[Lee vs Gaara]

Inspired by Sentinel28a's first post in the "Sesame Street" thread, I think this is a good list for those with kids or younger siblings. They are Family oriented films with a darkside, and have something important to say.

1. Gremlins- A personal Favorite movie. I was kept from seeing this movie as a child by my mother.... It's one I saw at a friend's house.

Gremlins shows that at a certain point, while you try to deny it, the magic of christmas is gone and you have to realize it's nothing but a depressive mess, while you think so much about what should be. There are real problems going on in the world, especially that time of year. Oh, there is no Santa Clause.

It's a great satire on the traditional Norman Rockwell Family Christmas

2. Matilda

There are evil people in the world. They can be teachers, parents, or police officers. Look, its a tough world. Thing is, you don't have to tolerate it. Also, just having DNA in common with people means nothing. Parents don't need respect if they don't deserve it.


3. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Bad things happen to good people. All the time. The kids in the stories aren't brats. They aren't perfect. They are just average, decent kids. And bad crap keeps happening. That's how life is. You have to suffer through it some times.




And, since I can't think of any more, here is the best monolog from any movie ever. If I ever hold auditions, and somebody recites this monolog, good or bad, you get the part.


"The worst thing that ever happened to me was on Christmas. Oh, God. It was so horrible. It was Christmas Eve. I was 9 years old. Me and Mom were decorating the tree, waiting for Dad to come home from work. A couple hours went by. Dad wasn't home. So Mom called the office. No answer. Christmas Day came and went, and still nothing. So the police began a search. Four or five days went by. Neither one of us could eat or sleep. Everything was falling apart. It was snowing outside. The house was freezing, so I went to try to light up the fire. That's when I noticed the smell. The firemen came and broke through the chimney top. And me and Mom were expecting them to pull out a dead cat or a bird. And instead they pulled out my father. He was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. He'd been climbing down the chimney... his arms loaded with presents. He was gonna surprise us. He slipped and broke his neck. He died instantly. And that's how I found out there was no Santa Claus. "

-Gremlins


"The monolog pretty much explains the movie. It's funny as hell if it didn't happen to you."-Joe Dante.

[TekoMuto]

i'd say:


"All Dogs Go To Heaven": Even though i watched it over and over again as a child, then i didn't grasp the concepts of it. It was just a movie. now that i found it during the summer and watched it, I find it pretty graphic actually for a children's movie. It bascially shows explotation, bribery, murder, religous concepts, gambling, and a veiw of how the world can be harsh and yet you could change it by trying to do good. It still is one of my favorite movies from when i was a kid :3


"The Secret of NIMH":it was produced by the smae people who did "ADGOH" and i haven't seen it in leik forever. To put is shortly, it teaches children that experimentation upon animals is wrong, how barbaric humans can be and how humans can screw up the lives of other animals. once again, i enjoyed it as a kid.

[this_chick25]

OMG I have BOTH of those movies!! They are two of my favorites too.

I should watch them again. I don't cry much when I watch movies (actually at all), but those two make me cry every time I watch them.

[XenoBlade]

Fern Gully?(I THINK that's the name.)-Human impact on forests, and how they destroy animal's habits. (All I remember well is a Blind without glasses badger.)

[this_chick25]

::snap::

AAAAGH!!! THAT's the name of that movie! I was thinking about that one just now but I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it...

Hmmm... I don't have that one... I only saw it once, too. That one was pretty...

[XenoBlade]

this_chick25, on Nov 21 2007, 08:16 PM, said:

::snap::

AAAAGH!!! THAT's the name of that movie! I was thinking about that one just now but I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it...

Hmmm... I don't have that one... I only saw it once, too. That one was pretty...

Uh-huh. Trying to steal my thunder huh? lol

[this_chick25]

Nah, you mentioned it first. I just thought it was a weird coincidence that you mentioned one of the other animated movies I was trying to think of. NIMH and All Dogs just took me along that path of animated movies from when I was younger.

There's actually one more I'm trying to remember too, but the memory is really faint and I'm too distracted by eating right now to remember it well...

[XenoBlade]

this_chick25, on Nov 21 2007, 08:37 PM, said:

Nah, you mentioned it first. I just thought it was a weird coincidence that you mentioned one of the other animated movies I was trying to think of. NIMH and All Dogs just took me along that path of animated movies from when I was younger.

There's actually one more I'm trying to remember too, but the memory is really faint and I'm too distracted by eating right now to remember it well...

Psychic powers!

Maybe Rescuers down under?

Thinking about it, alot of the 90's cartoon movies had pretty good messages while being entertaining.

[Animexcel]

Batman Begins

[TekoMuto]

Ah yes! also i forgot to mention "Once upon a forest". Basically it has the moral of "To save the environment, hate humans"

[Lee vs Gaara]

I really don't count the "Cliched environmentalist message". Everything from the early nineties was about the environment.... And frankly, I'm sick of environmentalism because all people give a crap about is global warming, and there is not enough evidence to support it. Meanwhile, there are places where lethal amounts of arsenic are allowed in our drinking water....

All Dogs Go To Heaven is a good one... Going with the Don Bluth thing we can also say "An American Tale". I just don't think I personally would count Nimh, Fern Gully, or Once Upon a Forest. It's the same damn message we got from "Captain Planet" over and over again. Nor did I find them harsh enough. Of course, that's probably because I'm desensitized to the point where the only thing that can faze me is Terror of Tiny Town.

[Mock-Kappa]

Godzilla's Revenge. Bullies, Latch key children, Burglers, and a weird almost Pediphile Toy maker. No wonder Ichio, Kenny, or whatever his name is keeps going to a fantasy world where he is friends with Godzilla's son, Minya. There he learns he has to fight his own battles in real life.

Hey Newski what about Shadow Star Narutaru? That would teach any child the harsh realities of life.

Also:
Dark Crystal
Labyrinth
Gamera the Brave
E.T.

[Lee vs Gaara]

Mock-Kappa, on Nov 22 2007, 09:48 AM, said:

Hey Newski what about Shadow Star Narutaru? That would teach any child the harsh realities of life.

No, that will just disturb them beyond belief...

Quote

Also:
Dark Crystal
Labyrinth
Gamera the Brave
E.T.

I was waiting for you to put down "Gamera the Brave". It's a good movie about dealing with change, death, ect....

[Fairy Godmoose]

Probably every Don Bluth movie except The Pebble and the Penguin. Yes, if you try hard enough, you can achieve many wonderful things, but no amount of trying will allow a penguin to fly. Especially without their arms.

[sentinel28a]

TekoMuto, on Nov 21 2007, 10:41 PM, said:

"The Secret of NIMH":it was produced by the smae people who did "ADGOH" and i haven't seen it in leik forever. To put is shortly, it teaches children that experimentation upon animals is wrong, how barbaric humans can be and how humans can screw up the lives of other animals. once again, i enjoyed it as a kid.

I came away with a completely different impression of Secret of Nimh.

1) Rats+swordfights=KEWL.
2) Rats+electric spears=KEWL.
3) There is cussing in animation? Wow. KEWL. (This was 10 years before I saw BGC.)
4) Don Bluth loves horrible, bloody deaths. Remember that only two mice walked out of Nimh, and one of them was crippled. Nicodemus was crushed by a cinder block. Sullivan was eviscerated. Jenner was run through. Damn. G rating my butt.
5) Mrs. Frisby's Amulet of Telekinesis is clearly a Major Artifact. Where the hell did the rats get that thing?
6) The Secret of Nimh bears about as much resemblance to the original children's novel as horsecrap does to peanut butter.
7) It was a great friggin' movie, better than even Titan AE.

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"DIE, TIMMY!"

[Mock-Kappa]

The Hobbit.

[sailorgaia]

Lord, Secret of Nimh. I really loved that movie growing up! There is always a quality of realism in Don Bluth films that gives me the shivers; it was a pretty frightening tale when you think about it. Am I the only one who thought Justin was kinda hot? ....You know, for a rat. I really wanted him and Mrs. Brisby to hook up. Sure, that would have been intra-species dating as he was a rat and she was a mouse and all....but he kept flirting with her.

Since I can't suggest books, I'd suggest "Return to OZ," which is closer to the novels than the 1930's version. It has a lot of very dark themes in it but with that "I can conqure all" attitude. It's still scary to see Mombi without her head today--or the gnomes chasing Dorothy! F-ing creepy! XD

Drop Dead Fred--sure, it's really targeted to older people but I certainly enjoyed it growing up. It has a great message about being permitted to use your imagination and what happens when you grow up so deprived of it. It's just great movie; extremely funny too. Anything Rik Mayall = Win.

[audaciouska241]

Damn, you guys are covering a lot of good ones!!!! I'd have to say my movie pick is going to be Matilda. I loved it when I was growing up, I thought it was neat that somebody liked reading a lot like I did. Little did I know that the same thing was going to happen to me eventually. My mom remarried a jerk who hated that I was smarter than his kids, and he took my books away. I don't deal with such douchebaggery anymore though.

[otakucomedian#1]

Um...lets see, a movie to prepare the youth for the crappy, crappy world.... im thinkin...
1) Rocky...gives them some inspiration
2) Terminator...will make them fear and hate robots...as we all should...
3) Last Samurai.....kinda shows discipline and honor
4) Forest Gump...great American classic

well..i think thats it...However...As much as I loved Nightmare Before Christmas as kid, when it was actually a great unknown movie, not something emos now cry themselves to sleep with,...i dont want to recomend it to this generation's youth..cuz theyll most likely end up emo kids, who im gonnna eventually snap and start violently beating when im older....the world doesnt need more emo kids....there

[Lee vs Gaara]

audaciouska241, on Nov 27 2007, 05:38 PM, said:

Damn, you guys are covering a lot of good ones!!!! I'd have to say my movie pick is going to be Matilda. I loved it when I was growing up, I thought it was neat that somebody liked reading a lot like I did. Little did I know that the same thing was going to happen to me eventually. My mom remarried a jerk who hated that I was smarter than his kids, and he took my books away. I don't deal with such douchebaggery anymore though.

Wow... That really sucks. Never had anything like that happen.

But I did get in trouble for telling a fellow first grade student that learning numbers to 100 isn't something to be proud of, because he should have known that already. To be fair, I was in an LD class because they put people with Emotional Problems like Depression in the Learning Disabilities class.... It's amazing I turned out with a 141 IQ despite that.

That's what happens in this country. If you are average intelligence, you are as dumb as the people in charge want you. If you a smarter, you are too smart for the population and people hate you for it. If you are dumb, the dumber people and the smarter people hate you for it. But unless you have an honest to good learning Disability (and Discalcula doesn't count. I'm not going to blame my inability to do math on something that sounds pretty damn made up) there is no reason to be stupid.

Alas, schools are being completely dumbed down... We need to fix our public education system.

Why are people threatened by smarter people? When people show they are smarter then me, I don't get upset. I say "Hey, I need to be SMARTER!"

Oh, that's such a side rant.... How do I get back on topic?

Oh, yeah, Joe Dante....

He also made Small Soldiers. Now THAT was a kickass children's film... And I think it did mock the whole glorification of violence in action films, by having the heroes pretty much be cowards and the enemies these all American soldier types.... Of course, it's a really typical "Joe Dante" message, hardly to par with his satirization of Christmas in "Gremlins" or his constant assaults on the Fast Food industry.

[TekoMuto]

oh yeah, remember this?

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=MLIGnLKvjy8

[Fairy Godmoose]

Man, I LOVED The Brave Little Toaster...I watched it a few months back for the first time in around 7 years, and I was eerily surprised to see how ominous it was. Like when Kirby had a seizure, and when Lampy blew out. ;_;

[this_chick25]

TekoMuto, on Dec 1 2007, 02:53 PM, said:

oh yeah, remember this?

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=MLIGnLKvjy8

Holy crap!

::adds "The Brave Little Toaster" to Amazon Wish list::

It has been ages... remember the high-level drama in the repair shop?

[TekoMuto]

this_chick25, on Dec 1 2007, 10:28 PM, said:

Holy crap!

::adds "The Brave Little Toaster" to Amazon Wish list::

It has been ages... remember the high-level drama in the repair shop?

my favorite part is with the Clown


"Run...."

[Mock-Kappa]

Angus
The Mighty

[szwrld]

a lot of books prepare kids for life too. If you go through the banned book list most of them are on there.

For example, bridge to Teribithia is on there because it went through the processes of grieving. That's a good movie and book.

[BebopCola2021]

Fern Gully- I agree with whoever posted this one
All Dogs Go to Heaven- (see above)
E.T.- (see above)
Labyrinth- (see above)


Now for something completely different (my additions)

The Lion King - Yes, I know it's still sugary Disney, but come on, Mustafa's death scene...can't get more tragic.

The Neverending Story- Ok, so it's hopeful and happy and encourages holding on to imagination, but when it gets low...it gets LOW. Remember when Atreyu's horse was killed? Remember when the Nothing swallowed Fantasia? Yeah, that's dark.


These don't quite fit the mold of "harsh life realities" but I truely believe that every child/family should watch these:

-The Princess Bride
-Mirrormask
-Star Wars (the original trilogy: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)
-The Wizard of Oz
-The Nightmare Before Christmas
-Everything from Studio Ghibli (some of those would fit the "harsh reality" mold quite well!)

[sammy-45]

Battries Not Inculded

Inner Space

Ghostbusters

[Lee vs Gaara]

BebopCola2021, on Dec 2 2007, 08:34 PM, said:

-The Wizard of Oz
-

I can't in good conscience recommend this movie. It's a coldhearted, dark story, and frankly, I don't think it has much redeeming value. The whole moral of the story is "Women, stay in your place." It's an evil, sexist film. It's also a classic. But I swear, every time I see it and there is a young girl in the audience getting into it, I cringe, and fear for her future.

"szwrld" said:

a lot of books prepare kids for life too. If you go through the banned book list most of them are on there.

Oh, I was going to post about that on Banned Books week, but I might have missed it because I keep forgetting it. I loved reading on one year's list.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" banned in a small town because it "Conflicted with local morals".

And I still love "Huck Finn" being banned for Racism. They should start banning it for blasphemy instead. Because the whole portion where Huck decides "I don't care if it is a sin, I'm going to help Jim". I mean, he outright says he's willing to say "Screw You" to God and put his humanist moral above God.

I've wanted to make a film version of Huck Finn since I was a kid. Because it's one of my favorite books. Thing is, it has a really dark sense of humor that no movie has captured yet. I mean, it's comparable to Blazing Saddles. Like, the scene after the Steamboat accident I believe it was.

"Anyone die?"
"Coupla N*****s"
"Oh. Thank God nobody was hurt."

The book is really dark, really satirical, and those aspects aren't played enough... It's supposed to make you laugh and cringe at the same time.

And I went on a tangent again.... But no film version of Huck Fin would fit this category. But the book sure as hell does. And my film version would.... It would also get a PG-13 rating because of the use of the N-word... But I'd still try to sell it as a family film.

[szwrld]

Lee vs Gaara, on Dec 3 2007, 04:38 PM, said:

Oh, I was going to post about that on Banned Books week, but I might have missed it because I keep forgetting it. I loved reading on one year's list.

the banned book week was sept. 29 - oct. 6

i have one friend who is studying to be a librarian and she's read over 1/2 the books on the list. Her goal is to read all of them.
We were talking about the list and some of them are banned for the most insane reasons. Anything to do with homosexuality is banned and anything to do with sex or sex education is banned. Its a little ridiculous.