Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Emma Thompson returns to the big screen this week as Nanny McPhee in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.
A modern day Mary Poppins the movie celebrates everything that's great about children's movies.
So to join in that celebration we take a look at some of the kids films that everyone really should watch.
- The Goonies
The Goonies was a personal favourite of mine growing up, and has ended up being a real classic in this movie genre.
When brothers Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin) learn that greedy developers are forcing their family to move.
Mikey Walsh refuses to accept that his family has to leave their home because it's going to be turned into a golf course.
He convinces his friends to go with him to search for the treasure of One-Eyed Willy's, a legendary 17th century pirate, and they decide to have one last, precious adventure together.
With the help of a treasure map they've found in the attic, the group, known as the Goonies, go in search of buried gold hoping against hope that if they find it, Mikey and Brand will succeed in keeping their home.
But with the criminal family the Fratellis close behind them it's a race to see who can get to one eyed Willie first.
The film is a family friendly romp of adventure, pirates, skeletons and bad guys that is one of the most memorable teen-movies of it's time.
- Stand By Me
Today, twenty two years after it was first released, Stand By me remains one of the best coming of age movies of all time, as well as bringing to the attention of audiences the talent of young actor River Phoenix.
Based on The Body by Stephen King director Rob Reiner's film follows a group of young friends who set out in search for a missing teenager and have the adventure of their lives.
There's Gordie (Wil Wheaton), the intelligent, creative one with the obviously bright future. His best buddy, Chris (River Phoenix), hardens his image in order to hide the pain from the physical abuse he endures at home, all the while harbouring the hope of escaping that image.
Rounding out the foursome are Vern (Jerry O'Connell), the pudgy tagalong, and Teddy (Corey Feldman), a loyal and funny but troubled kid with a death wish.
When the four boys hear about a dead body 20 miles down the railroad tracks from their small Oregon town, they set upon the unwieldy journey to lay eyes on this rare find.
While the film drips with nostalgia it still remains one of the best movies that explores the ideas of childhood innocence as the four friends stand on the verge of leaving that part of their lives behind.
Stand By Me is a writer's account of his boyhood journey into adolescence while still examining the magic of childhood a must see for all fans of this genre of film.
- E.T
It's hard to believe that E.T was released way back in 1982 and, even after all this time, it remains Steven Spielberg major triumph.
An extra-terrestrial is accidentally left behind on Earth and is befriended by a young boy and his brother and sister.
As Elliot attempts to help his extra-terrestrial companion contact his home planet so that he might be rescued, the children must elude scientists and government agents determined to apprehend the alien for their own purposes...which results in an adventure greater than any of them could have imagined.
With this movie Spielberg bring magical to everyday in a movie that is a true classic of cinema not just this genre.
E.T. is a timeless story about loneliness, friendship, maturity and childhood and how they are much more accepting than adults.
- Howl's Moving Castle
Studio Ghibli has been producing high quality movies from decades to become one of the biggest, and much loved, animation studios.
Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer), an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-but-mysterious wizard named Howl (voiced by Christian Bale), and is subsequently turned into a 90-year old woman (voiced by Jean Simmons) by the vain and conniving Wicked Witch of the Waste (voiced by Lauren Bacall).
Embarking on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle where she becomes acquainted with Markl, Howl's apprentice, and a hot-headed fire demon named Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal).
Sophie's love and support comes to have a major impact on Howl, who flies in the face of orders from the palace to become a pawn of war and instead risks his life to help bring peace to the kingdom.
Director Hayao Miyazaki is famed for using strong female lead characters as well as regularly depicting the horrors and results of war, those trademarks are evident in most of his work.
And with Howl's Moving Castle this is no different as Sophie is the focal point of the film whose stubbornness and faith brings the best in the characters around her, especially the self obsessed Howl.
Many of the big studios may have moved over to CGI driven animation by Studio Ghibli has stayed true to it's roots the vivid colours and sheers size of the project make it a real animation epic.
- Toy Story
In the early nineties audiences were content with the traditional animation pictures such as Aladdin and The Lion King, and there's nothing wrong with that remember Beauty and Beast is still the only animation to ever have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
However 1995 brought about major changes to the animation genre as Toy Story became the first feature film in history to be produced using only computer animation.
Toy Story was an intelligent and sophisticated buddy movie that really highlighted the potential of the animation genre with these new techniques. But it was the sequel Toy Story 2 that really cemented Pixar as an animation giant pushing the boundaries even further.
While being just as technically brilliant, bright and funny as it's predecessor Pixar were clever to aim the movie at adults as well as children.
Thanks to Toy Story the face of animation changed beyond recognition, The Lion King remains the last traditional animation movie to enjoy major box office success, as the CGI floodgates opened.
Pixar became a true master of this film genre as Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and Wall-E have all followed all getting gradually more sophisticated in the techniques being used.
Toy Story really was the driving force behind the animation movies that now dominate cinema screens 'to infinity an beyond' indeed.
Other children's classics include Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Labyrinth, The Princess Bride, Kes and anything by Disney.
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang is released 26th March.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Emma Thompson returns to the big screen this week as Nanny McPhee in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang.
A modern day Mary Poppins the movie celebrates everything that's great about children's movies.
So to join in that celebration we take a look at some of the kids films that everyone really should watch.
- The Goonies
The Goonies was a personal favourite of mine growing up, and has ended up being a real classic in this movie genre.
When brothers Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin) learn that greedy developers are forcing their family to move.
Mikey Walsh refuses to accept that his family has to leave their home because it's going to be turned into a golf course.
He convinces his friends to go with him to search for the treasure of One-Eyed Willy's, a legendary 17th century pirate, and they decide to have one last, precious adventure together.
With the help of a treasure map they've found in the attic, the group, known as the Goonies, go in search of buried gold hoping against hope that if they find it, Mikey and Brand will succeed in keeping their home.
But with the criminal family the Fratellis close behind them it's a race to see who can get to one eyed Willie first.
The film is a family friendly romp of adventure, pirates, skeletons and bad guys that is one of the most memorable teen-movies of it's time.
- Stand By Me
Today, twenty two years after it was first released, Stand By me remains one of the best coming of age movies of all time, as well as bringing to the attention of audiences the talent of young actor River Phoenix.
Based on The Body by Stephen King director Rob Reiner's film follows a group of young friends who set out in search for a missing teenager and have the adventure of their lives.
There's Gordie (Wil Wheaton), the intelligent, creative one with the obviously bright future. His best buddy, Chris (River Phoenix), hardens his image in order to hide the pain from the physical abuse he endures at home, all the while harbouring the hope of escaping that image.
Rounding out the foursome are Vern (Jerry O'Connell), the pudgy tagalong, and Teddy (Corey Feldman), a loyal and funny but troubled kid with a death wish.
When the four boys hear about a dead body 20 miles down the railroad tracks from their small Oregon town, they set upon the unwieldy journey to lay eyes on this rare find.
While the film drips with nostalgia it still remains one of the best movies that explores the ideas of childhood innocence as the four friends stand on the verge of leaving that part of their lives behind.
Stand By Me is a writer's account of his boyhood journey into adolescence while still examining the magic of childhood a must see for all fans of this genre of film.
- E.T
It's hard to believe that E.T was released way back in 1982 and, even after all this time, it remains Steven Spielberg major triumph.
An extra-terrestrial is accidentally left behind on Earth and is befriended by a young boy and his brother and sister.
As Elliot attempts to help his extra-terrestrial companion contact his home planet so that he might be rescued, the children must elude scientists and government agents determined to apprehend the alien for their own purposes...which results in an adventure greater than any of them could have imagined.
With this movie Spielberg bring magical to everyday in a movie that is a true classic of cinema not just this genre.
E.T. is a timeless story about loneliness, friendship, maturity and childhood and how they are much more accepting than adults.
Tagged in The Goonies