Movies Your Kids Should Watch- Top 11 Classics For 3-5 Year Old's

Hello! My name is Galit and I'm the one behind the Slow Noodle adventure.
I'm an avid reader of Ren's blog and especially love her movie reviews.
The post I found myself coming back to as a reference again and again is Movies Your Kids Should Watch - Top 20 Classic (80's) Films For Kids. I believe you agree with me that it is a great post!!!

My own little monkey will turn 3 next month so Ren's list is a bit early for her, but man, does she love watching movies!!
We don't have a TV at home so our entertainment is movies. Lately we started watching movies together on Friday nights, cuddled up on the couch together. As a mom it is so much fun to look at my girl and see her enjoy some of the same films I did as a child. It is remarkable how classics remain relevant and so enjoyable even 30, 40 and 50 years after they were produced. I think that's the magic of the cinema!

I suggested to Ren that I compile a list of classic movie selections for a slightly younger audiences.
The 3-5 years old monkeys who enjoy a film with simple storyline, cute characters, and a great score.
So, here are our top 11 movies. Enjoy!

At the top of our list for over a year now, is Curious George (2006). You might also know the PBS TV Series which is great as well.
I have to admit that it is my favorite toddlers film as well, mainly thanks to the awesome soundtrack by Jack Johnson and the so cute Drew Barrymore as Maggie and Will Farell as Ted - Man with the Yellow Hat.
It is a super funny film, more for the parents, who get the jokes.
This one kills me every time:
Mr. Bloomsberry: I knew you wouldn't let me down.
Ted, The Man with the Yellow Hat: I have to admit I came pretty close.
Mr. Bloomsberry: Oh no, I'm so proud of you. You're like the son I never had. 
Junior Bloomsberry: Father, I'm you're son. Remember? 
Mr. Bloomsberry: Well, yes. But I had you...
There are a couple of newer Curious George films but none of them captured the magic of the first one. They are all good and nice to watch but this one is a classic.


Next on our list are two familiar jungle stories. The first one is Tarzan 2 (2005). This one goes back to when Tarzan was a little boy and follows his misadventures as he searches for his true identity. It is funny at times, sad at others and always clever and nice.
I especially love the scene where Tarzan tries acting like different animals to find out what he is.
He's so cute when he declares: "I'm an Ape!" but gets disappointed again and again to find out he's not any one of the other species. At the end, Zugor, his mentor announces: "I finally figured out what you are. A Tarzan!"
You get a couple of cute new Phil Collins songs as a bonus.

The second jungle movie was one of my favorite is a kid but somehow my personal little miss doesn't share my enthusiasm. I know many other kids do like it, so I decided to include it as well.
My Milli is a very sensitive girl (just like her mum, mmm...) and even a bit of violence or the tiniest scary episode turns her off.
I personally don't think Jungle Book (1967) is scary but somehow she doesn't like the big animals (or at least that's what she says).
If your little one is a sensitive fellow, maybe skip this title for the next couple of years.
If you do watch it, you'll enjoy one of the best soundtracks in kids movies and of course the great story.

Mary Poppins (1964) !! How I've waited for my girl to get to the age when she can watch and enjoy this musical!! It was my favorite as a child! I think I've watched it over a million times. No, a billion times! It's the greatest classic!
I'm sure you are all familiar with it but just in case you forgot - it is a fantastic musical with Julie Andrews and the cutest of cutes- Dick Van Dyke. Mary Poppins is a magical nanny who comes to work with the family of a Londoner banker. She teaches the kids to look at life from an angle that turns the everyday into an extraordinary adventure. The movie is filled with amazing live action blended into animation and of course the main thing is that 'Supercalifragilistic' Music. The song "A spoonful of sugar" is a favorite of ours every time we have to do something we don't really like (like brushing teethes....).
Bear in mind that it is a very long film (139 minutes) what makes it a bit hard for the little. I'm not sure my Milli ever watched it to the end. But she still love it a lot and I'm sure one day... we'll get to the final tune!

We love Disney's classics here and the older the better!

Fun and Fancy Free (1947) is a lovely classic without much dialogs and more of that great animation mixed with live action and puppets. It is actually 2 short films: "Bongo" -about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" -a take on the famous fairy tale.
We like some of the old silent ones as well (where there is no dialog at all and just animation with wonderful orchestral music) such as: Mickey's Circus, Moving Day and Mickey's Grand Opera. They are all available to watch online on YouTube by the way.

Winnie the Pooh is of course one of the most beloved characters and I reckon for each and every child there is a phase when Pooh becomes his best friend (I hope that this still happens nowadays and that kids don't just love Dora and the such...).
There are so many Pooh films but our favorite is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977). This film is actually comprised of three short films: "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree", "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day", and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too", originally from the 1960s, which are the closet adaptation, as far as I know, to the original book by A.A. Milne.  I love the way it flows just like a story book, with the pages turning and characters jumping from one picture to another. One of the greatest timeless   movies ever.

Piglet's Big Movie (2003) is one of the newer adaptations that I'm not a big fan of usually, but this one is particular cute. It gets my points especially because of the sweet soundtrack (by Carly Simon).
This one basically recycles old Winnie The Pooh stories from the original books. Young children can relate to Piglet who is excluded from the Hundred Acre Wood honey harvest and told that he is too small to help. He disappears so his pals have to go on a mission to find him. On their way they discover that even a very small animal can be a big hero in a lot of ways.
I read some bad reviews about it and I agree it lacks the charm and sparkle of the original movie but I still think it is a cute little movie. Not a one to watch over and over maybe but definitely a nice variation if your kiddies are crazy about Pooh and his friends.
If you do like this one, check out also The Tigger Movie (2000)

There is something about penguins that make them exceptionally cute isn't there? We are lucky to have penguins here in South Australia and after seeing them my girl went through a period of a brief but intense crush for penguins.
Happy Feet (2006) is an exceptional lovely movie that is clever, witty but still happy and sweet. There are a couple of scary scenes in it but it is mainly 'clean' for the young audience to watch and enjoy.
Parents will enjoy the many stars who dabs the animals (Elijah Wood, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams and Nicole Kidman among others).
Unlike the other films in my list, the phase of this one is rather speedy. For a girl who doesn't watch TV and is not used to the (too) fast and sharp storytelling, it was exhilarating at times but also very tiring at the end. I reckon it would be much more enjoyable for 5 years olds.

You can't talk about penguins without mentioning the wonderful March of the Penguins (2005). If Happy Feet was too fast-paced for you, have a nice relaxed time with this stunning nature documentary. It is possibly the most beautiful documentary I've seen. The penguins seem so human I couldn't stop thinking of how much I would like to adopt one of them...
Not all kids are fonds of documentaries. They are usually very slow and there isn't always a clear story. I would recommend watching this one together so you can talk while watching and be able to answer the little one questions.
If yours do enjoy it, try watching also Arctic Tale (2007)

This movie walks on the thin line between a documentary and a magical fairy tale. The Fox and the Child (2007) is a wondrous movie by the same filmmakers of the March of the Penguins that tells the story of young girl and her friendship with a fox. It is a pure magic and like Hila described it in her beautiful review - "it feels like a gift of a film". I don't have enough praises for it. It is simply stunning in its sweetness and innocent. Both the girl and the fox are so graceful and the landscapes are marvelous. While watching, it is an opportunity to discuss the seasons and what animals are doing in the different seasons in the wild. Be prepared for your little one's request to go and look for foxes... we did go out but ended up finding only koalas (how come there are no koalas films by the way??)

There are a couple of other movies we enjoy but I will conclude my list with this hilarious Russian cartoon. My partner is Russian and was watching this on TV as a kid in St. Petersburg, so it is his part of the deal.
Nu, pogodi! (means something like Well, You just wait!) is Russia's answer to the classic Tom and Jerry but is packed with a Soviet kind of humour and a totally not politically correct tale (Goodness gracious me, the wolf is smoking!).
The series consist of 20 episodes and follows the adventures of an artistic wolf (I'm sure that he's not only smoking, he's also drunk!) trying to catch (and presumably eat) a hare.
My girl is absolutely crazy about it, and, sensitive or not, she can't wait for the wolf to finally catch the hare. If you're interested of something completely different, go and check it out (all chapters are available to watch online and are almost speech free so no need to understand Russian).

Hope you enjoyed my list of favorite movies! There are so many more I haven't put on the list, but these are the ones we enjoy the most and more frequently.

Thank you Ren for having me!
Enjoy the magic of the cinema friends! Galit x