After my list of movies for four-year-olds, I told you to expect follow-up lists for older age brackets. So here's the five-year-old list. I want my daughter to be caught up with preschool pop culture other than the Thomas the Train, Dora the Explorer, and Wonderpets she streams from Netflix. That's really what these movies-by-age lists are all about. I plan on referring back to them as she gets older. I've used the age ratings at Common Sense Media to determine the appropriate ages. They may be conservative at times, but should serve as a good baseline. These early lists are very Disney-heavy, but I guess that's to be expected.
- Monsters, Inc - This is a movie Lia has watched since age 2. Some parts are a little scary, but not too bad.
- Cinderella - We've watched parts of Cinderella together. Some parts drag when you're very young, but hopefully age 5 should be old enough to handle the boring bits.
- The Little Mermaid - My daughter has seen this one more than once as well.
- Charlotte's Web - I read the book long ago, but I'm not sure I've ever seen the cartoon rendition. I may want to read Lia the book before she sees the movie. The book is always better.
- Lady and the Tramp - Another Disney classic not to be missed.
- Wall-E - Another movie on the list of Pixar stuff she's watched since age 2.
- The Muppet Movie - How awesome is the original muppet movie? Seriously, I love this one.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves - The first big Disney picture. Outdated? Yeah. Misogynistic role-modeling? Maybe so. But it's classic. I don't think Lia will be too damaged to recover.
- Robin Hood - One of my all-time favorite Disney movies. I used to love this one as a kid.
- Happy Feet - I've never seen the dancing penguins movie, but I've heard a lot of good things about it, so it's on the list.
- A Bug's Life - A favorite of Lia's from when she was only 2 years old. She hasn't seen it in a while; it may be time to dig out the DVD.
- Tangled - Lia saw it in the theater when we were visiting family. Might have to rent this one and see it again.
- Ratatouille - I've only seen the first 20 minutes or so.
- Mulan - I know nothing about Mulan save that it's Asian and it has some kind of daddy-daughter thing going.
- Beauty and the Beast - I think I was in high school the last time I saw this movie. I remember something about dancing cookware.
- The Sword in the Stone - I barely remember this movie, but it's classic Disney. I'd definately like to rewatch it.
- Bambi - Would you believe that I've never seen Bambi all the way through?
- Finding Nemo - Another one that my daughter has loved since age 2.
- Peter Pan - I'm actually really looking forward to re-watching Peter Pan. Apparently, it's got some stereotypes, but Lia has egalitarian parents, so I don't worry.
- An American Tail - I think I saw this one in the theater about a million years go.
- 101 Dalmations - A classic, but Frank points out that it's got some pretty bad examples. This one is now at the bottom of my age 5 list. Thanks for the heads-up, Frank.
Charlotte's Web is a tough one. Both the cartoon and the life action movie were excellent, but I'm not sure even at 5 the themes can quite be grasped yet. And pretty much the entire story, outside of the cute pig and the friendly spider, is understanding why she dies and why she helps Wilbur. I think Cori was around 7 before we could finally completely digest this one.
And how have you managed avoid repeat viewings of Tangled? I swear, this plays enough in my house that I probably sing it in my sleep.
I'm waiting another year to show Cam The Black Cauldron. It was always a favorite book when I was a kid and is a decent Disney movie as well.