Need recommendations RE: movies for kids.

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

NCBUSA

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
18
I thought I would get some opinions from this fine forum.

Here is my dilemma. I have three children ages, 3months, 7 year and 10 years. I am attempting to put together a video/movie list for them to “absorb”. I’m looking for movies/books that will “plant a seed of self-reliance”, to aid them in the future.

My 10 year old daughter and 7 year old son have already been exposed to firearms, though my daughter likes to shoot more than my son. They also spend time with me outdoors riding ATV’s, walking in the woods, kayaking, ect, as a sort of primer to self-reliance.

Even though I really don’t condone watching “the box”, my children still seem to absorb everything they see. They seem to be bombarded by media that puts a liberal slant on things and I want to effect a change. I normally let them watch shows like, Glenn Beck (HNN) Lou Dobbs (CNN), survivor man, man vs. wild, ect.

I remember seeing “Red Dawn” when I was 12 and I can say that movie defiantly affected me. I like to think that the seed that was planted back then has grown into a sturdy oak over the years.

I would like to hear what other movies/books are recommended that would aid in my effort.

I thank all the contributors in advance for your thoughts.

Chris
 
Last edited:
Movies, IMHO, are marginal at best. If you wish to plant a seed of self-reliance, I'd have your kids read good books on the subject. When I was a kid I loved reading outdoors’/survival related books. I'm sure they had a great influence on my thinking as I grew up. Gerry Paulson is a good choice for kids. Anything hunting/fishing/hiking related that’s not too technical for kids would also be good. When they’re a little older you can start them on Thoreau and Connor.

I’m not sure if it’s age appropriate, but “Dances with wolves” and “Tombstone”, might be good choices. Both old and new western movies seem to have strong self-reliance themes.

Limit their TV time to the History and Discovery channels. Modern programming like “American Idiot” and the cartoons kids watch these days are directly linked to the intellectual decline in our culture.

Good luck
 
Thanks

I agree totally with cartoons and crap media leading to the decline of our great nation. That is another reason I limit video games.

I have never heard of Gerry Paulson, but I will look him up. My 10 year old daughter is an avid reader, so I am sure she will give him a go.

What ever happened to shows like "grizzley adams" and the like?

Keep the suggestions comming.

Chris
 
Did a search.

12ga- I assume you meant Gary Paulsen. Confused me for a second. Looks like great books. I'll be ordering a few for her. Thanks
 
Any of RObert Heinlein's juvenile fiction. Filled with kids that are smart, use their brains, and are just independent enough to save themselves. There's often some mentor or somesuch thrown in that shows complete disdain for "lazy" kids, delinquent kids, etc--the opposite of the main characters. That, and Heinlein just writess in a way that's quaintly 50s, yet not preachy and not completely silly.
 
Great movie: Johnny Tremain.

Gives a good historical view of the revolutionary war, and is patriotic without being sappy. I believe Disney had several great historical movies of this type, including The Swamp Fox and the story of legendary Brit highwayman Dick Turpin (less political there, more just individualistic)


For books, for kids too young for Orwell and Heinlein (though a really sharp 10yr old might enjoy Animal Farm, and will appreciate it on a whole new level years later), I'd go with John Christopher's books: good easy-to-read but involving sci-fi fiction.

His "Tripod" series is a great look at conformity and rebellion. From Wikipedia:

The story of the Tripods is post-apocalyptic: Humanity has fallen into an age of social stagnation, with technology in decay, and the population living in a society reminiscent of the 1700s, or even the Middle Ages. The humans live in total, naive and ecstatic adoration of the "Tripods", huge metallic-looking alien creatures, which they see as their saviours. They are kept under thought control from the age of 13 by cranial implants called "caps", which leave them with a life of modesty and serenity by preventing curiosity and creativity, not to mention any traces of dissent.
Click to expand...

I'd stick with historical films in particular though, and aim to get the kids to see the historical events as huge patterns rather than isolated incidents.

Is "Zulu" too much for a 10yr old?

-MV
 
'My Side of the Mountain' is an excellent children's book along those lines.

You really should consider scouting. I have been a scout leader for a couple of years and it really gets them motivated to do things. Last night I sat on the couch and watched my 8 year old get wood, lay a fire and get it started all by himself in less than five minutes. Thankfully we have a fire place.

The scouts also send out a montly mag full of good stuff for kids along those lines.
 
Red Dawn; I just bought it for my sons, they asked for it. Any Robert A. Heinlien, gotta get Lucifer's Hammer for my teen. He likes a series that has a teen mouse in a mideval setting, and has many of the same good ingredients-kids that think, etc.
He's also gotten into paintball lately, and I encourage it as he can learn and practice fieldcraft and small unit tactics. He made his own ghillie suit for it, and is develovoping his quick decision skills and leadership skills while having fun.
 
For your age groups I would say Swiss Family Robinson, the Disney Version.

Great movie: Johnny Tremain. I loved the book as a kid, I did not realize they made a move of it, I will have to look into it for my kids.
 
+1 on Gary Paulson

He wrote a whole series of books about a teenager lost in the Canadian woods and having to learn survival the hard way. Hatchet is the first one, with The River, Brian's Winter, and Brian's Return rounding out the series. Of those, I strongly reccomend Hatchet and Brian's Winter, as the center theme in both of those books is Brian's leaning how to survive through trial and error and common sense. I didn't enjoy the other two as much, but they all harp the same message youre trying to get across.
 
Red Dawn is a good one, but they are probably too young for that yet.
My Side of the Mountain (the book) changed my life at 10 years old, lol. That would be a good choice.
Any of the Big Red, Irish Red series of books is good.
 
the disney channel first aired when i was in 6th grade i think, back around 1982ish. i remember watching a bunch of movies like these over and over and over

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060420/ follow me, boys!
http://imdb.com/title/tt0060408/ fighting prince of donegal
the old zorro
http://imdb.com/title/tt0048350/ too many rivers to cross


these are excellent movies for that age group. i think they were all made in the 1960s. but good luck finding them.

oh, and i second the swamp fox recommendation
 
I dunno if you can tell, but I'm a BIG fan of The Wind and the Lion:D :cool: - not only is it a great adventure movie, based on actual history, with LOTS of cool mil-surp guns, but it's actually pretty family-friendly(at least for older kids/young teens).
 
Reccommendations

Well, as movies go, "Brother Bear" isn't at all bad in its message. And as the kids grow they will be able to see more and more of the "inside" offhand comments. And there are enough slipped-in adult jokes (nothing dirty, mind you, just on the adult level) to keep the attention of any adult with a wide-awake mind. Come to think about it, "Ice Age" was much the same way, although you have to be really up on both biology and glaciology to get all the "adult level" humor!

Thinking more abt. childrens' movies, "The Lion King" was pretty good, too, in and of itself, and serves very nicely as an introduction to the plot of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

For a child's book on serious woodcraft and nature study, Two Little Savages by Ernest Thompson Seton might be a good choice. Kinda dated, of course, but good anyhow IMHO.

And I heartily second the reccommendation for R. A. Heinlein's juvenile literature. Best of all, mebbe, would be Starship Troopers, the book of course, not the movie. (Tho' the movie isn't bad, as a movie, but it misses all of Heinlein's points the book makes.)

Finally, yr 10 yr old might be ready for some selections from A Sand County Almanac, a colletion of essays by the father of scientific ecology and wildlife management, Aldo Leopold. I used it successfully for years teaching environmental science at the 7th grade level. My students loved some of the essays. Some are quite moving.
 
Last edited:
Books: The Old Man And The Boy - Robert Ruark.
This is a must have for every kid to own.
Then the sequal to TOMATB , and Ruark's other works.

1984, and Animal Farm - George Orwell.

Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau

Louis L'Amour - now just like Ruark, some timeless lessons of good, evil, self reliance, ethics, moral and personal responsibility from his works.

I read these to kids and the kids read to me and other adults. Sure we sometimes have read "to their level or explain - called parenting and quality time.

Movie:

John Wayne movies - Pick one from his role as Cowboy to Marine.

Sackett's I cannot recall the exact name of these series of movies and the author.
Family Friendly - good old fashioned wholesome family viewing. Actor/ Actresses like Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, Katheryn Ross.

A Cowboy theme, still the lessons of Ethics, Integrity, Honesty and Truth are portrayed. Horses, Guns and some funny stuff, some tear-jerking, blubbery "that is so sweet"moments and one never tires of watching again.


Roger Rabbit Yep a cartoon. Some things will go right over the
kid's head, and the innuendo's the parents will chuckle and wink at each other.
Still, some fun lessons can be learned.
Oh heck, sometimes just nice to watch a movie and not think - jus [characterert enjoy the show.

"I am not bad, I am just drawn that way" - Jessica Rabbit.

--

The Edge This one you will need to "parent" a bit.
This group I hang with and the kids, got "wind" that the reason I actually went to the theatre to view this when it came out in '97 was folks kept saying I reminded them of Anthony Hopkins character ] - in some ways.

So we rented this, with the up front admonition - some parenting was going to happen. Kids agreed - we have a understanding about these things.

Kids went nuts! I mean seriously enjoyed it, had umpteen bazillon questions , had to view again, see some parts over and over again.

This the movie that got the kids interested in learning how a map and compass are used along with other "self reliance skill sets" ;)
 
NCBUSA,

Not exactly an answer to your question but back to tv. I have two sons, 1 and 2 1/2 years old. We like a lot of what's on OLN, now Verses. My older son especially likes all of the fishing shows and bull riding. My passion is fly fishing and I would like to think that the trout fishing shows are his favorite but I think he prefers watching shark fishing. I guess because it has more excitement and emotion, sometimes too much; but that's nothing a quick push of the remote can't fix. He knows all the basic fishing gear and almost hooked his first trout this past summer. He rides a rocking bull, wears a cowboy hat and says "me busy cowboy" when asked to do something he doesn't want to. Many of the hunting, fishing etc. shows have helped me teach my sons about the wildlife that lives in the area that we reside, about what you refered to as "self-reliance" and as they get older, life and death. This does not come easy for me as I spent the first 35 yrs of my life in NYC and NJ.

And WOW, "Grizzly Adams"! That brings back some memories, at the time I didn't even realize there were places like that in America.
I like to think that the seed that was planted back then has grown into a sturdy oak over the years.
Click to expand...
Talk about planting a seed, I wound up living and raising my family in the midst of the Colorado Rockies.
 
They should READ the Lord of the Rings before seeing it if possible. The 3rd book has a chapter that is a great parable on why, even in Utopia, we need the right to keep and bear arms. It's NOT in the movie.

Get them out shooting from position and you're way ahead of the game.

Enders Game, Heinlein, CS Lewis - books.

Red Dawn is about the only worthwhile movie I can think of that really isn't too violent. Band of Brothers, Gods and Generals, Gettysberg, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, Braveheart, Shindler's List when they're ready.

Actually Star Wars and probably most old Westerns (most of which I've never seen) have good lessons on how morals and weapons are not mutually exclusive, but actually go hand-in-hand -- or either are fairly worthless.

Wow -- a qoute:

"Weapons without Morals...Morals without Weapons. Both worthless."
-ReadyontheRight on www.thehighroad.org, February 2007-

Perhaps a poster Oleg!
 
I'd go with Thundercats, about the last of a race of catfolk who settle on a new planet. Or maybe Thundarr the Barbarian when it goes to DVD. I've only seen one episode on youtube, but it's a sci-fi-fantasy, after-teotwawki adventure series for kids. Another old one is the Dungeons and Dragons series (not movie) wherein a group American kids are in a fantasy world, and must rely on their skills and tools with only the barest guidence from an old man named Gamemaster. He-Man has a bit of self-reliance in there (see signature), but it's a mixed bag, as much as i love it. And it don't recommend it unless you already like it. Keep in mind, these are old series with old styles of animation, and might not hold the interest of to-day's kids.

Disclaimer: these are only my musings and may or may not be good recommendations

Edit: Oh, and the movie Jeremiah Johnson, although i can't remember if it's suitable for kids.
 
Here's one I'd strongly recommend:

"The Ranger, The Cook and the Hole in the Sky"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114235/

It's a straight-forward story about the summer the narrator spent breaking trail in the national forest circa 1919. It's not sappy, and it's very well made. Plus it has Sam Elliot. Virtually no violence other than a humorous scuffle at a bar. "G" rated for sure, though I don't think it was every shown on the big screen. It's out on DVD now.

Thundarr the Barbarian when it goes to DVD.
Click to expand...

Ha ha! I grew up with that. Of course, hearing that the world will be destroyed in 1994 has a warping effect on a young mind. That show totally explains my survivalist tendencies. There are several episodes on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhAobPugvsk
 
Alaska

Alaska is a movie aimed at young-ish kids, set in outdoors, and rated G.

Two kids set out by themselves to find Dad when he disappears on a "routine" flight in his small plane in the Alaska wilderness.

Survival themes.

Some contrived scenarios, including a "bad guy" hunter.

Hmmm. I think I'd watch it before showing it to them. It's been a while since I saw it, and I'd want to review the framing of that "bad guy" before sticking a kid's eyes in front of it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top