I am going to be a father and am making a jellyfin setup for my child. I want to start early to make a good collection of movies and shows. So I am interested in knowing what other people experienced as positive influences in their lives.
Edit: English and Norwegian is fine, but I can always get dubbed versions of other languages. We will be speaking English and Norwegian with our child from birth. But want to introduce our child to many types of cultures, religions etc.
Edit 2: Thanks so much for so many great responses. Some of you must have spent quite some time compiling the list. Truly appreciate that ♥️
Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli For Younger Kids:
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Ponyo
- Spirited Away
- The Secret World of Arietty
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Pom Poko
For maybe when they’re getting older?
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- The Wind Risees
- Castle In The Sky
- Princess Mononoke
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Some other decent ones for kids of various ages:
Animated/Claymation
Series:
- Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
- Alvin & The Chipmunks
- Captain Planet and the Planeteers
- Ducktales
- Gumby
- Inspector Gadget
- Rugrats
- Rescue Rangers
- Scooby Doo
- Yogi Bear
Movies:
- Alice in Wonderland
- All Dogs go to Heaven
- An American Tail
- An American Tail: Fivel Goes West
- The Black Cauldron
- Charlotte’s Web
- FernGully
- James and the Giant Peach
- The Land Before Time
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Peter Pan
- Pinochio
- RobinHood
- The Rescuers
- The Rescuers Down Under
- The Secret of NIMH
- The Sword in the Stone
- Thumbelina
- Wallace and Gromit (All of them are great)
Live Action Series:
- Bill Nye The Science Guy
- Beakmans World
Movies:
- Beetlejuice
- Casper
- Ernest Goes to School (and all the other ones really)
- Honey I Shrunk The Kids
- Hook
- Jumanji
- E.T.
- Edward Scissor Hands
- Flubber
- Ghost Busters
- The Goonies
- Labyrinth (Creepier vibe than I remember)
- The Little Rascals
- Mary Poppins
- Mr. Mom
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- The Never Ending Story
- Operation Dumbo Drop
- Patch Adams
- Sandlot
- Short Circuit
- Space Jam
- Toys
- Tron
- We’re back a dinosaur story
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Animated and Live Action)
Edit: awful formatting… And typos
god beakman’s world was amazing.
i’d also suggest bobby’s world, which was on around the same time
I’ve tried finding good episodes to show now and it’s been pretty hard. There are a few smatterings on youtube. The video quality is very low. Niche enough that there aren’t many sources.
I was also amused to learn that when I was a kid I thought they were just talking like crazy freaks with a weird funny way of talking. As an adult, they’re just new yorkers.
there’s a good complete series torrent out there that i got; there’s also a good complete series upload on archive.org too! for both beakman’s world and bobby’s world
- The Lion King (original)
- Mulan (original)
- Jurassic Park
- Princess Mononoke
- Castle in the Sky
- Spirited Away
- Forrest Gump
- Aladdin (original)
- Men in Black
- Galaxy Quest
- Home Alone
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- The Matrix
- Toy Story
- Top Gun
- The Terminator
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Yu Yu Hakusho
- Cowboy Bebop
Princess Mononoke might be a little dark for an earlier age. There’s some really brutal scenes in it.
Of course that didn’t stop it from being my favorite from age 8 onward, but still.
I’m picturing a toddler seeing a soldier get beheaded by an arrow from horseback, looks over at Dad for emotional support, and Dad looks on with an approving grin, comfortable that he’s made the right choice of early childhood films.
Also, The Matrix/Terminator as a suggestion for a small child is a big lol.
Yeah there’s literal dismemberment in the early scenes, plus thematically it’s pretty mature too
Terminator, the matrix and cowboy beebop are to much as well
Hell yeah yu yu hakusho is so good!!! So much raw emotion with great story telling and cool fights. I know he’s the bad guy but when younger toguro turns down a ticket to heaven so he can suffer in purgatory cuz he thinks he doesn’t deserve it gets me so hard everytime.
it gets me so hard everytime.
Phrasing! Hahaha
Lots of episodes can get a little violent but the first episode is golden for teaching perspective and that the “bad guys/good guys” dichotomy isn’t what it seems, and to be kind to everyone, in a way that is a little easier to digest when they’re little.
Funny that you point out the originals Disney movies, that made me think, did the remakes made any impact on the younger generation or is too soon to know that?
Man, I really hope those were just forgettable for them. The Lion King live action remake is so damn disappointing. All the emotion, all the storytelling, just gone. It’s a very poor imitation of the original.
Remakes can be good. The new Dune movies are worlds better than the 70s movie; that is a movie that needed a proper remake. The new ones actually do the books justice.
Aladdin (original)
The original you say.
The Animals of Farthing Wood was a banger show. It’s because of that show that I began drawing as a kid. I love how epic it is and how it comments on deeper themes that are still important today. Among other things, it’s all about how the animals are forced to immigrate to another park after their forest is turned into a highway for humans. That even after the arrive after a horrible migration, their presence isn’t welcome because they disturb the old ways in the new park. How wars break out, friendships and alliances are formed and how everyone has to find a way to coexist and also keep the ever looming presence of humans at bay. It is truly a brilliant show that teaches you so much about life, death, nature and tolerance. And you know, you can also just watch the show as an entertaining epic for kids about animals without looking into all the political stuff, because it never really tries to cram all it’s themes down your throat in the annoying way that a lot of media does nowadays.
Maybe hold off on showing the little one this show until they are at least kindergarten age. It’s a bit rough sometimes, but it is not damaging.
Also, congratulations on becoming a dad! Glædelig jul ❤️
EDIT: FRIENDS! I LITERALLY JUST FOUND A REMASTERED VERSION OF THE WHOLE SERIES ON YOUTUBE!
Whoaaaaaaa…this show…best environmental education a child can get from TV.
But seriously heartbreaking, I remember crying A LOT as child (maybe still would TBH).
Yeah I agree. It’s really brutal. As a kid I was especially heartbroken over Fox’s son’s storyline. The one with the wounded leg who goes to the city for awhile. His story was so friggin tragic, omg.
I was exactly looking for the name of that show in English as it is the one that instantly came to my mind when I saw the post. It’s in no small part thanks to this one, and a couple of others (the magic school bus and once upon a time… life) I decided to do a PhD in animal behaviour.
From a purely positive influence? Anything on PBS (wasn’t allowed to have cable growing up)
- Sesame Street
- Mr Roger’s
- Any documentary with David Attenborough
- same with Jane Goodall
- Nova
Bill Nye would be the one non-PBS show I remember having an impact
Modernish stuff? Bluey, Miss Rachel, Pixar especially Wall-E, Brave, Coco, Soul, Encanto, Toy Story, Inside Out (when a little older). I like Coco, but Book of Life is an underrated alternative too.
I’ll second my hero Mr Rogers.
We should all want to be like him.
Surprised PBS shows aren’t mentioned more here, especially not Mr. Rogers Neighborhood being mentioned.
So in no particular order:
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Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood: great show for teaching kids to how to navigate emotions and complex situations like death and discrimination but in ways they can understand
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Sesame Street: similar to Mr. Rogers but more for younger children
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Bill Nye the Science Guy: Made science accessible and fun for children. Good way to build a sense of curiosity and desire for experimentation
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Zoom: similar to Bill Nye in that it made me what to try all the activities they shared. Lots of fun games, recipes, brain teasers etc to keep kids busy. The fact that it had an all kid cast made it more accessible as a kid. Highly recommended since it seems less remembered than other PBS shows
Non-Educational:
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The Simpsons: this may be divisive but I grew up when they were super popular and I believe it helped develop my sense of humor. The earlier episodes were also pretty wholesome
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The Avatar (Last Airbender and Korra): well written show that is based on many East Asian cultures and touches on themes of depression, genocide, war, and hope (among many others). One of my favorite shows to this day
elephant show and reading rainbow <3
also wcvb in boston had a show similar to reading rainbow called a likely story
"Zoom zoom zoom! " is still stuck in my head to this day
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Do not underestimate silent film! My kiddo loved them as a toddler. Here are some great starters:
- The Cook (Roscoe Arbuckle)
- Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton)
- Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)
- A Trip to the Moon (Georges Méliès)
Very engaging with way more visual gags than we usually see nowadays, few title cards, and a chance to talk with your kid about what is happening on screen (Ooh no, Charlie is stuck in the lions cage! How is Buster going to get on that runaway train?)
And eventually when they’re a little older, getting your kid to sit down with you to watch Scorsese’s Hugo (2011). It is an absolutely magical loveletter to early film, particularly Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon.
Just kidding. Don’t show your kid this movie unless it’s as a joke when they’re older. This might have been a Psyop.
I do actually recommend:
Brave little Toaster and Fivel Goes West. Those seem to stick out as most positive that I remember.
'Member that cartoon where the protagonist used a Nintendo power glove and zapper?
Idk if I ever watched that but you did remind me of this long forgotten underrated movie:
Maybe not for younger kids but probably ok for 10ish+
Remembering that movie also made me remember this bad ass classic (if I’m remembering correctly, I think is mostly appropriate for all ages?):
It was basically Home Alone meets IRL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
We swear we won’t go rooooamin’
ok it was dumb but honesty still so nostalgic for me <3
This looks like fun, can I find it online? Looks like quite the trip.
You’re in luck! https://youtu.be/m0-vGW6p3zk
It even includes the intro from George and Barbara Bush
I am going to be a father and am making a jellyfin setup for my child. I want to start early to make a good collection of movies and shows.
Me too!
I have Bluey and The Magic Schoolbus.
Cosmos with Carl Sagan
His voice, the vocabulary he used along with the wonder he radiated as he described the amazing things that exist out there. All of it captured my young mind like a fantasy.
I’m getting all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.
Good on you for setting up the Jellyfin early, it’s still on my to-do list
My personal favorite childhood movies/shows that made a real impact:
Fern Gully, the Disney animated originals (not remakes) mentioned elsewhere in the thread, Nightmare Before Christmas, Princess Bride, Neverending Story, Star Trek 4 (the whales one), Toy Story
Star Trek TNG and TOS, the old school B/W Addams Family, OG Looney Tunes, Nature on PBS, Nova on PBS, Mr Rogers, Arthur
Additional stuff I’ll be adding to my own kid’s Jellyfin (when I get to it)
Avatar the Last Airbender, Kipo and the Wonderbeasts, She-Ra:PoP (the Netflix one), Bluey, Storybots, Puffin Rock, Lucas the Spider, Trash Truck, Ms Rachel, Daniel Tiger, Elinor Wonders Why
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast (the first English cartoon I remember watching), Rolie Polie Olie, Martha Speaks, Franklin, Little Bear, Total Drama Island/Action, and 6Teen taught me English when I came to Canada.
Star Trek got me started on my path to tankiehood and sci-fi writing. Futurama also significantly contributed to the latter.
Pokemon, Wonderpets and Redwall (and many of the cartoons from the learning English category) got me interested in writing animal characters. Zootopia pissed me off so much with its inconsistent world building that it sealed the deal and made me obsessed with perfecting my own fictional animal world.
Family Guy taught me how not to write characters and their interactions.
How It’s Made is just awesome and satisfying, no further comments.
flight of the navigator
rainbow brite and the star stealer
care bears 2
wizard of oz (39)
sword in the stone
mary poppins
bednobs and broomsticks
charlottes web
petes dragon
drop dead fred
mother goose rock n rhyme
any of the bugs bunny/daffy duck movies
the wizard
neverending story
the pagemaster
follow that bird
american tail
all dogs go to heaven
brave little toaster
princess bride
jetsons meet the flintstones
the flintstones (94)
little monsters
mister wizards world
fraggle rock
muppet babiesok that’s enough i got carried away :)
Drop dead Fred! I loved that movie, probably one of my favorites growing up, not sure my parents were fansof that.
i wanted to play real burglers as a kid :(
The Pagemaster, so underrated. Great story about overcoming fear.
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Ferngully
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Emperor’s New Groove
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Finding Nemo
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Turning Red is newer but SO good
TV:
- Blues Clues
- The Big Comfy Couch
- Sesame Street
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I really like the pokemon show/anime. At least the original seasons (I kinda followed it until the sinnoh region
Other than that:
Ducktales (1987)
Avatar the last Airbender
Nils Holgersson
Weihnachtsmann und Co KG (original title: Le Monde Secret du Père Noël)These are the shows I keep dearly in my heart
As for movies, I don’t really have any recommendation besides “Wall-E” :(
But that’s a phenomenal movie!- Moon and me
- Bluey
- Nils Holgerson
- Totoro
