On our most recent episode of The B-Movies Podcast (episode #36, now with extra crunch), Bibbs and I reviewed Shawn Levy's new fightin' robot film Real Steel, which is, as of this writing, stumbling its way to the top of the box office for the weekend. We both mentioned that the film, while being kind of goofy, was possessed of a quality we rarely seem to see in films these days: a genuine sense of childish wonder. We compared it, I think appropriately, to this year's earlier blockbuster Super 8, in that it seemed to want to recapture a certain kind of kid-friendly genre entertainment that was popular in the 1980s. (That Steven Spielberg acted as executive producer on both films is certainly a direct indicator of this). But whereas Super 8 was a clear homage to the films of Spielberg – perhaps to the point of being a little too affected for its own good – Real Steel seems to be, well, the real deal. This is not a film that kids my age will watch and feel pangs of nostalgia about. This is a film that is genuinely reaching into the brains of 9-year-old boys and leaving subtle marks that will be remembered forever. Real Steel is hardly The Red Balloon; it's by no means a great cinema classic. But it does have a good grip on its childlike awe.
Why is it that so many kid's films we see these days seem to be lacking in this quality? Are studios so untrusting of children that they won't give them original content anymore? Even the films of Pixar, while each somewhat brilliant it its own way, seem more geared toward the adults in the audience that the kids; many reports I have read pointed out that kids thought Toy Story 3 was scary and sad, while the parents were the ones tearing up in a powerful nostalgic haze. And how many kids really enjoyed Up? My guess is few. And when we stray from Pixar, we're given naughty and “clever” films like Shrek, which are crass for the kids, and contain obnoxious pop-culture references for the adults. There's a handful of “funny” animal flicks (for some reason, G-Force comes to mind), but these seem geared toward the baser instincts of little kids; the instincts that still find poo jokes side-splittingly hilarious. For the older kids, we're given fact-paced genre action chase films that have no rhyme or reason (think of just about every Harry Potter rip-off from the last decade).
So, in a way, Real Steel represents a genuine return to form. The film's director had no interest in re-hashing old material, giving us pop references, or making a film for adults that was only tangentially appropriate for kids. He made an enjoyable film that was built on little kid fantasies. There was a reason that Bibbs proudly declared that he wanted to buy the toys from the movie. Real Steel taps into our little kid obsessions better than something like even Harry Potter can.
Very occasionally, you'll hear critics raving about some smaller, off-the-beaten-path kids flick that has this quality: something that seems designed not to placate whiners or to bilk parents out of their money (Why would any adult, for instance, want to see a feature film about Smurfs?), but to entertain families in a genuine way. Something that – to borrow some all-too-familiar marketing language – is fun for kids of all ages. These films aren't always successful, but they're always worth going back to see. For the beleaguered parents in the world, who are burnt out on Shrek Forever After, or Gnomeo and Juliet, or Mars Needs Moms, and are looking to steer their youngsters toward better, quality films that will not only entertain them, but perhaps offer new things for them to obsess about, I offer the following considerations.
ZATHURA (dir. Jon Favreau, 2005)
Before he was the go-to guy for superhero blockbusters, Jon Favreau was proving what a talented director he was, directing smaller family-friendly films like this one. Favreau has an old-school sensibility when it comes to his filmmaking, as he prefers to use as much practical special effects as possible and has a clear and confident camera, making for fewer flash edits, and easier-to-understand storytelling. All his talents are in place for Zathura. The film, a spiritual sequel to Jumanji, is about a pair of boys who find a magical board game that, when they play it, spirits them and their entire house off into the deep recesses of space, where they must deflect meteors and hide from malevolent aliens. More than a bland adventure, Zathura makes space seem like a big and wonderful place, and the threats therein to be weighty and palpable and even a little scary. But, y'know, not too scary. This is not a style pastiche. This is the work of a stylist.
CHICKEN RUN (dirs. Peter Lord & Nick Park, 2000)
I pity the families who are not familiar with the charming and excellent animations of Aardman studios. Perhaps best known for the Wallace & Gromit films, Aardman is one of those animation studios that seems capable of no wrong (Flushed Away notwithstanding). They do not pander. They do not over-reach. They simply make great-looking films based more on wit and character than on speed and action. A film that often gets forgotten about in discussions of great kids' films is their 2000 effort Chicken Run, about a group of hard-working, egg-laying chickens whose coop resembles a Nazi war prison; indeed, references to films like Stalag 17 and The Great Escape come pretty frequently. When a cocky American rooster accidentally lands in their camp (literally; he falls from the sky), a plan of escape is quickly hatched. Er, conceived. And while having seen the war movies the film often quotes certainly help the adults in the audience, they're not “cute” in that insufferable American way. Nor, and this is vital, are they required to enjoy the film. Enjoy the happiness in the production, and the whimsy of the twee British jokes.
I also, I have to admit, have a weakness for stop-motion animation. This comes from a childhood watching Mad Monster Party and Will Vinton movies on TV
CORALINE (dir. Henry Selick, 2009)
I think all parents know that little kids like to be scared more than they let on. Sadly, most studios seem afraid to make scary films for kids, operating on a safe CYA basis. Disney seems especially good at making spooky monsters (take a look at the voodoo scenes in The Princess and the Frog sometime), but seem reluctant to make a genuine kids' horror film. The films of Hayao Miyazaki all have incredibly spooky elements, but are given the “out” of having been produced in Japan. The only director who has put out a series of good-looking, spooky and workable horror films for kids is Henry Selick (the director of the cult classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, one of Goth-dom's most important films), who made a rather enjoyable little fright flick in 2009 with Coraline. The story of the film is yet another souped-up retread of the Hansel and Gretel story: A young girl, stumbling through an undulating umbilicus in her new home, finds a friendly creature that looks like her mother (only with buttons for eyes – eesh) that wants nothing more than to succor her angst. The creature, of course, eventually has more sinister things in store. But the effect of Coraline, apart from the breathtaking animation, is one that actually projects a cloudy oddness. A comforting-yet-off-putting sense of childish dread that little kids will have fun being creeped out by, and adults will certainly groove with.
UP NEXT: Bibbs takes a look back at the golden age of kick-ass family movies, and offers a few new underrated family classics of his own...
