13 Jan Eight Movies that Will Inspire Kids to Travel
About once a week, my husband and I try to sit down with our kids to watch a movie. Our taste runs to adventure films, especially when they’re set in places we’d like to visit. Our theory is this: As long as we’re pulling out the popcorn and squeezing four people onto the couch, why not choose a movie that might spark at least a small desire to see the world? Here are a few of our favorites:
1. The Secret of Roan Inish
Ireland*
A 10-year-old girl is sent by her father to live with her grandparents on a remote Irish island after her mother dies, but don’t let this grim premise deter you. The story quickly becomes magical as the girl searches for her infant brother who is believed to have been spirited away by a selkie – a mythological creature that is half-seal and half-woman.
2. Ponyo
Japan
An animated Japanese adventure loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” Ponyo is the tale of a heroic 5-year-old boy and a goldfish princess who longs to become human. Although there is plenty of magic and mayhem, it’s a gentle story that is appropriate for very young children.
3. Duma
South Africa
A South African farmer finds an orphaned cheetah cub, and agrees to let his young son raise it as long as he accepts that the animal will have to be returned to the wild before it’s fully grown. When the father unexpectedly dies, the boy must undertake the journey to release his pet alone.
4. National Treasure
Washington, DC
This big budget historical adventure plays a little fast and loose with the details of the founding of our nation, but who cares? It’s fun! Using the Declaration of Independence (among other historical artifacts), the hero hunts treasure through Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York.
5. The Bear
Canada
There is virtually no (human) dialogue in this story of an orphaned bear. The defenseless cub starts to follow, and is eventually adopted by, an adult male bear, and the two must avoid a pair of hunters. While it was shot almost entirely in the Italian and Austrian Dolomites, the movie is set in British Columbia.
6. The Water Horse
Scotland
During World War II, a lonely Scottish boy finds a mysterious egg on the shores of the loch near his house. Naturally he brings it inside and hatches it in the bathtub. He forms a strong attachment to the animal, even though it soon grows to be as big as a German submarine and twice as unruly.
7. The Amazing Panda Adventure
China
A 10-year-old boy visits China over spring break, where his zoologist father works at a wildlife preserve. With the help of a new friend, they handily rescue a baby panda from poachers and save the animal preserve from being shut down.
8. Mr. Bean’s Holiday
France
When Mr. Bean wins a trip to the French Riviera, it sets off a series of slapstick situations that is sure to charm children of all ages. Adults may roll their eyes a little, but the experience of dealing with language barriers, bewildering train schedules, and lost documents while traveling couldn’t be more universal.
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