Films for Younger Audiences

I'm not sure if there is anyone out there reading this thread since it was posted in 2006, but I was wondering if anyone could add a little background about the 4 films listed. I teach 1st graders and being able to find some films that are appropriate for primary grades would be wonderful. Unfortunately, they are just learning to read, so subtitles don't quite work for this level. I've heard of "Spirited Away" and Howl's Moving Castle." I am unfamiliar with the other 2 films, "Princess Mononoke," and "Nausica of the Valley of Wind." If anyone has any comments or other suggestions, it would be very helpful.

I love all the above Japanese anime. I would also recommend a documentary about elementary school kids learning about democracy. The website Independent Lens has more resources for the film.

The movie's name is PPlease Vote For Me. It is funny and insightful could work for many types of classrooms.

Of course age appropriateness is relative, but the films listed would work better with 3rd graders and up, I think. My 5th graders are very interested in Spirited Away.

Susan Dubin
VBS Day School

I am a big fan of Miyazaki films for young students. I stumbled across Japanes anime a couple of years ago watching movies in the summer. I liked Castle in the Sky because it was good storytelling and especially was intrigued by the strong female lead character. I have used Princess Mononoke several times because of the strong characterization and because it is a long story that requires active viewing. The animation and the wierd world helps to hook the students and then they must pay attention and think so that buy in pays off as the film progresses. I actually have Princess Mononoke sitting on my desk to watch over Spring Break. I'm teaching characterization in English right now and want to use it when we come back from the break.

GG

I wanted to write a review for a documentary which I shared with my students which embodies the Japanese Zen aesthetic of honoring and ritualizing a process in making a Samurai sword. The documentary is called : Secrets of the Samurai Sword. I highly recommend you show this to your class.

I showed it to my 7th graders and they enjoyed watching the long process of how a Samurai Sword was made. Even though Samurai swords might not carry out the same fuction it used to during Medieval Japan, the process and aeshetic is still alive in Japan. I pointed out the ritualized process and honoring every member and every material involved into making just one sword. I think my students felt the sense of pride the craftsmen get in producing or "birthing" a sword. At the end of the documentary, I think my students felt a bit more Zen. I wanted to convey the message that it's not about mass production or manufacturing something as quickly as possible, but to honor the process and to carry out the specific rituals properly because these rituals connects the Japanese to their past, history, and culture.

Its interesting that you mention that because our district has subscribed to a video viewing service via the internet called United Streaming. Perhaps one of the greatest features that it has is the ability to download a video on almost any category or subject in the social sciences and show it immediately. My main point is that I also showed a video on a master sword maker to my 7th graders last year and it was very well received. The video went into great detail about how a master swordsman would spend years perfecting a blade and that this lost art was almost impossible to duplicate by machine today. Even the scientific reasoning of how molecules were densely packed over and over to achieve maximum durability was really spectacular. So check it out..great resource: unitedstreaming.com!

You know I am also a big fan of miyazaki, but I question its use in the classroom. Don't get me wrong, from a literary and language arts point of view, its a great show of story telling and I cant garner quite a bit just by breaking down the principles of plot (rising action, resolution, etc) as well as conflicts and key protagonists/antagonists. My issue is with the "weirdness" or "uniqueness" of the film. Some qualitys are easy to understand, for example a family that is moving away. Others are quite bizarre and may prove to be distracting, for example, 3 rolling heads and an ogre sized baby. I feel like my students would enjoy it simply because its a cartoon and loose a bit of its meaning or style as they concentrate on oddity's they don't understand.

PS I personally love that film, esp the part where the father drives his Audi up a bumpy road and uses his quattro skillz :P

I would also have to agree w/Dave..I'm not quite sure how I could incorporate the above mentioned films for 7th grade....maybe culture? not sure how it would "fit"

I have been a fan of Japanese anime for a while and there is definitely stuff you can find that elementary school kids can get into but I would be a little reluctant to show 1st or 2nd graders the four films listed above. I have shown Howls Moving Castle to 4th and 5th graders. When I worked for an elementary school in Philadelphia, I found that 1st graders are really just kindergartners and 2nd graders glorified 1st graders. Both grades can be cool to teach because they are so inquisitive but they don't have the social skills nor the cultural capital to fully understand what they are watching. Princess Mononoke is one of my all time favorite films period and kids that are a mid elementary or in Middle School can really get into it. I also like to play the movies in Japanese with subtitles in the order grades because it forces the kids to read and relate the written text to visual scenes. For many kids that are not that into reading, reading subtitles to a film that they really dig can get them interested in perhaps reading graphic novels or even reading a regular novel. Anything to get them to read.