Great Films for Kids

Though I'm a newcomer to the audacious work of Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, that doesn't make me a total know-nothing, does it? C'mon, at least now I know he's all partnered up with Disney on gorgeous, edgy kidflicks like Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and the just-released-in-the-States Howl's Moving Castle.

The conduit for all this 411? My six-year-old. Thank goodness I bred.

We totally bonded watching Spirited Away about three hundred times this past week. I'm not being sarcastic either. That's my point here. A Miyazaki is a thing of beauty: a family film you can watch. And watch. And watch. She finally got over it before I did. And the tie-in merchandise is mercifully scarce. Not a peep at the toystore.

I haven't been this happy eating popcorn next to a small person since Wayne Wang's sleeper family movie Because of Winn-Dixie (get the excellent indie-folk soundtrack available here).

categories: film home life family