Our family celebrates Sundays with mass, a special lunch, dessert, and family movie or game night. Since we have four young children, we only watch movies that we feel are appropriate. If the movies teach life lessons in addition to being entertaining, that's a win!
I will add the disclaimer, that we watch all movies through our ClearPlay DVD player, so scenes with inappropriate content (language, sex, violence, etc.) are filtered out.
Here is a list of movies that we have found to be life-affirming and appropriate for families of all ages:
Bella
So much has been written about Bella that I feel that my words will not do it justice. Please click the links below to learn more about this incredible movie:
Roger Ebert's review of Bella
Steven Greydanus' review from the National Catholic Register
Plus, Eduardo Verastegui's testimony is incredible!
October Baby
October Baby is the story of a young woman who, after a health crisis, learns that she was adopted after surviving an attempted abortion. This movie chronicles her emotional journey toward acceptance of her past and forgiveness. It's an outstanding testament to unconditional love.
When the movie is over, please do not turn off the TV. The story that follows is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes.
Robots
Yes, I said Robots. The basic plot of the movie is that a slick, flashy robot named Ratchet takes over the largest company in Robot City and changes its slogan from "You can shine, no matter what you're made of" to "Why be you when you can be new?" He then proceeds to hunt down and destroy all the "outmodes," which are older and/or obsolete robots. Ratchet orders his company to stop making replacement parts for these "outmodes" and focuses solely on upgrades. With the help of his new friends, loveable hero Rodney Copperbottom uses his talents as an up-and-coming robot inventor/engineer to help repair the local outmodes. When his deeds are discovered by Ratchet, a fight to save the lives of the outmodes ensues.
This movie is an interesting study on the value of life and would be a good jumping-off point to teach your kids about the dignity of the old and infirm and the right to life until natural death. It's also sweet to see how much Rodney's parents wanted a child and the love between the robot family is very sweet. I'm actually surprised that more people haven't caught on to the pro-life themes of this movie.
My one criticism of this movie is the potty humor. There are some double-entendres, but they go right over my kids' heads.
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