3 Yr Old & Showing His movie...suggestions?

The Curios George Movie is a great first movie.

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Cars, and perhaps Babe.

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Winnie-the-Pooh! It's disney, but not sad at all. My 3 year old loved it so much we bought him a stuffed Tigger to sleep with at night.

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My daughter is 3 and she loves the Incredibles, Madagascar, and Toy Story.

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I also think Cars is a great movie.

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Cars is a a nice movie also the many advetures of winnie the pooh is a classic.

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Hi, C.. I think you should not try to protect your boy so much. It's ok to show a movie that a problem has to be solved and everything turns out fine. You should be more worried about language and attitudes in it. I wouldn't show him "Sponge Bob" or something like that, but a cute movie like "Nemo" is fine: it shows how much love between father and son could be strong and that we can find people that will help you no matter what when you really need.

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Not sure what your feeling are on the religious side of things but we like the Veggie Tales in my house. The one video "God Made You Special" is filled with shorter stories and broken up with skits and songs in between. Also, anything with Larry Boy seems to be a big hit - although those are often much longer.

I would also agree with trying movies from things you already watch - Thomas (we have the story about Hero), Pooh movies including the Learn and Grow series as well as the Tigger Movie, Humpfallump and Sringtime with Roo (my only gripe with the Roo one is the play on A Christmas Carole and how Rabbit is scared by all his friends disappearing but it does not seem to bother my 3 YO), Seaseme Street, especially "Follow that Bird", etc.

I have tried (to no avail) to steer her away from Disney, but it seems like no matter where you go you are bombarded with them. Her latest kick is Little Meraid and Cars - thanks to our new Dr office that shows movies in the waiting lounge AND in the exam room. It is so hard as I love the practice, but have wondered about their some of their philosphy since they do this... But that could be a whole different post, right ladies?

My suggestion would be to preview anything before he does and ask the school for notice in advance about what movies they are watching and why (i.e. what benefit does it serve??). You can not possibly be the first parent with these types of concerns.

Good luck!
~C.

consider showing him a movie that has the sad moment in it for the first time with you, while he has you there to process those moments with him, since you know they will show them in school anyway. That was the point, to prepare him ahead of time, so show him what they show at the school and watch it with him.!! :)
K.

My 2 year old son loves Wall-e and Lilo & Stitch. (Finding Nemo is his favorite, but I think the other two avoid most of the sad undertones you've referred to.)

The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge) is great. It's a classic film, very visual and less than hour long.

My twin boys have always loved movies but are not bothered by things that are "scary" or "emotional," so I might not be a good judge. At age 3, they loved Cars, Wall-e (my favorite movie!), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ice Age. Gosh... so many, but some of them are maybe too old for a more sensitive child.
Cars would be cute for a boy, I think.

At that age my son liked Dora the Explorer Pirate Adventure. Also Elmo, Little Bear, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Franklin, Caillou, etc. Those are all appropriate; you can look for movies of those shows. Watch Sprout or Noggin Chanels for ideas.

I think Finding Nemo is a great movie. So do my girls, 4 & 7. They have been watching this for the last few years, & is a favorite of theirs. Yes, the first 2 minutes may be sad, but it happens so quick, the kids don't have time to focus on that, & have almost 90 minutes of fun, & adventure. And don't forget, with a DVD, you have the ability to just skip that first scene, & start where the dad finds the last egg & names him Nemo. The rest is great.
The movies you let your child watch should be determined by what he can handle. My 7yr old is OK with Sci-Fi type shows & movies, with no bad dreams or other problems, & likes slap-stick comedy. My 4yr old likes Little Mermaid & Dora, & will leave or hide her head on anything she doesn't like. Her favorite movie is Cars.
I would try to get a list of movies to be shown in school, or at least advance notice, then you can decide to preview or talk about it before &/or after seeing the movie, or decide not to let him see it at all. Selected movies should have some kind of moral, how to deal with various situations & emotions, & sometimes just for fun & making kids happy.

Life is full of sad undertones and happy endings. You can't keep him from this no more than Marlin could keep Nemo from swimming towards the boat. It all worked out and they were both better fish for the experience.

The fact that he is sensitive is a good thing. How many men do we wish were that way...and straight?

I can't think of a single movie that does not have sad undertones....Happy Feet might be one that's not too bad...but I still think you are out of luck.

I almost feel like making a list of movies to NOT show him until he's older, of course my kids and grandkids love all the ones I would list. One move I will say do not show is Flushed Away. Talk about issues with toilets flushing you away.... I agree with the poster that said find a feature movie from a show you allow him to watch.

Make sure you put in writing that it would be emotional damaging for him to watch movies like Nemo - so they don't show them. Then provide ones that are suitable. BBC's Blue Planet and Planet Earth have hours and hours of gorgeous scenery of the oceans, rivers, and every part of the Earth and its animals. We bought Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (I grew up on that), too.

I personally think all those Disney type movies have sad undertones, I mean that's the plot line...there has to be a happy ending somehow! And, sorry, Dawn, I love Charlotte's Web...but uh...SAD!!!! Also, are those the types of movies they are going to show him in scool? If so, you may want his first experience with one to be with you so you can talk it through, but if you don't want that then I would suggest doing a "full length movie" of a TV show. A lot of shows have them like Barney, Yo Gabba Gabba, Sesame Street, etc. Maybe look at the library or Wal Mart/Target DVD section and see what you can find.

toy story is a great movie and no one dies. at 3 that was my sons fav. movie.

I would recommed Cars or Ice Age (my son's favorite movies) or Elmo in Grouchland.

Charlottes web (animated and live versions are both great)
Snow Buddies (and probably the other ones but I haven't seen them) (there is a sad back story but it goes WAY over kids heads)
Another favorite is Muppets Letter to Santa
I wouldnt show him toy story- there is a VERY scary (even to me LOL) part with mean neighbor boy mutilating toys. I regret that is my sons current favorite...plus there is a lot of not nice language that he has picked up.

Please don't show Lilo and Stitch to your son. My son actually shook and cried during it, and he was older than three.

Charlotte's Web might be the ticket. It's animated, but so are a lot of Disney movies.

All my best,
D.

My son is 3 and movies have been an issue at his school for me and him. He is not one of those children who just sit mindlessly watching them. I have had to NOT ALLOW him to watch NEMO and TOY STORY (the one with Jessie in it) He was FREAKING OUT and after weeks of trying to figure it out I came to realize that with NEMO - he was very bothered about the opening scene where the mom gets eaten? I never watched it but researched it online. With Toy Story, he doesn't like Jessie b/c she is not nice and "beats up" woody." Again, never watched it but reasearched it online and when I read Jessies character description my thought was - NO WONDER he doesn't like her. I can go further into detail about how these movies affected my son but it would take to long. Accept for school he would only watch Sprout, Nick Jr, etc...I have not allowed the school to play those two movies for him and I will continue to not allow movies as issues arise, however, he is able to watch Disney Pixars CARS and I actually bought him the DVD for home and he is obsessed with it. There are some questionable parts but I just talk to him about them - they are not SCARY parts like in Nemo or disturbing like Jessie. I understand a lot of children watch these movies, but you have to consider your child...my child is analytical, obsessive, sensitive and very smart (not saying children who watch them with no problems are not smart) NOTHING gets by him and he really fixates on "right from wrong". I would just not let anything go - you as a parent have a right to speak up - its preschool - not high school, he shouldn't have to endure things he doesn't understand yet or that he does but upset him b/c he is still developing.

My almost 3 year old's fav. movie is Barney's great adventure. It was also my niece and nephew's favs. :)

I know he can be annoying but kids love him - Elmo in Grouchland is good for kids that age but can be really trying on us parents.

I am running through my mind about movies and most of them have a sad undertone - I couldn't even watch UP without breaking down more than once. And if they don't have a sad/loss (Lion King, Nemo, James & the Giant Peach, Tarzan. . .) then they have a scary part (Princess & the Frog, Snow White).

Maybe Toy Story - or Monsters Inc (some scare but shows kids how to see through the scare - that was my oldest's favorite movie when she was that age.)

Good luck!

I don't like how so many places outside the home play movies or television in a misguided effort to entertain or quiet them down or distract them. Like another poster said, this is another huge topic and I feel really strong about it! My son's elementary school showed disney movies often during lunchtime in the cafeteria and I hated it.

I think if a school is going to play a DVD or video, the best choice would be a gentle nature program, the type they show on PBS. For preschoolers choose the smaller animals, or birds, or fish, so they don't see graphic carnivorous stuff til the parents can explain it first. Cartoon-wise, I think Dinosaur Train is great, also on PBS. It includes a minute with a real paleontologist who explains a few little facts.

Just because a movie is made for kids and says Disney doesn't mean it's automatically thumbs up for all children. My son is sensitive to right vs wrong, extremely bright, and gets very upset when he sees violence or harm to animals.

Pretty much all the Disney movies have some sad theme or problem to overcome and I don't think any of them have 2 parents. The pixar are better, especially the ones for older kids like The Incredibles, but then you have violence to deal with instead. I think the best idea is to watch with your son, and forward through any scary parts and/or discuss the movie afterward. If you want to check out what to expect beforehand for any of the movie recommendations, search on "parent reviews", there are many sites that go into detail about what content might be objectional for children. One of the sites is parentpreviews.com, but there are several, so if you don't find a review in one, you can search some of the others.

Like another mom said, you can always skip that first scene in Nemo and the rest of the movie is less traumatic and scary.

I think Peter Pan is wonderful..my son is Autistic and also has Tourette's and we have been very careful on what he sees and hear for all the obvious reasons. Disney's Cars is good too and my son's personal favorite is Chicken Little. The problem with a really sweet movie is most have a sad undertone, but some less than others. Nemo is good, but it is a good learning tool for him too in that the dad and Nemo are reunited. That is good and may help him out with sad feelings when there is a happy ending. My son also loves Happy Feet..actually my son and husband love it:o)