We all grow up with our favorite movies- the ones that we remember bringing us comfort or teaching us some important lesson for the first time or the ones that we watched over and over at sleepovers with our best friends, memorizing every line and spontaneous dance number. (Yes, I grew up in the 80's.)
As we grow, maybe our tastes diversify a little in genre - we watch movies with more daring ratings, maybe we have friends with different backgrounds who introduce us to movies we've never seen. I think, though, with the way that Hollywood is, we need to be pretty intentional if we want to expose ourselves and our kids to movies with racially diverse casts, movies that do not have a white savior theme, movies that may tell us a different story of what life was and is really like in America.
As my oldest son is finally at the age to watch movies with deeper themes and questions, I recently polled friends on Facebook asking for help, which turned into a list I am excited to dive into. I also did some searches of my own to try to find some movies to add.
I broke the list into two main categories- General Movies and Historically Based Movies. These are all movies that someone deems appropriate for children and I've included their ratings, if they have one as well as their descriptions as found on IMDB or Amazon. I have not seen them all yet so please have grace if something is NOT actually a great movie to include. I'll continue to update the post as I see them if anything needs to be omitted.
Without further ado, here is what I have come up with. So far. It is by no means exhaustive. If you see a glaring omission, I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments section and will gladly and gratefully amend the post to reflect any missed movies.
Enjoy!
Children’s Movies with Diverse Casts
GENERAL MOVIES
Animated
UNRATED
Spirited Away (and all the Miyazaki movies) - ANIME -
A wondrous fantasy about a young
girl, Chihiro, trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents
undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never
knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - Join Spirit, a wild young mustang, as he sets out on an
action-packed quest against impossible odds to regain his freedom and save his
homeland. In his courageous and thrilling journey across the majestic
wilderness of the American frontier, Spirit forms a remarkable friendship with
a young Lakota brave, outwits a relentless squadron of soldiers, and falls for
a beautiful paint mare named Rain.
G RATED
The Emperor’s New Groove – G - Emperor
Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain
his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.
My Neighbor Totoro – G - Follow
the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into
a new home in the countryside. To their delight, they discover that their new
neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro -- who can be seen only through
the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters --
including a cat that doubles as a bus! -- and takes them on an incredible
journey.
Brother Bear- G- When a
young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear
himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing
back
Princess and the Frog – G - A
waitress, desperate to fulfill her dreams as a restaurant owner, is set on a
journey to turn a frog prince back into a human being, but she has to face the
same problem after she kisses him.
Mulan – G - To save
her father from death in the army, a young maiden secretly goes in his place
and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.
PG RATED
Lilo & Stitch – PG - A Hawaiian
girl adopts an unusual pet who is actually a notorious extra-terrestrial
fugitive from the law.
Big Hero 6 –PG - The special bond that develops between
plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a
group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
Non-Animated
UNRATED
Polly – TV Movie- An
musical adaptation of the book "Pollyanna" set in the 1950's in which
an orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town
Cinderella (Disney Rogers and
Hammerstein Version) – TV Movie- Updated
version of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the classic
fairy-tale, with an all-star, multi-racial cast.
The Tap Dance Kid – TV Show- Eight
year old wants to be a tap dancer like his uncle.
The Way Home – (Korean w/ subtitles) – Seven-year-old Sang-woo is left with
his grandmother in a remote village while his mother looks for work. Through
his grandmother’s boundless patience and devotion, he learns to embrace
empathy, humility and the importance of family.
Coyote Waits- TV Movie- Two tribal cops uncover a plot involving a lost fortune, an historical
artifact and a mythical Coyote on a Navajo reservation.
G-RATED
The Wiz – G - An
adaption of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of
the African American experience.
PG-RATED
Spy Kids – PG
– The children of secret-agent parents must save them from danger.
Like Mike
– PG – When a hoops-loving fourteen year old with a dream to play in
the NBA finds a mysterious pair of old sneakers, he makes the leap from
playground hijinks to superstardom.
My Lucky Elephant –PG- Shot on
location in the jungles of Thailand, this action adventure focuses on an orphan
boy and his relationship with an abandoned elephant named Lucky. Together they
overcome one adversity after another to survive, ultimately succeeding when
Lucky charms everyone and becomes the star painter at an Elephant's Art
Academy.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham –PG - The film chronicles the ordinary interactions and everyday routines of
the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, and how they
are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer
of 1963.
Annie (new version) –PG - A
foster kid who lives with her mean foster mom sees her life change when
business tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a
thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.
Akeelah and the Bee – PG - A young
girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Karate Kid (new version) – PG - Work
causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home,
the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.
Space Jam – PG - Michael
Jordan agrees to help the Looney Toons play a basketball game vs. alien slavers
to determine their freedom.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – PG - Sean
Anderson partners with his mom's husband on a mission to find his grandfather,
who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.
Daddy Day Care – PG - Two men
get laid off and have to become stay-at-home dads when they can't find jobs.
This inspires them to open their own day-care center.
Corrina, Corrina – PG
– When Manny Singer’s wife dies, his young daughter Molly becomes mute and
withdrawn. To help cope with looking after Molly, he hires sassy housekeeper
Corrina Washington, who coaxes Molly out of her shell and shows father and
daughter a whole new way of life.
Sister Act 2 – PG – Deloris Van Cartier is again asked to
don the nun’s habit to help a run-down Catholic school, presided over by Mother
Superior. And if trying to reach out to a class full of uninterested students
wasn’t bad enough, the sisters discover that the school is due to be closed by
the unscrupulous local authority chief, Mr. Crisp.
Linsanity – PG - The life story of basketball sensation, Jeremy
Lin.
PG-13
MOVIES
Dr. Doolittle – PG-13 - A Doctor finds out that he
can understand what animals are saying. And the animals find out that he
understands.
Whale Rider – PG-13 - A small Maori village faces a crisis when the heir to the
leadership of the Ngati Konohi dies at birth and is survived only by his twin
sister, Pai. Although disregarded by her grandfather and shunned by the village
people, twelve-year-old Pai remains certain of her calling and trains herself
in the ways and customs of her people. With remarkable grace, Pai finds the
strength to challenge her family and embraces a thousand years of tradition in
order to fulfill her destiny.
Smoke
Signals- PG-13 – Young Indian man Thomas is a nerd in his
reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no one wants
to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976 and Thomas was saved by Arnold.
Arnold soon left his family and his tough son Victor and Victor hasn’t seen his
father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him
funding for the trip to get Arnold’s remains but only if Thomas will also go
with him. Thomas and Victor hit the road.
Remember the Titans - PG-13 - The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.
Historically
Based Movies
Ruby Bridges – TV Movie – The true story of Ruby Bridges, an African-American girl
who, in 1960 at age 6, helped integrate the all-white schools of New Orleans.
Selma Lord Selma – TV Movie- In 1965 Alabama, an 11 year old girl is
touched by a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. and becomes a debout follower.
But her resolution is tested when she joins others in the famed march from
Selma to Montgomery.
Our Friend Martin – TV Movie – This is the story of a black teenager
named Miles who has to go on a class field trip to the museum of learning what
Martin Luther King, Jr. did for humanity, he thinks that he’d rather play
baseball. But the trip turns into an exciting adventure when he and his best
friend, Randy, who is white, are sent back in time, meeting Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. at several points during his life.
Heroes of Freedom: Stories of Harriet
Tubman and Rosa Parks – Educational Video – summary unavailable
Race to Freedom: The Underground
Railroad – TV Movie- A number
of slaves risk their lives to escape their masters with their only help coming
from the famous secret slave escape network.
March On and More Stories About African
American History – INCLUDES 4 SHOWS –
MARCH ON!: THE DAY MY BROTHER MARTIN CHANGED THE WORLD
(Written by Dr. Christine King Farris, illustrated by London Ladd, narrated by
Lynn Whitfield) Martin Luther King Jr. s sister travels back to 1963 to present
a personal, stirring account of the remarkable day when Dr. King delivered his
I HAVE A DREAM Speech.
MARTIN S BIG WORDS (Written by Doreen Rappaport,
illustrated by Bryan Collier, narrated by Michael Clarke Duncan) Using quotes
from some of his beloved speeches, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. comes to life in
this profound and important biography about beliefs and dreams and following
one s heart.
ROSA (Written and narrated by Nikki Giovanni,
illustrated by Bryan Collier) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a
Montgomery, Alabama city bus and refused to give up her seat to a white man, an
act that ignited a revolution and changed history.
HENRY S FREEDOM BOX: A TRUE STORY FROM THE
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (Written by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson,
narrated by Jerry Dixon) The powerful true story of a young slave who mails
himself to freedom.
Eyes on the Prize- NR - Eyes on the Prize tells the
definitive story of the civil rights era from the point of view of the ordinary
men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the
fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations continue
to be felt today. Winner of numerous awards, Eyes on the Prize is
the most critically acclaimed documentary on civil rights in America.
4 Little Girls – Documentary - A
documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American
church during the Civil Rights Movement.
Harriet Tubman : Inspiring Animated
Heroes – True story of
Harriet Tubman’s involvement in the underground railroad, helping to free 300
slaves.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman –PG
- Story of a black woman in
the South who was born into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of
the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters
First One Hundred Years – TV Movie- Tells
the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American sisters who both
lived past the age of 100.
Betty and Coretta - TV
Movie- The widows of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and how they
carry on as single mothers after the assassination of their husbands.
The Rosa Parks Story – TV Movie- The story
of the civil rights heroine whose refusal to obey racial bus segregation was
just one of her acts in her fight for justice.
Polly Comin’ Home – TV Movie - Broadway
style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who
gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial understanding in
1956 Alabama.
Geronimo:
An American Legend – PG-13 –The story of the apache chief and his armed
resistance to the US Government’s subjugation of his people.
