My Cart - The summer holidays are here and for many families that means one thing – the kids are home, and they’re bored. Because there’s a limit to how many days out the average family can afford, investing in a few good children’s films on DVD can be a lifesaver – keeping them quiet and entertained long enough for you to catch your breath! Here are some great films that you can watch with your family this summer.
Despicable Me (1 & 2)
Super-villain Gru adopts three little girls from an orphanage as part of his plan to steal the moon; however he is won over by them and his plans end up changing somewhat. Both films are, of course, completely stolen by Gru’s horde of little yellow minions, who will be featuring in their own film next summer. The minions also offer a good way to encourage your kids to eat fruit – they’re rather taken with bananas….
Babe
Because kids will always love talking animals, and Babe (released in 1995) does it better than most! It’s the tale of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog – and who succeeds, with a little help from his friends.
Harry Potter
A series of eight films – which means that you can spend most of the summer at Hogwarts, if you space them out right! The Harry Potter films are almost universally adored by kids, who all secretly live in hope of receiving their own invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.
Bugsy Malone
One of the older films on our list, made way back in 1976, but it’s still a great family film which kids will love. A young Jodie Foster features as one of the main actors in this all-kids cast, loosely based on Prohibition-era Chicago, but with machine guns replaced by custard-firing splurge guns.
Spirited Away
Made by Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio, and directed by the acclaimed Hiyao Miyazaki, this film will take you into a mysterious, magical world where almost anything can happen. Walt Disney Pictures produced an English-language version, which will naturally be more accessible to children than the original Japanese feature.
Chicken Run
The first feature-length film made by Aardman Animations – producers of the Wallace and Gromit films which are also great for kids – Chicken Run is essentially The Great Escape, but with chickens. With the voices of Julia Sawalha as Ginger and Mel Gibson as Rocky, it received critical acclaim with critics praising the slapstick comedy and the spectacular action sequences.
Toy Story
No list of children’s films would be complete without Pixar; and as Toy Story was their first feature-length film, it seems a fitting choice. The story of what your toys get up to when you’re not looking will be fascinating to children of any age – and the sequels show the process of growing up in a wonderful light.
Happy Feet
On one level, this is a vibrant and entertaining film about singing and dancing penguins; on another level, it’s a film with a definite environmental message, as the penguins are endangered by human over-fishing in their territory. The cast list voicing the penguins is impressive – Elijah Wood as Mumble, Robin Williams as both Ramón and Lovelace, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as Mumble’s parents and many more – and the list of awards and accolades it drew is equally impressive.
High School Musical
The plot of this film may seem suspiciously familiar – it is, in essence, a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but with songs. When it was released in 2006, it became the Disney Channel’s most successful original movie, and the soundtrack was a best-seller. Because it’s from the Disney Channel, you can rest at ease that it’s completely wholesome, and ideal for younger kids.
Frozen
The latest film from Disney offers a take on the classic tale The Snow Queen, and while the kids sing along to their new favourite songs, adults can appreciate the new sense of equality that older Disney films don’t show, as Frozen has two strong female leads in Anna and Elsa, and they aren’t the helpless princesses of years gone by.
If you have the films, but you need a better screen to show them on, you can get a cheap LED TV from our range at a really affordable price, allowing you to entertain your kids this summer for less. For more information, call us on 0121 327 3273 or visit us at our Birmingham showroom.
