Frozen

This is problematic in all the ways Disney is generally problematic — skinny white princess heroines, love stories that aren’t appropriate for young kids, excessive excitement and drama, etc. — but if you’re looking for a big, entertaining feature film to watch over the winter holidays, it’s enjoyable nonetheless. I know some people think Frozen is a feminist film, but I really don’t see it that way (for reasons similar to this writer here.) I include it as a recommendation mainly because it has encouraged my kids’ love of singing. I really dislike the music — but anything that gets the kids singing, and practising the songs until they get better, is a win in my book. It’s hard to predict what kids will be scared of, but my 3 year old, who is scared of most TV and movies these days, was not scared of Frozen — perhaps because she had heard so much about it before she watched? (I, on the other hand, had nightmares about it!)

Age: 3+, though it really depends on what your kids find scary
Child rating: 9/10
Parent rating: 7/10 for enjoyability, but 4/10 for perpetuating problematic social values and encouraging kids to want merchandise
Running time: 109 minutes
Where to find it: You can buy it on youtube or google play

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

Geese Swans (also called The Magic Swan Geese)

This is a nice 1949 animation by Alexandra Snezhko-Blotskaya and Ivan Ivanov-Vano, based on a Russian fairytale. A young boy is taken away by some evil swan geese which belong to the witch Baba Yaga, and his sister goes to rescue him. On her way, she helps, and is later helped by, an outdoor bread oven, an apple tree, and a stream of milk. M. (4) found the part at the witch’s house a bit scary, so we skipped over that (and this is why I’m rating it 5+, though some kids might be ready for it younger).

Age: 5+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 17’30”
Available: Available free here

Pick, The Little Mouse

Here’s a sweet, wordless animation by Gennady Sokolsky, which tells of a year in the life of a little field mouse, and contains lush imagery of the natural world. There are a few brief moments which some younger kids may find scary – when the mouse is chased by a boy, some sea birds, and an owl – but everything turns out ok.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 17’30”
Available: Available free on Youtube

A Little Silver Hoof

I’m just discovering that there is a wealth of beautifully animated Russian fairy tales made from the 1940s through the 1970s. Many are more suitable for older kids, but here’s one I’ve found that’s suitable for preschoolers, a lovely 1977 animation by Gennady Sokolsky based on a fairy tale from the Urals. A kindly old man takes in an orphaned girl and her cat, and together they win the favour of a magical deer (or goat), which stomps its foot and bestows a rainbow of beautiful gems upon them. (Apparently the region the story comes from is famed for its plentiful gemstones). I love the pacing of this animation — more like a book than like TV. I’m used to Russian animations with lavish orchestral scores, and was a bit surprised to hear this one accompanied with 70s electronic music. The soundtrack is in Russian, but there are English subtitles. Though this isn’t a Christmas tale per se, it’s certainly good for winter holiday watching – but could be enjoyed at any time of year.

Age: 3+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 9’30”
Available: There’s a version on Dailymotion with English subtitles

Vinni Pukh (Winnie-the-Pooh)

This is a fascinating Russian version of Winnie-the-Pooh, with beautiful illustrations and animation by Fyodor Khitruk and a colourful orchestral score by Mieczysław Weinberg. The characters are more animal-like, the scenery more wild, the pacing a bit slower, and the dialogue more enigmatic – interesting to adults as well as kids – than in the Disney animated version most of us are probably familiar with. Khitruk left Christopher Robin out of his telling of these tales so the animals would all be on equal footing as the central characters. There are three 10-minute episodes, available in Russian with English subtitles. I can usually get the kids to just watch without me having to read them out loud!

Age: 3+
Child rating: 8/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 10 minute per episode
Available: for free on Youtube

Christmas Cracker

This enjoyable animated short, co-directed by Norman McLaren, Gerald Potterton, Grant Munro and Jeff Hale of the National Film Board of Canada, consists of three Christmassy/wintery tales in different styles of animation, cut-out, stop motion, and hand drawn.

Age: 0+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 9 minutes
Available: for free on the National Film Board of Canada website

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Though I had the book, I somehow never saw this animated, musical version from 1966 when I was a kid. I’ve enjoyed discovering this classic with M. The animations are bright, lively, and true to Dr. Seuss’s illustrations, and the music is good. There’s a nice anti-consumerist message, in a format that is easy to discuss with a 4 year old. M. was scared the first time through (worried that the Grinch would prevent Christmas from coming), but has since requested to watch it many times.

Age: 4+
Child rating: 9/10
Adult rating: 9/10
Running time: 22 minutes
Available: for purchase on Google Play, or, in sections, for free on Youtube

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends

This is a series of nine beautifully animated versions of stories by Beatrix Potter, first shown on the BBC in the 90s. Each begins with a short live action vignette of Beatrix Potter at her home, followed by the story itself. Each episode sticks closely to the original, both in illustrations and in wording, though some episodes intertwine two books. Anytime I’ve noticed a detail that is not in the published version of books, it turns out to be something from an earlier, unpublished version. The music is well-composed (by Colin Towns) and well-performed.

So far M. has watched three of the episodes, many times each. We have not grown tired of any of them, and we’ve enjoyed watching the creative play that has grown out of M.’s engagement with the characters. I’ve included The Tailor of Gloucester episode as a separate entry on this blog, since it’s great as a Christmas movie.

Age: 3+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 26 minutes per episode

The Tailor of Gloucester (from The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends)

This is one episode from a series of nine beautifully animated versions of stories by Beatrix Potter, first shown on the BBC in the 90s. The whole series is reviewed here, but I’ve included this one as a separate entry because it takes place at Christmas time, and makes a great Christmas or winter movie. There are a few parts of this that are not in the published version of the book, but it turns out they were in an earlier unpublished version. I love all the meticulous research into the folksongs sung at the various animals’ Christmas parties (all mentioned in the unpublished version).

M. has watched this about 50 times in the past 3 months, and has developed a fascination with yellow taffeta and red silk twist thread, and is spending all his time drawing “waistcoats for mice!” We still enjoy it too.

Age: 3+
Child rating: 10/10
Adult rating: 10/10
Running time: 26 minutes
Available free on Youtube