Movies dads, kids can love
Caution: This father-child viewing list is to be used wisely and according to the laws of family compromise.
Note that refreshment and bathroom breaks are required based on previously established wants and demands for all involved. Here are some other suggestions for dads and kids during the time together. For dads: Don’t over explain plot points, cloaked references, double-meanings or how irony works. For kids: If Dad does any of the above, just nod and smile. Up (2009)
The animated trip features lots of heart and soul and director Peter Docter’s deft story-editing as the elderly widower Carl (voiced by Ed Asner) heads out on a fantastical adventure with a Wilderness Explorer named Russell (Jordan Nagai). And yes, Docter wanted Carl to look like actor Spencer Tracy but dads might want to skip the Tracy background explanation in the name of parental diplomacy. The Incredibles (2004)
Brad Bird was struggling after his underrated The Iron Giant fizzled at the box office. Still, Pixar knew that Bird was the best animated man for the job of mashing up the superhero and detective genres into a fancy cartoon. Bird then wrapped the story around a family of overachieving crime fighters trying to hide out in suburbia. The director’s brilliantly paced trip is nostalgic yet nuanced and fully involving as the director has fun while poking fun at a subject matter he ultimately
celebrates. Iron Man (2008)
The subtext was risky business. First, Jon Favreau was hired as director, best known for the indie comedy Swingers. Then he hired the always recovering Robert Downey Jr. to play the crime-fighting rich dude Tony Stark a.k.a.: Iron Man. The collaboration worked beyond all expectations and continues to power along as part of the Marvel machine. But this is where it began with an eye-popping special-effects production that contains the appropriate comedy tone, making it suitable for freaks, geeks and most parents and kids who fall somewhere in between. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Hayao Miyazaki’s magical and mirthful animated tour defines love and understanding and has a yearning side to it as well. The journey begins when two girls move to the country to be with their sick mother. The forest spirits are wondrous and witty, so the movie is for kids of all ages willing to open up a bit about all kinds of possibilities.