Moomins (the Film Polski version)

This gently soulful, stop-motion animated version of Tove Jansson’s Moomintroll stories, made by Film Polski in the late 70s, and adapted into English in the early 80s, is our new favourite. The music and scenery are lovely, and the storytelling is enchanting. The story lines stick very close to Jansson’s books, and Jansson herself was involved with the production. Highly recommended for the whole family!

Age: 4+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 5-minute episodes
Available: many of the episodes are on youtube

Victorian Farm

In this 6-episode series, historian Ruth Goodman spends a year restoring a Victorian farm and living like a Victorian, along with archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn, and visiting experts in all aspects of Victorian life. The kids are fascinated by detailed explanations of how things were done in Victorian days, and so are we. While some of this Victorian era knowledge may seem esoteric, a lot of it sheds fascinating light on how we do things today, explains history from a new perspective, or suggests techniques we may want to return to (eg some of the ways of reusing, recycling, cleaning, or preserving things) as we try to figure out more sustainable ways of living. Overall this is suitable for all ages, but be forewarned that it does cover all aspects of Victorian farm life, including cooking using all parts of the animal (such as eyeballs!), sheep reproduction, birth of lambs, illness, and so on, so there may be questions from your children.

Age: 4+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: hour-long episodes
Available: I downloaded it from Amazon

The Muppet Christmas Carol

This is a delightful retelling of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which sticks fairly close to the original story (and wording), but with added Muppets! It is directed by Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson (who had died two years earlier). Michael Caine plays Scrooge, but the rest of the roles are filled by familiar Muppets, with Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Mrs Cratchit, Statler and Waldorf as Jacob Marley and Robert Marley (add to the movie as a reference to Bob Marley), and so on. I particularly liked all Muppets playing the roles of the movie extras, such as the rats, mice, lobsters, and vegetables. L (4) was a bit scared, but managed to watch the whole movie and enjoyed it. M (7) enjoyed it wholeheartedly, as did I (47) and N (45)!

Age: 4+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 1’25”
Available: We downloaded it from Amazon

Frozen II

I don’t usually like Disney much, and when I do, it’s often with a whole bunch of caveats about how I don’t like the underlying messages, even if it’s fun to watch. So I was really surprised at how much I genuinely enjoyed and liked Frozen II. There are no creepy underlying romantic plots (Anna is engaged to Kristoff, but it’s not a major plot point), and Disney worked together with Saami Council and Sámi parliaments of Finland, Norway and Sweden to make sure their representation of indigenous people (fictionalised as the Northuldra) is appropriate and respectful. It’s a fun adventure, with some lovely scenery, and an unexpectedly progressive underlying message about the need for settlers to make reparations to the indigenous communities they have harmed. L (4) found the rock monsters scary, but was glad she saw it. M (7) didn’t find anything too scary.

Age: 4+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 1’43”
Available: in theatres or for purchase

The Aristocats

This is (vintage) Disney, so it goes without saying that there are sexist stereotypes, casual racist stereotypes, and unnecessarily sexy animals – but if you’re prepared to overlook that, it’s an enjoyable film. The illustrations are quite nice (especially the backgrounds), the story is fine, and the music (by the Sherman Brothers) is pretty good. (My main question is: why are there so many drunken characters? I saw drunk cats, a drunk goose, and a drunk guy at a Parisian café – and I was only watching about half the time! Of course this went over the kids’ heads – but I still wonder why they’re there at all. Drunkenness isn’t appropriate for 4 years olds, or 10 year olds – but this is clearly a film for kids, not adults. I guess we can chalk this up to 1970?)

Age: 4+
Child rating: 8/10
Adult rating: 8/10
Running time: 78 minutes
Available: I rented it from Google Play

The Reluctant Deckhand

 This is a gentle coming-of-age story, which tells of 10 year old Tess joining her mother on a summer-long fishing trip in the waters off of Vancouver Island. At first reluctant and a bit scared, Tess gains in skills and maturity throughout the summer and ends up looking forward to the next summer’s trip. The illustrations are beautiful watercolour paintings by Amanda Forbis, cut-out animated by Jan Padgett (who is also the the author of the book on which this film is based). The intended audience is perhaps 8-12 year olds, but it’s suitable for kids of all ages. My 5 year old loves it, and there is nothing in it that scares my 2 year old.

Age: I’d say the ideal age is 8, but really 4+ (or 0+) is fine
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 33 minutes
Available: free on the NFB website

Apple Tree House

Apple Tree House is geared towards kids in the 4 to 8-ish age range, though fine for younger kids too, and centres around the gently humorous daily adventures of three primary school kids on an urban council estate. The cast is diverse in terms of ethnicity and age, and the kids are (usually) refreshingly free of gender stereotypes. Both of our kids (ages 2 and 5) love it, and I love the way the characters non-didactically model kindness, cooperation, and caring for friends, family, and community. (Update: this show is not the best if your kids like to watch the same episode 25 times in a row!)

Age: The stories are geared towards 4+, but it’s fine for younger kids too
Child rating: 8/10
Adult rating: 6/10
Running time: 15 minutes
Available: on the CBeebies website

Shaun the Sheep (TV series)

Shaun the Sheep is a stop-motion animated TV series from Aardman Animation, starring the eponymous Shaun, who first appeared as a character in the Wallace and Gromit short A Close Shave. These 7-minute episodes are wordless and quite delightful, and mostly involve the sheep getting themselves into and out of a variety of humorous scrapes. The show is a bit more boisterous than we usually want our kids to see: it’s better as a Saturday morning show than for watching before bed. (The spin-off show Timmy Time, intended for toddlers, is even more chaotic, so we are avoiding that one entirely). On the negative side, I find the theme music a bit repetitive, and it tends to get stuck in the head.

Age: 4+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 8/10
Running time: 7 minute episodes
Available: CBBC, Google Play, and Youtube

I Want a Dog

This is another NFB adaptation of a book by Canadian/American author and illustrator Dayal Kaur Khalsa, with animation by Sheldon Cohen and music by Zander Ary, performed by Neko Case. It tells the story of young girl named May who comes up with an ingenious way to convince her parents to get her a dog. It’s a sweet story of overcoming obstacles with good-natured persistence. Though the story is really for kids age 4 or so and up, L., now 14 months, loves it too. “Doggie! Doggie! Doggie!”

Age: 4+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 10 minutes
Available: for free here on the NFB website

 

The Snow Cat

This wintery story is based on a book by Canadian/American author Dayal Kaur Khalsa, adapted by Tim Wynne-Jones and animated by Sheldon Cohen. A grandmother tells her young grand-daughter the tale of Elsie, who lives alone in a cabin near the woods, and longs for a companion. Elsie makes friends with a magical snow cat and an injured goose, and comes to find comfort and companionship in nature and the cyclical return of the seasons. This story can certainly be taken at face value, as a magical tale, but it is also about coming to terms with loss, change, and death – and indeed Khalsa wrote the book as she was coming to terms with her own diagnosis of breast cancer. (M., looking over my shoulder says “it’s sad because the cat melts,” but that it is nice when that cat returns as a cat-shaped pond.)

Age: 4+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 23 minutes
Available: for free here on the NFB website