7 beautiful, funny… and eco-friendly cartoons!
What if we offered our children a way to combine learning with fun by introducing them to the beauty of Mother Nature in an engaging way? "Let's protect our planet": this is the message conveyed with humor and poetry by many animated films and cartoons. Here is a selection of 7 little gems to watch (and explain) to your children!
Dora the Explorer is great, but your children aren't likely to become bilingual. Franklin is very cute, but we'd like him to finally learn how to tie his shoes properly. Giving your children good organic products to awaken their palates is wonderful, but you can go further and awaken their awareness of the world and the environment. Even better :)
In short, parents, take back control of the remote and suggest this to them:
The Lorax by Chris Renaud (2012)
Ted lives in an artificial world, devoid of all vegetation. And a planet without green lungs breaks Ted's heart, and that of his adorable neighbor Audrey, who leaves the young man anything but indifferent.
Our hero therefore decides to set off in search of the last tree seed in order to win over his beloved.
During his incredible adventure, he will meet a funny orange and mustachioed character who fights for the protection of nature and will lend a hand to Ted, for better or for laughs!
Animals and Co. by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe (2011)
All over the world, humankind is striving to destroy nature (reality sometimes catches up with fiction). Only the Okavango Delta in Africa still resists the polluting invader, the last Eden where our animal friends roam free.
Until the day the water disappears in turn. The end of paradise on earth for our feathered and furry friends!
That was without counting on the complicity and resources of Billy the Meerkat and Socrates the vegetarian lion, who, determined to save their delta, will embark on an incredible adventure full of encounters and twists!
My Little Beloved Planet by Jacques-Rémy Girerd (2010)
My Little Beloved Planet is a "collection" of nine short stories that address ecology in a fun and poetic way: The Journey of a Drop of Water, The Magic Root, Mountains of Packaging...
We appreciate the original graphics and the consistently fun, never moralizing, educational approach demonstrated in these 9 little fables.
And for those who are more dedicated, you can find a pedagogical support website built around the film's universe here: http://mapetiteplanetecherie.crdp-lyon.fr
For children (aged 6 and up)
Ponyo on the Cliff by Hayao Miyazaki (2009)
This wonderful animated film, loosely based on Andersen's tale, The Little Mermaid, is a delightful story of friendship between Sosuke, a little boy, and a little goldfish girl, Ponyo.
As always in his films, Hayao Miyazaki advocates the symbiosis between humans, animals and plants, as essential to the proper functioning of Mother Nature (who is also often - and rightly so - humanized in Japanese films!).
We highly recommend the other films of this great director, a passionate lover of Nature, while being mindful of your child's age and their classification!
Wall-E, by Andrew Stanton (2008)
This is the story of a curious and talkative little robot (like your children, right?) who happens to be the only inhabitant on Earth, with the mission of cleaning up our planet.
He will set off in pursuit of his true love and live a fantastic adventure.
Love and sharing as the only remedies to rampant consumerism and the systematic destruction of the planet, a lovely moral, don't you think?
For the older ones
The Simpsons Movie, by David Silverman (2007)
Who doesn't know this wacky Springfield family with little Lisa, a vegetarian, nature and animal lover?
In this film, this funny yellow family will go into exile in Alaska following Homer's pollution of the lake.
It contains all the humor and allusions that make the series so successful.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Nick Park, Steve Box (2005)
In this feature film, we find the wacky inventor and his clever dog, who have once again developed an ingenious creation: an eco-friendly pest-proof machine that saves flourishing English vegetable gardens, while sparing the lives of rabbits.
Everyone is preparing without fear for the big annual vegetable competition, but things get complicated the day a genetically modified Were-Rabbit appears and wreaks havoc on the vegetable gardens. How will the two friends manage to scare it away?
A beautiful reflection on eating better and GMOs, which in no way spoils the poetry and humor systematically present in the Wallace & Gromit series!
If you have any other favorite 100% eco-friendly animated films, feel free to share them with us by writing to bonjour@goodgout.fr. Enjoy the film!
