Welcome to the Kitchen Table! It's Friday night in chilly January, a good night to stay in with a movie. I've been exploring the Netflix catalogue and offer four family friendly films tonight. Our subject:
For Children
Hugo
Oh, I wish I had seen this on a big screen! But I missed it when it was in theaters. Thank goodness this beautiful film is available for streaming. "Hugo" is the story of an orphaned boy living alone in the big station clock of a Paris train station and his efforts to elude the policeman who patrols the building. But it is also a love letter to the spirit of film making -- for it involves none other than Georges Méliès, magician and early cinematographer, played here by the wonderful Ben Kingsley. Méliès' films where full of fantasy and special effects that were way before their time -- "Hugo" pays beautiful homage to Méliès as an artist. Enjoy!
Miss Minoes
From the Netherlands. Attention, Pootie People: this is a story of corporate malfeasance that is heroically countered by a plucky journalist and a whole bunch of kitty cats! Exposed to chemicals spilled from a barrel, a cat named Minoes mysteriously changes into a young woman. She finds a place with a young man seeking to become a writer for the local paper -- and she helps him find stories by asking the neighborhood cats for gossip. This all leads to a confrontation with the evil corporation whose chemicals changed Minoes. This film is for younger viewers, I think, but it is charming.
ParaNorman
This is another one I didn't get to see in the theater -- and I'm sad about that because this film was made here, in Portland, OR. We have a neighbor who worked on this and "Coraline". Both "ParaNorman" and "Coraline" were made with stop motion photography. Every figure, every prop in the film was made by hand and meticulously photographed, frame by frame. This gives the movies a look that is very special and very cool. "ParaNorman" is about a lonely, bullied boy named Norman who sees the dead. He comes into his own when his town is threatened by the resurgence of an ancient witch's curse. Norman's gift for being able to communicate with ghosts is the only thing that can save the day! Have fun with this.
From Time to Time
Fans of "Downtown Abbey" may be interested by this children's tale -- for it is written and directed by Julian Fellows and features the fabulous Maggie Smith. This is a time travel story about an orphaned boy who comes to live in an old country mansion, full of secrets. For some reason, in this old house, the boy can slip into the past, back centuries, where he tries to help two children in that time who were being badly treated and who died too soon. There is treasure, too... But no spoilers, you'll just need to see the film!
Please share other favorite films for children, your day, and your menus for tonight! Sit back with a beverage of your choice and let's visit.
Prior Streaming Movies on a Friday Night subjects:
At the Table
Ghosts
Resilient People
Love
Food and Our Health
Cozy Mysteries
Playing Shakespeare
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