Want to find the best international, classic or unusual movies for kids? We've carefully assembled a list of films on DVD that have played the New York Int'l Children's Film Festival, as well as some of our own favorites! Even better: Every DVD you buy through this site helps make us rich. Not Bill Gates rich. Just “not-in-spiraling-amounts-of-debt” rich. Ka-ching!
Tales of the Night
Age Recommendation: 8+ Director: Michel Ocelot
From the imagination of internationally renowned animator Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar) comes a magical and visually stunning new film, delighting kids, families and animation fans of all ages. Silhouetted characters are set off against exquisitely detailed...
From the imagination of internationally renowned animator Michel Ocelot (Kirikou and the Sorceress, Azur & Asmar) comes a magical and visually stunning new film, delighting kids, families and animation fans of all ages. Silhouetted characters are set off against exquisitely detailed Day-Glo backgrounds bursting with color and kaleidoscopic patterns, as the film weaves together six exotic fables each unfolding in a unique locale, from Tibet, to medieval Europe, and even the Land of the Dead. In Ocelot's celebrated storytelling, history blends with fairytale as viewers are whisked off to visit enchanted lands full of dragons, shape-shifting werewolves, captive princesses, and enormous talking bees - and each fable ends with its own ironic twist.
"Michel Ocelot's ravishing animation and magical storytelling are a delight from start to finish!" - Empire
The concept of "so bad it's good" seems to have been invented for the films of Ed Wood, a director, writer, producer and occasional star who fully embraced his B-movie budgets and utter lack of technical skill. In Plan 9, his magnum opus about aliens who try to conquer earth with zombies, a hit list of cinematic ineptitudes doesn't sink the film so much as make it pure sci-fi comedy gold...
The concept of "so bad it's good" seems to have been invented for the films of Ed Wood, a director, writer, producer and occasional star who fully embraced his B-movie budgets and utter lack of technical skill. In Plan 9, his magnum opus about aliens who try to conquer earth with zombies, a hit list of cinematic ineptitudes (like paper plates trying to pass as flying saucers, and a man with a cape over his mouth trying to substitute for the film's star, who had recently died) doesn't sink the film so much as make it pure sci-fi comedy gold. The whole thing comes off as delightfully stupid, and kids are sure to enjoy seeing Hollywood gone this bad, but the movie really succeeds because it looks like a lot of fun. Like the early home movies of budding filmmakers, Plan 9 may be a technical disaster, but there's a heart and energy to the film that makes it hard to begrudge Ed Wood his career masterpiece.
Age Recommendation: 8+ Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Like the giant ape for which it's named, King Kong is a movie that is larger than life. It's been remade multiple times (including a CGI-infused, mega-costly version from Peter Jackson in 2005) but never topped. The movie effectively follows a "more is more" strategy...
Like the giant ape for which it's named, King Kong is a movie that is larger than life. It's been remade multiple times (including a CGI-infused, mega-costly version from Peter Jackson in 2005) but never topped. The movie effectively follows a "more is more" strategy, packing a foggy island full of hostile tribesmen, dinosaurs and the stop-motion Kong into a brief running time, ensuring a brisk pace and plenty of action. If you're looking to introduce older kids to classic movies, this is a fantastic place to start, especially since the new DVD release adds a restored picture and several interesting documentaries on how the film was made.
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