My husband and I initially bonded over our love of movies. And we are both excited to share some of our all time favorites with our children. However, our kids are young, and so our recent playlist mainly consists of the latest (and semi-latest) kids movies.
We couldn’t wait to take our oldest son to the theater for the first time for his second birthday. We watched Cars 2. My husband recently reminded me that sometime during the middle of the movie, Harrison pointed at the screen and plainly said “Gabba!” I guess he wasn’t thrilled with his first movie outing either. Despite Harrison’s desire to “change the station” during Cars 2, I have been subjected to that movie more times than I ever wanted. And it does not get any better upon repeat viewings. Thankfully, my children don’t request it often, because there are so many other movies out there that are not obnoxious (and don’t star Larry the Cable Guy!).
So here’s our family’s list of movies that Mama can stand to watch more than once. Please keep in mind that I’ve only listed movies that are around 5 years old or less (a list of classic kids’ movies will come later!). And I have three boys, so my list may be a little testosterone-skewed.
Turbo
“A freak accident might just help an everyday garden snail achieve his biggest dream: winning the Indy 500.”
I must admit, when I first saw the trailer for this movie, I was a bit confused. A snail goes to race at the Indianapolis 500? What? The first thing that won me over in this movie is the soundtrack. “Eye of the Tiger,” “Jump Around,” and other fun upbeat tunes abound throughout this movie, so even if you’re not really paying attention, you can jam to the songs. Other aspects that won me over are some of the sight gags involving the snails trying to eat overripe tomatoes (my kids laugh out loud during those scenes) and the voice cast. It’s a silly little movie, but it’s a lot of fun.
How to Train your Dragon (1 and 2)
“A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.”
We were introduced to How to Train yo1ur Dragon because of the Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinics that were offered over the summer. When my sons built a replica of the Toothless character in the movie, we decided to check it out. The film offers plenty of action (although it’s a little scary for little ones at times) and my boys absolutely love it. Bonus: There’s a great lesson to offer too.
Monsters University
“Monsters generate their city’s power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted.”
Monsters Inc. is my favorite of all of the Pixar films; I tear up a little every time I hear Sully tell Boo that “Kitty’s got to go.” And although Monsters University isn’t as sweet and sentimental as the first, it appeals to my children more because of it’s sight gags and physical comedy. Billy Crystal is AWESOME, and it’s funny to spot the little Easter eggs that are thrown in as nods to previous movies.
Wreck-it Ralph
“A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.”
Before there was Frozen, there was Wreck-it Ralph. I think that this movie is just about perfectly cast, from John C. Reilly as the title character, to Jane Lynch as a no-nonsense army character (and everyone else!). This movie is as much fun for the grown ups as it is for children due to a lot of throwbacks to early 80’s video games. My kids did not like this one the first time was saw it, as the principal bad guy turns into a pretty maniacal clown towards the end of the movie. They recently decided they wanted to try it again, and now it’s on constant rotation at our house.
Despicable Me
“When a criminal mastermind uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand scheme, he finds their love is profoundly changing him for the better.”
Another movie with a really sweet lesson, Despicable Me is probably best known for its minion characters at this point. The movie itself is awesomely quotable, and the kids are adorable. I’ve probably seen this movie 75 times and I laugh every time.
What are some of your kids’ favorite movies? Describe them in comments!
I love Wreck It Ralph, too! Although I am not a fan of How To Train Your Dragon. I’m very thankful my kids didn’t go through a phase where we watched it nonstop. When my son was little, we had Finding Nemo on repeat all day long. I learned to love it and still do! We would sit and quote the whole movie to each other which was tons of fun because he was only 2. My daughter didn’t do movies on repeat, but did go through a fierce Dora phase. Most parents can’t stand Dora, but it made my daughter so happy that I couldn’t help but have a soft spot for it. I think I just enjoy seeing my children enjoy life, and therefore I find happiness in their happiness.
Wreck it Ralph is so clever! I also love Finding Nemo, and my boys go through periods where they love it and when they find it too scary. I cannot wait to see the newest Disney movie coming out on a few weeks. I think we will trek all six of us to the drive in for that one!
The Incredibles, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro (for that matter any Studio Ghibli film for the older kids), Sleeping Beauty, Up,The Lego Movie…we like movies so I could go on. 🙂
I forgot about the Lego Movie, I LOVE that one. It’s not on our regular rotation. I hope to revisit this topic with older movies in a future blog post!
These are some really great choices. We also love the Incredibles. I have nicknamed my husband the “Incredible Gru” (which is also his Twitter handle.)
We are big movie buffs in our household too. We usually cover movie reviews on Tuesday. In fact right now, I’m giving away another great kids movie called Postman Pat. Judging from your choice of movies here, you’d love it too.
Thanks! We like The Incredibles also. I will check out your giveaway!