Admit it, you’ve already spent 2 hours searching for a movie to watch, and ended up finding nothing interesting and went to sleep instead. We all have been there already, friend! But, don’t worry: Here’s a tip that may save you from this situation!
In place of seeking for the films that everybody talks about, or trying to choose between the last Oscars nominees – which we agree that are all pretty good, but it makes the choosing more difficult – you should watch… children’s movies! Yes, you read it right. Maybe you think that they’re silly and made just for kids. But, I gotta say that you’re terrible wrong. Some of them show a storyline with characters that anyone can connect with, as they have a great balance of humor, adventure and drama. Also, they are a fantastic way to have fun and reflect about “adult” questions – alone or with your family. So, forget about patterns and take your time to hunt for the pirate treasure, go toe-to-toe to escape from the witch or fly in the sky with a magic carpet. Hope you have a happy ending!
- Inside Out (2015)
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“Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head?”. I guess that everybody already thought about it and this is the main topic of Inside Out – which won two Oscars -, directed by Pete Docter. It shows the life of Riley, a girl that moved from Minnesota to San Francisco, because of her father’s job. The fun about it is that we can see her journey through her emotions – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust – which are mini people who live inside her head.
With a story full of drama and funny moments, we watch as the characters discover the importance of all the feelings, even those we think that are bad at the first sight. It is great to reflect about family, teamwork and the way we look at others.
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
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This is a classic and old one, so maybe you have already watched, but it couldn’t be out of this list. E.T. was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1982. It talks about an extraterrestrial that falls on Earth and is found by a boy that hides him in his house.
As the story passes by we see the build of friendship between Elliot and E.T., that creates a true connection between them, resulting in some beautiful and also distressful moments. Along with that we keep in touch with a huge cinematography science fiction reference.
- Persepolis (2007)
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Marjane is a iranian girl who sees her life change as the new government rules her country. As growing up, she is obligated to change her way of dress and act to be a part of the new society. Unhappy about that, she decides to go against the system and become a revolutionary.
The movie is based on the award-winning autobiography graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi, who co-directed and wrote the script for the film. It is good to see how a dictatorship can change a country through the eyes of a child.
- Spirited Away (2001)
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Spirited Away is a japanese movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli. It tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a 10-year-old girl who moves to a new neighbourhood and ends up entering the world of Kami (where the spirits live). When her parents are transformed by a witch, Chihiro starts a job in a bathhouse to try to free herself and her parents and return to the human world.
When in contact with this film, we get to know more about the oriental culture – inside the story and in the way the movie is constructed. It is a magic narrative that uses fantasy and strong characters to show a transition from childhood to adulthood.
- Wall-E (2008)
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Produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton, Wall-E was launched in 2008. We observe a robot fabricated in the year of 2100 to clean the Earth, which is covered by trash – that’s the reason why humans left the planet and are now living in the Space. Wall-E falls in love with another robot, EVA, that was sent to Earth to find at least one plant alive. Then, he follows her to the spaceship where everybody lives and faces an adventure that changes humanity’s destiny.
Lately, we’ve been seeing a lot of actions that are unsustainable for our planet, such as deforestation, the amount of plastic in the oceans, the increase of global warming and climate change. Instead of taking control and fixing that, some politicians of big and important countries actually incentivize those practices in the name of money and good relationships with the owners of big factories. Hence, this is a good movie to reflect about our daily lives and how the future can be if nothing happens to change the actual situation.
Hope you have fun and never feel old enough to not go along with these kind of narratives that are invented, but that also can be really real sometimes.
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The article above was edited by Helena Cardoso.
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