calhoun attempt to find Ralph and the Cy-Bugs so they can set everything right.  Ralph and Vanellope do everything they can to be excepted by the game that they’re supposed to belong in.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – she really likes Fix-it Felix’s magic hammer.  I can’t tell you how many times we have watched this film and how many more times she’s asked to watch it when she couldn’t.

Recommendations and Why:

There is plenty in this film for adults to enjoy.  This is especially true if you know anything about gaming and/or old games.  There are some jokes that adults would get but kids wouldn’t.  It’s an overall entertaining film.

There are several lessons that kids can learn in this film.  They are not alone, you just need to find the right people/person.  You need to look and see the needs of those around you.  These are just a couple of the big examples.

The Swan Princess

My Advice: Wait ~5-12

General Cautions:

There is a scary monster that might give younger kids nightmares.

My Kind of Synopsis:

We start with a backstory. This includes both the background to Odette and Derek’s relationship and Rothbart’s determination to rule. We leave Rothbart for awhile and focus and the childhood dilemmas of Odette and Derek. Their parents are determined they fall in love and get married. Neither of them want anything to do with it until they are grown up.

When Odette and Derek finally do fall in love Odette is skeptical. She wants more than love based on beauty. It’s obvious that Derek loves her besides that, he just can’t think of the words to express it. When Odette and her father leave Derek’s kingdom Rothbart reenters. He attacks the carriage and takes Odette.

Derek is devastated by Odette’s capture. He chases after the carriage and learns from the dying king that they were attacked by a great animal and this animal is not what it seems. Derek scours the library trying to figure out what the king meant while his mother arranges a ball to get him engaged to someone.

Odette is being kept by Rothbart so he can convince her to marry him. He has cast a spell on her so she is a swan during the day. She can only turn back into a princess if her wings touch the moonlight on the lake by Rothbart’s castle. She makes friends with a frog, a turtle, and a puffin who try to help her out of her predicament.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – doesn’t scare easily so the great animal had almost no impact. She does appear to get bored around the middle of the film but she can still tell me what’s happening.

SharkBoy – really wanted to watch this movie and gave it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Recommendations and Why:

This is a great movie for children. It has lessons about friendship and commitment. It has a villain who you know is bad. It has both excitement and time for character connection. There are other various elements of the film that appeal to children.

It’s not such a great movie for adults. I loved this film when I was about 10 years old. Watching it again, as an adult, I’m really not sure why. I wouldn’t mind watching it a time or two, especially for nostalgic purposes. It’s just not a film for adults. That’s why I gave it the rating I did.

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

My Advice: Wait

General Cautions:

Barely anything, there is one part that has a scary monster that might give some kids nightmares.

My Kind of Synopsis:

When I first saw the trailer for this film I thought it looked ridiculous and couldn’t believe it was going to be in any theater. PonyGirl loves My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and I have to admit it’s a good show. Knowing that the ponies change into humans and are in High School, I wanted to avoid watching it. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I watched it (before I let my daughter see it).

At the end of Friendship is Magic Season 3, Twilight Sparkle changes into an alicorn and becomes a Princess. At the beginning of this film it’s made clear that Twilight is not at all used to these changes. She is very nervous about attending her first Princess Summit. She won’t even wear her crown.

When she’s asleep that night her crown is stolen. This is mainly important because the crown contains something called an Element of Harmony that helps keep Equestria safe. Twilight and her dragon friend Spike go through a magic mirror to an alternate world to retrieve the crown. This is when she turns into a human and sees the High School.

The rest of the film plays out along two different stereotypes. It both works like an episode of Friendship is Magic and acts like a typical High School based movie. These two things actually work together, for the most part. It does make the movie a little predictable though.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – she loves anything with My Little Pony, she loves this movie. Sometimes she’ll say “I wanna watch My Little Pony where they’re people.”

SharkBoy – seems to like this movie, even seems to get excited about watching it. I think he might just be tolerating it out of kindness to PonyGirl.

Recommendations and Why:

I might not seem very enthusiastic about this film but it’s a hard one to make sound good. That being said there are some very good things about this film. The reason I let my daughter watch it is the very good lesson about friendship.  This is a reason to watch the TV show too but I hadn’t realized how prevalent it is in the movie till I watched it myself.  There are other lessons in this movie too but the friendship one is the most noticeable.

This is a film for fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. If you haven’t seen the TV show you will not understand most of the funny things in this film and you might have trouble catching the importance of certain events. If you do watch the TV show and like it you will like this movie. I understand hesitations from the ponies turning into humans but that’s not as much of a problem for the film as I thought it would be.

Peter Pan

My Advice: Try

General Cautions:

There is violence in this film. Most of it’s playful but not all of it. Comic violence. Several times when someone could die. One brief mention of rum. A degrading depiction of Native Americans.

My Kind of Synopsis:

Peter Pan is about a group of children in a situation without parents. This creates situations that may seem inappropriate to adults but won’t seem all that different for children, at least they never stuck out at me when I was a child. It’s partly these inappropriate situations that makes the movie so entertaining.

It starts out with us watching the family situation of Wendy, John, and Michael. We learn several things from these first few minutes including that Wendy has to grow up and she has Peter Pan’s shadow. It’s not too much later that we meet Peter Pan.

When Peter Pan comes to the nursery he is trying to find his shadow that Nana, the dog nursemaid, has stolen. He and Tinkerbell make enough noise that Wendy wakes up. She talks at Peter and then finds out that when his shadow was stolen he was outside the window listening to her tell stories about him. When Peter finds out that Wendy has to grow up he decides to take her to Neverland to be a mother for the lost boys. (Wendy insists on bringing John and Michael too).

They go through various adventures in Neverland. These adventures involve mermaids, Captain Hook and his pirates, the “indians”, and a few other things. Through these adventures the children are learning a variety of lessons, the most important of which is what it means to grow up.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – Since the first time she saw this movie she won’t stop talking about it and wants to watch it over and over. She really likes Jake and the Neverland Pirates and the Tinkerbell movies. It blew her mind when I told her this came first.

CarKid – I think he partly likes it cause his sister does.  I’m pretty sure he likes it on his own too cause he keeps saying “Peer Pa” (Peter Pan) and “croc”.

Recommendations and Why:

Peter Pan is a movie I watched several times growing up. It’s they type of movie where I just assume everyone else has seen it. I was going against this assumption when I decided to write this review but I’m sure there is someone out there who hasn’t seen it.

Ever since I “grew up” I’ve heard people talk down Disney (Peter Pan’s portrayal of Native Americans is one I’ve heard the most). I don’t necessarily disagree with the things they claim, I disagree with their final opinion that Disney is evil (especially the content of their movies). Sometimes it’s nice to go back and pretend you never grew up. Peter Pan gives you this opportunity with it’s childish ways.  I know many people who love(d) this movie as a child. I know many people who love this movie as an adult. If you haven’t seen this movie I’d just like to say that it’s worth it.

Antz

My Advice:  Don’t Bother 7+

General Cautions:

(When the trailer says “caboose of another creature” the movie, at least the version on Netflix, says “anus”)

This movie is about war. There is a lot of violence. There is also drinking in a bar and, later in the film, a drunk wasp. The phrase “erotic fantasy” is used.

My Kind of Synopsis:

Antz is a movie about social change. I know in General Cautions I say it’s about war but war and social change can go together. This film starts out with Z making a breakthrough in therapy: he is insignificant.

Z does not want to be insignificant. He doesn’t want to take orders like everyone else around him. He is not happy with the life he was born into. Enter Princess Bala. She’s a little happier with who she is but she’s obviously tired of people telling her what to do.

While in the bar after work, Z learns of a place called Insectopia. Some while later, Z and Princess Bala leave the colony. Once they’re out Z is determined to find Insectopia. While they are searching the colony goes on riot because of things that Z has done. The ants are starting to realize that they can have a choice.

I won’t say anymore for fear of spoiling the movie for someone. Woody Allen did a very good job at making this movie deep. If you watch it closely enough you will see various things that symbolize our own society.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – I let her watch cause I didn’t remember the movie. I’m really glad she didn’t watch it closely. She barely seemed interested.

SharkBoy – He really seemed to like this movie. He said things like “it was so cool”. He only seems to remember specifics about the end of the film though.

Recommendations and Why:

I can see the beauty of this Woody Allen film. I’m really just not sure where it fits. I wouldn’t say this film is for children. I know my advice says 7+ but I don’t think children that young will really understand this story. This film is doesn’t really fit for adults either.  This is mostly because there are a few instances where it seems like they were trying to make it a children’s movie.

If you really want to see this movie watch it without your children first. It’s ultimately up to you if this film is good for your family. I can see where some people would think I’m overreacting. I can also see where some people would think I’m not being picky enough.

Cars

My Advice: Try

General Cautions:

Not much.  There’s a scene where it could be sexual innuendo but I’m not convinced it is.  There’s a van that constantly seems high.  There’s a little violence in the racing with cars pushing each other and causing accidents.

My Kind of Synopsis:

I was skeptical when I first heard about this movie.  I’ve never been into racing, especially car racing.  It was a long time before I ever saw it.  I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie is more about the transformation of Lightning McQueen than it is about racing.  Lightning McQueen starts off as a very sure of himself, self centered, extremely talented racer.  He almost wins the Piston Cup but one of his tires goes out, because he refused to have it changed, and instead ties with two other cars.

Lightning shows us his bad attitude in a few other ways before he falls out of the back of his truck, Mac, and gets lost.  While trying to find Mac and the interstate he destroys part of the small town of Radiator Springs.  He is forced to stay in the town until he fixes the road.

While he is in Radiator Springs, Lightning discovers friendship.  It is the friendships that he makes with the cars in this struggling town that help him to change.  I’ll leave how he changes for if you see this movie.

What the Kids Say:

CarKid – he loves anything with cars in it.  He was very excited that there were talking cars on the TV.

PonyGirl – she didn’t seem as into this movie as others.  It lost her interest a couple times but she said she liked it.  She told me Lightning McQueen was her favorite character but later changed it to Mater.  Her main comment was: “They don’t eat stuff in this movie.”  (I tried to explain that’s what they’re doing when they get gas but she didn’t buy it.)

Recommendations and Why:

This is a great movie about caring for other people.  If your child has trouble with this it might be just the right thing to help (I’ve found movies and TV shows to be surprisingly effective for PonyGirl).  If your child isn’t interested in cars they might not enjoy watching it quite as much – even the flies are cars.  There are places where the movie feels slow and might loose your child’s attention.  There also seemed to be a spot or two where the action went so quickly a young child might get lost.

There are a few enjoyable things for adults.  There are glimpses of car versions of famous people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger (as governor of California, not actor in this case).  Also, if you’ve ever listened to the radio show Car Talk, you will recognize the voices of the cars in charge of the Rust-eze tent.  There are also some references to things that grownups might get but children won’t.  These references include some of the songs used in the film.

Frozen

My Advice:  See

General Cautions:

Not much, there is some violence but it’s minimal.  A few cases of self defense (almost all of which are shown in the trailer).  Threatened violence from bad guys.  Some comic violence to the snowman (also mostly in the trailer).

There is a tragedy at the beginning that younger children might not pick up on (I’m not sure if my four year old did or not).  It’s the same sort of tragedy as the beginning of Finding Nemo or Up.

My Kind of Synopsis:

Frozen is the newest Disney Princess movie, in a sense.  It is about a princess.  It does involve the princess falling in love.  It did have some wonderful surprises though.

I knew from the start of the movie that it would be good.  How?  There are a few reasons.  The first was the music.  That doesn’t always mean anything but in this case it gave me a good feeling.  The second was the backstories.  It doesn’t just have the backstory of the princesses but of Kristoff too.  His is shorter, and slightly intertwines with that of the princesses, but it’s there.  Then there’s the backstory of the princesses.  I’ll try not to spoil anything but it involves tragedy.  Tragedy that tears the once inseparable sisters apart.  Tragedy that keeps both girls from seeing the world outside their castle.

This story is centered mainly on the characters of the two sisters.  Elsa lives in fear of anyone, even her sister, discovering she has magic.  Anna is lonely and wants more than anything to be loved.  Even though they haven’t interacted since early childhood they still share a very special bond.  It is this bond that sends Elsa away and this bond that sends Anna after her.

It is the bond between sisters that sets this movie apart from other Disney Princess stories.  It has the romance, but that’s not the center.  It’s about a princess, but more than that it’s about princess sisters.  There are a few amazing things about this movie that come from this, but if I put them in here they’d be spoilers.  You’ll just have to watch the movie to figure it out.

What the Kids Say:

PonyGirl – she sat through the whole movie, entranced.  Afterwards she was stomping her heel on the floor and when I asked her what she was doing she said: “I’m making ice.”  When asked if she liked the movie she jumped up and down and said, loudly, “Yes!” What was her favorite part? “The part that…Frozen!”

MotionGirl – she’s the one that wanted to take me and PonyGirl to see this film.  She had already seen it when we went.  She said it was really good and this was the second time in a week she’d seen it.  (Didn’t get much more out of her except a few laughs and glances at me or PonyGirl during the film.)

Recommendations and Why:

I think all kids would love this.  It’s action packed but not scary (there are a couple scenes that could be but they’re quick and the scare doesn’t stick with you; I also didn’t hear any screams or crying in the theater full of young children).  It’s a good movie for both girls and boys.  Girls because it’s about two completely different girls both of whom make themselves better.  Boys because there are also two completely different boys in this movie and by the end you know which one is the better one and know it would be better to be like him.

It’s also an entertaining movie for parents.  There were several parts where I laughed or raised my eyebrows at/with the other adults with me.  Some of these I also knew my daughter had no idea.  I wanted to know what happens next.  I was taken by surprise a few times.