By Megan Ruge Asst. living and arts editor
The season for giving and spending time with family is upon us with Thanksgiving just around the corner. Thanksgiving is a time to return home and give thanks for the family that surrounds you and the turkey at the dinner table. Of course, eating and talking about football isn’t all you do over the weekend that officially kicks off the holiday season.
I have provided for you a list of family movies that are sure to have you in that holiday mood. This list of family-friendly films comes from the Netflix and Disney archives.
Our first film on the list is “Lilo and Stitch.” The film, released in 2002, tells the story of a girl who just lost her parents and is looking for unusual companionship in a creature that appears to be a dog. Lilo, a young Hawaiian girl, loves Elvis and makes it her mission to teach this rambunctious “dog” to be a good boy using the music and influence of Elvis as her guide.
When Lilo adopts her dog, affectionately named “Stitch,” she is unaware that he is really an alien fugitive wanted by galactic law enforcements. The truth leaves Lilo feeling betrayed, but she must put these feelings aside or risk losing the truest friend she’s ever known.
Our second film comes to us from the newest minds behind Disney animation. “Zootopia” was released earlier this year and has swiftly made its way to the center of our hearts and homes. The adorable story about a bunny who refuses to be defined by the primitive ways of her ancestors shows viewers a world where predator and prey live in peace.
When Judy Hopps decides to become the first bunny cop, the world she lives in aims to discourage her, but Judy’s persistent optimism allows her to prevail. While on the force, Judy meets a sly fox, named Nick Wilde, and finds an unlikely friend and ally while looking for missing animals from all across Zootopia.
Our next film comes to us from the Disney archives back in 2000. “The Emperor’s New Groove” tells the story of a selfish and fanciful South American emperor whose power-hungry royal advisor looks to kill him and steal his throne. However, the advisor’s plan goes awry, and instead of killing him she turns the emperor into a llama.
In the film, the emperor, named Kuzco, is found by a humble peasant family who takes him in until they can figure out how to change him back. During his stay, Kuzco learns what it means to be a family and what leading a humble life really means.
The next film in the list is among those with the most memorable sound track. “Tarzan” is a 1999 film that tells the story of what happens when a ship’s wreckage off the coast of Africa leaves a family and a young child stranded in the African wild. After the child is left an orphan, he is found and raised by apes to adulthood.
After the child, Tarzan, has grown up into a man, a group of researchers comes to the area to learn about the apes, including the professor’s daughter Jane who catches the eye of the ape man. Tarzan falls in love with Jane and eventually must choose between the life he’s known in the wild and the life Jane is a part of in the human world.
Our final film is a spin-off that starred the supporting character of one of Disney’s original animated stories. “Tinker Bell” is the origin story of the little fairy whose jealousy made her one of the spunkiest Disney characters of all time. In “Tinker Bell,” we get to see how the small fairy and her world came to be. Tinker Bell and her friends all have their own special skills, but Tinker Bell is having a hard time finding her niche.
Along the way, she meets many friends, and they help her find herself while aiding her in pulling off one of the biggest tasks asked of any fairy.
