Real talk - the mark of an excellent kids' movie is that it still has something profound to say to the adults who took those kids to see that movie. The best films weave that message in seamlessly in and say what they need to say in ways that work for both the kids and the grown-ups.
So lets celebrate those moments. Reddit user KeenestDerp1 asked:
What kids movie has no right to be as good as it is?
So here's the thing, I'm never gonna tell people who don't want kids or can't afford kids etc. to go out and have babies just so you have an "excuse" to watch children's movies and TV.
But I am going to say you should totally still watch some kids stuff from time to time! Cartoons and kids movies now aren't the slapstick pointless explosion of color they used to be.
They're deep, emotional, political, deal with trauma, tell compelling stories ... aaaaaaaand are an explosion of color! Seriously. Don't sleep on kids programming, take a look at what these people had to say:
Groove With It
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"Emperors New Groove, fur sure. Yzma and Kronk are easily the funniest Disney villains of all time."
"Other villains like Gaston, Ursula, or Scar have funny moments, but ultimately become legitimate, scary threats by the end. Or Frollo or Shan Yu, who have no humor to redeem them at all."
"Kronk and Yzma, however, remain amusing throughout, and survive on top of that. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton had such great comedic delivery."
"Yzma: That's it, Kronk! Break the door down!"
"Kronk: Break it down, are you kidding me? This is hand-carved mahogany." - Dahhhkness
Vin Diesel At His Best
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"The Iron Giant has some of the absolute best animation" - ElephantExplosion
"My wife always likes to look my way at the ending, she knows the waterworks are coming. She gets a kick out of it." - piberryboy
"Unironically my favorite vin diesel performance. With only a few words he was able to convey so much (with the help of expert animation)."
"You are you choose to be/superman sequence is as powerful as anything else I've seen in live action." - Hogwarts_Earth2
" 'You stay. I go. No following.' " - TheTruthenatorer
Rats In A Kitchen
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"Ratatouille. A bunch of rats in a restaurant should not make such a great movie." - cdgal38382
"I think the food critic Anton Egos speech at the end is possibly one of the greatest bits of writing in cinema history."
" 'The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.' "
" 'Last night, I experienced something new: an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core.' "
" 'In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto, 'Anyone can cook.' But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere.' " - scotlandisbae
Kung Fu
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"Kung Fu Panda. You'd expect a lot of fat jokes and not much else, but all three movies are fantastic in terms of action, drama, and emotions." - WeirdGuy149
"I avoided these movies for so long because I thought they looked dumb as hell and I also don't always care for Jack Black."
"Then my kids got obsessed with these movies and every time I watched it I noticed something new and became more and more impressed. It's got a solid story, solid mythology, and the movie is constantly referencing itself and keeping itself aligned with its themes."
"The fact that the movie is full of scenes of Po doing random stuff and getting hurt in random ways and then every single one of those incidents is brought back in the fight at the end is just amazing to me." - TypewriterKey
"Was about to comment this, actually. Trailers make you think it's a dumb animated comedy, but it ends up being an unironically solid martial arts flick" - ProfessionalSquid
Dragon Time
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"As a 30 year old man, 'How To Train Your Dragon' remains my favorite movie of all time. Perfect writing, perfect voice acting, perfect music, perfect animation - Toothless, a dragon with zero lines of dialogue, has more personality than most kid's movie protagonists."
"Fun fact, that movie uses more callback lines than any I've ever seen. I counted once and there's more than 15 lines of dialogue that get repeated at different points throughout the movie to show change or character development. This includes, but is not limited to:"
- "This is Berk"
- "Thank you for summing that up"
- "You just gestured to all of me"
- "That's for ______, that's for everything else"
- "Ohhh I am hurt, I am very much hurt"
- "I did this"
- "Why didn't you?"
- "We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard"
"Also notable for having shockingly good sequels as well."
"The second movie is arguably as good as the first, and the third, while not quite as good at the first two, is nonetheless excellent and a worthy conclusion to the series." - NotMieFault
A 90 Minute Toy Commercial
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"The Lego Movie"
"I was expecting it to be a 90 minute toy commercial. Instead it was really, really good, with a good message about creativity and some great songs."
"Also Lego Batman was better than most live action superhero movies." - TheseWereThePlaces
"These movies were so hysterical!"
"My kids begged me to watch with them. I begrudgingly said yes. I thought it would be so dumb - I loved them!"
"To the point where after we had watched it several times-when there was a movie night months later I would suggest Lego Batman and my son would be like"
" 'Mooooom AGAIN?' " - Absofrickinlutely
A Story About Sisters
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"I watched Lilo and Stitch again recently as an adult, and I realized it's a story about an older sister trying to keep her family together with some aliens thrown in."
"Had me crying throughout the whole thing. Much different than how I remembered it as a kid!" - AGeneNamedCry
"Yeah it's really really heavy. Like they even got Lilo's acting out and tantrums from trying to process losing her parents right." - wardsac
"And Nani's room has lots of awards for surfing, implying she gave up that career to take care of Lilo." - SmartAlec105
"My husband, who does not get emotional over movies, couldn't watch it."
"He didn't actually lose both parents, but his dad died suddenly when he was 9 and the loss crushed his mom. He can recall years when his mom was almost always in bed crying."
"His brother basically raised him from ages 9-14 because their mom had become a shell of her former self."
"He cried watching Lilo & Stitch. I have never seen him cry over any other movie, ever. I think it just hit too close to home for him." - captkronni
"My wife and I have some contact with the foster care system (in a volunteer capacity), and yeah--this movie hits way harder now."
"Nani is a goddamn saint, but she's clearly in over her head in a world that isn't set up for her to succeed. The scene where she accepts that Lilo is going to be taken away and just holds her absolutely wrecks me." - BlueOysterCultist
"Aloha O'e (the song she sings to Lilo) adds another layer of heart wrenching to the scene too."
"It was composed by the last queen of Hawaii and she sang it to her people when Hawaii lost its independence. The writers for the movie legitimately added a whole lot of culture into the film in terms of the native Hawaiian experience." - Worthyness
Father/Son Films
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"I was an assistant manager at a movie theater when 'A Goofy Movie' came out. I could get my family into movies free, but I had to go with them."
"When that movie came out my little brother begged me to take him. I brought him, my sister and my mom, thinking I'd duck out after a few minutes & hang out in the office with whoever was working."
"I ended up watching every minute & absolutely loving it. My mother, a woman now well into her 60's, still loves this movie to this day. She pulled out her old VHS copy when we were there for Easter & we all watched it."
"It 100% holds up over time & I think it's one of the best father/son movies I've ever seen." - Zorgsmom
The Best Musicians Movie
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"Coco. Everyone talks about Hispanic representation, dealing with death, and gut-wrenching emotional turmoil, and Coco definitely has all that in spades, but as a musician and specifically a guitarist..."
"The chords are right. The plucking, strumming, dynamics are right. The instruments are right. Even the accompaniment."
"And when Miguel is sitting in his little hideaway, the look on his face when he gets into his playing is a genuine look that I've only seen musicians make. The moment he made that face I knew I was in for something special."
"This isn't a petulant child who insists on a hobby his parents hate, this is an artist feeling their art, someone with music in their soul that NEEDS to be played."
"And the stunning truth of how music is so powerful it can even occasionally, momentarily, overcome something as strong as dementia... that scene makes everyone cry but it WRECKED me."
"I watched that movie in theaters, went home, dusted off a neglected instrument, and unashamedly wept into the chords. Best musician's movie ever." - Enmaku
Now go! Stop reading articles on your phone and go watch something childish and great.
- Movie Lovers Share Their Favorite Comedy Films Of All Time - George Takei ›
- Movie Lovers Share The Films They Recommend Everyone Watch - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Movies They Love That No One Else Seems To Remember - George Takei ›
- Film Buffs Share Their All-Time Favorite Movie Endings - George Takei ›
- Parents Share The Best Phrases Their Kids 'Invented' When They Were Young - George Takei ›
- People Divulge Which Actors Known For Comedy Ended Up Being Fantastic Dramatic Actors - George Takei ›
- People Explain What Began As A Joke But Then Became A Legitimate Thing - George Takei ›
- The Best Animated Movies Of All-Time - George Takei ›
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
