I learned when Harry was a baby that finding movies that he enjoyed but that didn’t make my brain want to bleed out of my ears was actually a rather tall order.  Tell me, was children’s programming this inane when we were kids?  It couldn’t possibly have been, I think I would have remembered.  I’m not even going to go into the cartoons that plague the children’s channels these days because half of them make me want to gouge out my own eyes.  I WILL ask why in God’s name do the put the halfway decent shows on at odd hours?  “Jack’s Big Music Show” is on before we’re all up and about and “Blue’s Clues” is on at dinner time when there’s no TV being watched.  And “The Backyardigans” is on during nap time.  Instead?  I’m left with “Oswald”.  GAH.  Anyhow.

The good news is I’ve found a couple movies that please everyone.  Well, I’ve found more than I’m going to talk about here, but these are my two favorites.  The first is fairly recent and is “Happy Feet“.   Surely you’ve heard of this one.  It’s got penguins in it, as did half of the movies for kids that came out that year.  It’s about a little penguin that, unlike the rest of his kind, can’t sing.  But he can sure dance.  It’s a story of difference and finding your place and being your own person and conservation and… gosh.  You get the idea.  It features awesome animation that at times makes you wonder if it is real (and sometimes, it is).  The music is fun and infectious.  Some people complain that the moral is too “depressing” or that the film is simply too long (it’s not).  Some say it lacks the classic quality of “March of Penguins”, which, of course it would because it is not “March of the Penguins”.  I’m not sure why the comparison is even made.  No, I think this is a great story.  It’s got toe-tapping music and a feel-good ending.  What more could you want?  To round it all out, we’ve got some great celebrity voices here, including Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Robin Williams and Brittany Murphy.  When I don’t know what else to watch, I pop this in and everyone from me  to Harry and on down to Liam enjoys the show.  That’s a tall order to fill!

The next movie is one that has been out for a while.  It came out when Harry was a wee one and I had such a love for this movie that it bordered on obsession.  And that movie was “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”  I am incredibly sad that we do not have this one on DVD or even VHS.  While I have “Happy Feet” recorded to the DVR, ready to watch at a moment’s notice, it has been a few years since I’ve been able to watch “Spirit”.  So Liam hasn’t even seen this one yet.  I hope to rectify that sooner rather than later, but it hasn’t happened yet.  Anyhow, “Spirit” is the story of a wild mustang back in the “old west”.  It follows his story from birth and through his tumultuous life.  Unlike a lot of animal-centric animated movies, the horses don’t talk.  Well, not to each other, at least.  See, the movie is narrated by Spirit (the voice of Matt Damon, no less!), but you never actually see the horse “speak”.  Spirit overcomes some awesome obstacles in order to be reunited with his herd, and even picks up a girlfriend along the way.  Go Spirit!  There’s humor and there’s drama and there is a touching story.  And there’s music too.  The soundtrack is provided by Bryan Adams and believe me when I say, it’s not half bad.  In fact, I may (or may not) have purchased the soundtrack and listened to it in the car on many an occasion. (cough)  (My favorite track is a reprise of “I Will Return”.) (cough)  I love this movie.  I remember how Harry used to get on his bouncy horse (named Dakota) while watching this movie and ride that poor thing like a bat out of hell as the horses ran onscreen.  That’s a fabulous memory, ya’ll.  And this is a fabulous movie.

So if you’re having “one of those days”, and need something to put in the DVD player that will keep the kids happy but not at the expense of your brain cells, try these out.  You won’t be sorry.