Here are the entries in Looking Closer's Best Kid-Flicks Contest.

Contest entries were to include 5 - 10 recommended titles for kids 12 and younger.

Please peruse these lists, and then tell me which list you would recommend as the ideal starter-library for youngsters.


1.
Toy Story 2
Mary Poppins
Belle et la bete (1946)
Star Wars
Little Women (1994)
Rescuers Down Under
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Princess Bride
To Kill a Mockingbird
Pirates of the Carribean.

2.
The Incredibles
Hoodwinked
The Sound of Music
Toy Story 2

3.
Star Wars
E.T.
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland (Disney)
Babe
Honorable mention: anything Pixar, Superman:The Movie, The Dark Crystal, Watership Down, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Sound of Music, Oliver!

4.
The Goonies
The Muppet Movie
Race For Your Life Charlie Brown
The Lion, The With & The Wardrobe
The Lion King (on Broadway)

5.
The Black Stallion
The Iron Giant
Babe
The Red Balloon (dir: Albert Lamorisse)
The Sword in the Stone (Disney)
Star Wars

6.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Champ (1931)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
The Hobbit (1977)
Harvey (1950)

7.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Spirited Away (2002)
Aquamarine (2006)
The Iron Giant (1999)

8.
The Cowboys
Ben Hur
The Miracle Maker
Iron Giant
Mulan

9.
The Secret of Roan Inish
The Miracle Maker
Finding Nemo
The Railway Children (1970)
To Kill a Mockingbird

10.
The Wizard of Oz
Millions
Incredibles
Summer of the Monkeys
Secondhand Lions
Babe
Iron Giant
Stuart Little
Anne of Green Gables
Sarah Plain and Tall

11.
Babe
The Incredibles
Searching for Bobby Fisher
Toy Story 2
Rigoletto
Hoodwinked
The Miracle Maker
Holes
Secondhand Lions

12.
Star Wars
The Sound of Music
Beauty and the Beast
The Lion King
A Bug's Life
Sky High

13.
An American Tail
The Goonies
The Princess Bride
Robin Hood (Disney)
Mary Poppins
The Black Cauldron
The Muppet Movie
Muppet Treasure Island
The Never Ending Story
The Wizard of Oz

14.
Willow
The Secret of NIMH

15.
Babe
The Wizard of Oz
The Red Balloon
Dumbo
Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau)

16.
Watership Down
The Yearling
The Boy with Green Hair
On Borrowed Time
The Railway Children
Gulliver’s Travels
The Red Balloon
The March of the Wooden Soldiers
The Secret Garden
The Three Stooges Meet Hercules

17.
Millions
Spirited Away
The Story of the Weeping Camel
The Return
The Incredibles

18
Beauty and the Beast (Disney)
Hook
Mary Poppins
October Sky
Mrs. Doubtfire
The Jungle Book
Babe
The Karate Kid
The Never Ending Story
Pete's Dragon

19
Iron Giant
The Incredibles
Sinbad (Animated)
Holes
Spider-man
Spider-man 2

20
The Wizard of Oz
Shrek
The Iron Giant
My Neighbor Totoro
The Emperor's New Groove

21
The Secret of Roan Inish
The Princess Bride
The Wizard of Oz
Millions
The Secret Garden (1993)
The Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Spirited Away
Kiki's Delivery Service

22
Star Wars
E.T.
The Wizard of Oz
Alice in Wonderland (Disney)
Babe
Superman:The Movie
The Dark Crystal
Watership Down
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

23
The Princess Bride
The Karate Kid or Rocky
Gorillas in the Mist
Microcosmos
The Way Things Go (Der Lauf Der Dinge)
Toy Story
Shrek
Finding Nemo
The Lord of the Rings
Star Wars

24
Peter Pan (2003)
Millions
Monsters Inc
Spirited Away
Robin Hood (1973)

Really, really hard to choose just one--probably why you shunted the choice off on A&F, you slacker!
However, this fine list includes almost every flick I'd have chosen (it's not mine, I hasten to note), and does NOT include "Three Stooges" in any form.

I have to say I quite like this list. Short. Sweet.

By the way (and it goes without saying), if you entered the contest, you can't vote for your own entry...

And I did say, at the opening of the contest, that I would ask A&F to pick the winner.

List #5 for me also. You would be surprised how a seemingly slow-paced (bah!) movie like The Black Stallion can capture so many children's attention.


Also, I misread at first and actually thought that you were asking us to compile our own selections from those lists. So not to let 10 minutes of work go to waste, this is based on a combination of what my wife and I have seen, what we enjoyed, what our oldest was interested in (or may be interested in), and what we'll allow our kids to see at certain age levels:

Over 0
Toy Story 2
The Black Stallion
A Bug's Life
An American Tail
Robin Hood (Disney)
Dumbo
The Jungle Book
The Emperor's New Groove
Kiki's Delivery Service
Monsters Inc

Over 4
Rescuers Down Under
The Incredibles
The Sound of Music
Mary Poppins
Stuart Little
Hook

Over 7
Princess Bride
The Goonies
The Iron Giant
Spirited Away (2002)
Secondhand Lions
Searching for Bobby Fisher
Holes
Sky High
The Secret of NIMH
Watership Down
The Wizard of Oz
Spider-man
Spider-man 2
Pete's Dragon
The Lord of the Rings
Peter Pan (2003)

Over 10
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Cowboys
October Sky
The Karate Kid
E.T.

I'd go with the first list, for breadth. Live action and animated. Comedies and more serious fare. Older films and more contemporary choices. Color and black-and-white. International and domestic cinema. All great choices.

I'll take #21. I also like #1, 22 and 23. Tough choices because each list seems to be missing something important. I'm not sure which kind of breadth to make a priority: breadth of age-appropriateness, or breadth of genre...

I'm with Beth R. - List 22

It has the requisite (for me) textbook american narrative film- Finding Nemo, and then a few off the beaten path gems as well.

I'd venture to guess that the author of list 17 has never actually MET a child.

What, you don't think a 5-year-old would enjoy The Return?? There goes Crazy Dan Buck again...

Ken,

If it had Magnolia, I would've voted for it.

Has anyone out there seen The Way Things Go (Der Lauf Der Dinge)? List 23 may be at a disadvantage because of its obscurity...but its amazing. Check it out if you haven't. It's not what you'd expect, but it will captivate anyone over the age of 4 or 5.

I actually wondered that about the author of list 1. I mean he didn't even include Nanny McPhee!

Are there themes for the various lists, or is that part of our challenge?

Twenty-one for me, too (sorry, Ken!).

Bizarre. Rocky? The Lion King on Broadway??

My favorites are 21, 19, 16, 15, 9, 7, 5, 1

To name one, I'd probably have to settle on 21

23 is OK ... but LOTR makes it more than 5 ... I'm not thinking of showing my daughter that for several more years.

gotta go with 1, despite Rescuers Down Under.

Only 3 lists have Mary Poppins.

One of those also has The Secret of NIMH (blecccccccch) and The Goonies (insert disgusting noise here).

Another list has Mary Poppins and several pretty good films, but at least one film I'd never show kids under 12.

I'm appalled that there are no silent films anywhere on any list. My 1-year-old seems to like Harold Lloyd...

Nothing wrong with #22, but if you really intended to endorse my pick, it was #21.


Maybe, but I seem to recall that some A&F kid enjoyed Story of the Weeping Camel a lot.

How can it be that not one list combines The Wizard of Oz, one or both Toy Story movies, and Star Wars? I'm stunned.

After that, Babe, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles are all obvious choices.

Less obvious but also wonderful are Watership Down, The Story of the Weeping Camel and Microcosmos, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and The Emperor's New Groove, all of which were nominated at least once, hooray. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see Microcosmos included rather than March of the Penguins! OTOH, where is Besson's Atlantis, or even Winged Migration? Also sadly and strangely missing are The Court Jester, Bambi and Fantasia... and no silent film at all.

Surprising choices: Can #17 really mean Zvyagintsev's The Return?! And are Harvey or Rocky really kid-friendly? On another level, I'm surprised that anyone would consider The Black Cauldron, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), or Secondhand Lions worthy of shortlist mention.

A number of Spirited Aways, but only one mention apiece for Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro, either of which I would choose first for young kids every time. Three mentions for The Miracle Maker, hooray (but none for The Prince of Egypt). And while Pirates of the Caribbean gets a mention, Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn't!

I have to go over the individual lists more, but on first glance I guess I like #3 for including Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz and "anything Pixar" for honorable mention, plus Babe and E.T. are also good choices. #11, #21 #22 and #23 are also good.

Oh, and the most interesting list may be #16.

No, Mrs. Doubtfire. Hate to sound Baehrish, but I do think Mara Wilson's "We're his g-----n kids too" is a showstopper for small kids. And it's something I'd be sure to discuss with an older kid.


Only expets I know of are the flock of abandoned domestic rabbits living around Seattle's Greenlake. I didn't know Jeff was going to let the bunnies be the final judges.



SDG, which silents would you recommend for kids? I'd go with 2 of each from The Big Three:

The Kid Brother
Safety Last
Go West
Steamboat Bill Jr.
City Lights
The Gold Rush

I'd suggest we go back to the drawing board, with each entry limited to five films. Once all the entries are in, we could do a poll.

An excellent lineup. I especially applaud your choices from Chaplin and Lloyd. For Keaton, I think The General is absolutely indispensable; for a second pick, I'd probably go with Our Hospitality.

Don't forget Douglas Fairbanks Sr! The Thief of Bagdad for sure. For a second pick, maybe The Black Pirate, although the penultimate reel of The Mark of Zorro may be the best sustained stunt sequence in all of silent film, and Don Q Son of Zorro and Robin Hood are also very good.

Equally wonderful for family viewing is the 1924 Peter Pan. Together with the 2000 Cathy Rigby musical version, it's the best Peter Pan there is. (I appreciate the 2003 P. J. Hogan version and the 1963 Disney cartoon, but I don't put them in the same class.)

As much as I like The General, I figured small kids would have a hard time following it. And I like Steamboat Bill Jr. better anyway.

Really? I agree it's great, but I'd think Lloyd and Keaton would provide some stiff competition there. The climactic chases in Girl Shy and College are pret-ty amazing. I do need to watch some more Doug. My best friend has an almost complete collection.
I'll have to look it up.


But does that mean Star Wars was also in your original list?

I remember watching Star Wars the year it came out. I was 7. I couldn't follow it. Remember, this was before the films were marketed to kids via action figures and coloring books and such.

Where the hell's Curious George??????

-s.

JO!!! My vote should've been for 21! NOT 22!

Thanks, Beth

Yeah, I had SW on my list.

Certainly I think one problem in constructing such a list is the ambiguity of "kid." I wrote in my original post to Jeffrey's blog:


So I did try to have a list that had a little something for everyone (range of ages, boys v. girls) as opposed to trying to get films that would include everyone, since I find they end up being the ones that are inocuous rather than inspired and end up with nobody truly enraptured.

Peace.

Ken

Take it from a father of four (five any day now): The General's storyline is far more kid-accessible than Steamboat Bill, Jr. -- and Star Wars is likewise far easier for children to get than... well, a lot of things.

I've talked before about how much struck I was, watching Star Wars for the first time with my son David, then four, at how readily the story broke down into terms he could understand:

"Okay, so you remember that the good guys want to get the little robot to their friends, because he has a map inside him of the Death Star, and the good guys want to use the map to figure out how to blow up the Death Star.... But now the Death Star has this sucky thing, like a magnet, called a tractor beam, that's sucked in the good guys' ship. So Ben Kenobi has to turn off the sucky thing so the good guys can get away..."

The same is true of the other original trilogy films, which have plots built around simple, clear objectives and straightforward efforts to achieve them: Darth Vader is holding Luke's friends prisoner to trick Luke into coming and rescuing them; Han and Leia are going to Endor to turn off the force-field generator so that Lando and his friends can blow up the new Death Star; etc. (The same CANNOT be said for the prequels: What exactly is the Trade Federation trying to accomplish with its blockade? How does that relate to the tax dispute question? Who exactly commissioned the clone army? Why does Jango Fett stay on Kamino ten years after the Kaminoans took his DNA? etc, etc...)

The General is even simpler than Star Wars: It's essentially a chase story. Here are the enemy spies, and they've kidnapped Johnny's sweetheart and taken his train, so Johnny is chasing them. After that the story basically explains itself. By contrast, the plot of Steamboat Bill, Jr. is relatively complex -- and in the end somewhat irrelevant to the brilliance of the climax, which almost jettisons the plot in favor of wild stunt set pieces. (That's partly why I prefer The General not only for kids but also for myself: Along with Our Hospitality, it's the most well-integrated Keaton film I've ever seen, with story, stunts and gags all cut from whole cloth.)

The competition is stiff, I agree, and Lloyd and Keaton's effortlessly comic athleticism is astonishing (I agree with you about Girl Shy; haven't seen College). But the thrill of Doug's swashbuckling glory is unparalleled; I can't even compare it to anything anyone else did until Jackie Chan. He's got some great stunts in nearly every film, but for sustained swashbuckling brilliance the last ten or twenty minutes of The Mark of Zorro is the benchmark.

Ah, there's the problem. I didn't have a father like SDG.

That's true. Both films are absolutely true in all aspects to their time and place. Love the railroad in Our Hospitality.

SDG, reading your accounts of watching movies (and older, classic movies at that) with your kids just makes me ... makes me ...

I don't know WHAT it makes me, but I AM looking forward to the day I can share such things with my own kids! Every time I see a Charlie Chaplin boxed set or some such thing in the store, I feel compelled to pick it up for my children's future film-educational purposes. (Can't afford it just yet, though...)

reply to Peter deferred to new "Watching DVDs with my kids" thread

So...whoever "won" this?

This has become the biggest burden of guilt I'm carrying... that I haven't mailed DVDs to the winners yet.

Will do. Stay tuned a little longer.

Okay, unless I'm reading this thread poorly, it looks like #21 is the runaway winner.

And #5 is the runner up.

And Ken, for your sheer enthusiasm, I'll surrender my personal copy of Nanny-M to you without hesitation.

Thanks for playing "Jeffrey Starts a Contest and Then Forgets to Wrap It Up!"

Man, what a day I'm having. Started it by smashing a precious piece of stained-glass art -- still my favorite of all of our wedding presents ten years later -- in our living room (by accident), went to our favorite breakfast place for a scramble and they were OUT OF EGGS, then came home to find out that there were two glaring errors in my recently published CT movie review, and then I was reminded of *this.*

Is that why they call this LABOR DAY?

Good thing I finally checked out Camera Obscura today. Let's Get Out of This Country indeed.

Looked up the creators of these lists, and my congratulations to

ELIZABETH RAMBO, the clear winner.

BRIAN FRIESEN, the runner-up.

And the Enthusiasm Award goes to Ken Morefield. How badly he wanted to win!

This is certainly a surprise! But as much as I would love to have the DVD and share it with Ken, I'm sure I didn't create list #21. I was the first to vote for it, and stated explicitly that it was not my list in post #2:

(emphasis added)
My list was actually #9, which almost no one voted for, or ranked low on their hierarchies.

If you've already mailed the DVD, I'll have to send it back!

So, then, BethR, I'm really truly baffled.

You say that #21 isn't your list.

And yet, I gleaned that entry from a comment on my blog, which came in from someone called BethR!

You can see the following comment here:


That sure looks like List #21 to me!

Then, later, you posted ANOTHER entry, which is, indeed, List #9.

So, you sent 'em both, I believe, and you're welcome to take credit for the winning list.

But if for some reason you choose not to, well, hey, it's an extra DVD I can give to a nephew or neice at Christmas...

No wonder I liked that list! Maybe I was thrown off by its having more than 5 titles! Really, I had NO memory of it as a list of 9, but do recall the comments as you reproduce them.

Well, there it is. As a penance, I promise to donate the DVD to kenmorefield.

And thank you

in my openion number 5 is the best DealzFirst

In my openion nuber 5 is the best


DealzFirst